Twins name Gee starter; discuss September call ups

The Twins have named righthander Dillon Gee the starter on Friday when they open a three-game series against the Royals.

Gee thrived in a long relief role before stepping into the rotation the last two times through. He gave up four runs over four innings on Saturday in his most recent outing.

The Twins could have opted for rookie righthander Aaron Slegers, but decided to give Gee another shot.

"We're going to keep the way it's been here," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "At least through the weekend."

Kyle Gibson will start on Saturday, with Ervin Santana going on Sunday.

The Twins are not expected to announce any additions on Thursday, the first day players on their 40-man roster will be allowed to be added to the major league roster.

But, some reinforcements are expected soon.

Molitor wants a third catcher, which suggests that the club could call up Anthony Recker, who was acquired along with Jamie Garcia in a July trade. Recker would have to be put on the 40-man roster to make that move happen.

Castro, meanwhile, has begun workouts and might try to swing a bat over the next couple of days. "Maybe he got set back a hair in terms of how he felt after he was done, but he was glad he got it in," Molitor said.
Molitor said Castro still has some stages to go before he can return to game action, therefore the need for another catcher in the short term.

Miguel Sano will be backed off the activities he's been doing - riding a bike, running on a underwater treadmill, etc. - in an attempt to help him recover from a stress reaction in his left shin. Sano's recovery has been slower than expected, so the Twins hope that restricting his work will help him get over the hump.

Molitor revealed on Wednesday that Sano has been wearing a boot on the leg to help his recovery. Again, it looks like several days for Sano. He has to get the soreness to subside before he does any baseball activities, then he has to go through a few days of activities with no setbacks before the Twins will be comfortable using him.

A has to happen before they can get to B. So his return to the lineup has become a mystery,

"Obviously some rust there," Molitor said.