Twins notes: Jorge Polanco returns to lineup, but Twins keep Eddie Rosario out

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – While Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco returned to the lineup on Friday after missing all three games in Cleveland because of cramping in his left leg, Eddie Rosario was not in the lineup because of a sore upper left quadriceps.

And Rosario might not return for a while.

Rosario is still sore in the area, and manager Paul Molitor on Friday speculated that his left fielder could miss the remainder of the road trip. Given that it's September, the Twins aren't in contention and call-ups are coming, there is no rush to return Rosario to the lineup.

So it's likely that the Twins will make sure Rosario is fully recovered before he plays again.

"He came in sore [Friday]," Molitor said. "Certainly tightness in the upper right quad. It's 24 hours [since the injury], but it is still probably a little early to try to predict how long he will be out. It's probably a little bit more reasonable that we won't see him play on this trip, but we will stay open-minded about that, given that we are headed into September."

Rosario, batting .292 with 22 home runs and 74 RBI, was injured Thursday at Cleveland while running out a ground ball. He's played in a team-high 130 games this season, but his run of durability has now taken a hit.

Polanco, meanwhile, hit against Matt Belisle and ran the bases before Friday's game to prove he was fit enough to play.

Righthander Tyler Duffey, catcher Chris Gimenez, lefthander Andrew Vasquez, outfielder Johnny Field will join the team, from Class AAA Rochester, in time for Saturday's game against Texas, and righthander Matt Belisle will be activated from the disabled list after recovering from right knee soreness.

Saturday is the first day major league rosters can expand to include players on the 40-man roster.

It will be Duffey's fourth promotion to the majors this season. He has a 6.35 ERA in 11 appearances with the Twins.

Gimenez was traded to the Twins on Thursday by the Cubs in exchange for catcher Bobby Wilson.

Field was called up Aug. 6 from Rochester before being sent back down on Aug. 19. He was 1-for-16 in eight games with the Twins. Vasquez was recently promoted to Class AAA Rochester and has a nasty slider.

"He's been trying a little bit of a different arm slot, some of those things to give himself a better chance," Molitor said.

Kyle Gibson will start on Monday at Houston. That leaves an opening in the rotation.

"So sometime before that, probably Sunday, there will be an extra spot slotted in," Molitor said. "So if we finalize the call-ups and all that, we'll be able to make more announcements regarding the rotation at the back end in Texas in particular."

The Twins will likely go with a six-man rotation in September. But there will be times they use an "opener" to pitch an inning or two before the starter replaces him and pitches a couple of times through the order.

That could happen as soon as Sunday.