The Twins have placed outfielder Josh Willingham on the 15-day disabled list with a medial meniscus tear and bone bruise in his left knee. Willingham tweaked the knee over the weekend and experienced increased discomfort yesterday while attempting to warm up.
This means more Oswaldo Arcia in left field, which isn't a bad thing for a kid needing experience.
It also damages the chances that Willingham could surge before the trade deadline and become an attractive trade option for a team looking for a power hitter. A torn meniscus sounds bad, and I'm wondering how bad the tear is? Can rest and rehab be enough to get him back on the field, or is surgery a possibility. Those are things we hope to find out over the next few hours.
The Twins have returned outfielder Aaron Hicks from his rehab assignment at Class AAA Rochester, where he was batting .190 through six games. Actually, Hicks was on his way to the Twin Cities earlier today, as the team probably knew where they were headed with Willingham.
Will check back with updates, I promise. The Twins haven't announced any of their international signings yet, so we're still waiting to hear about a few. Learned over the weekend that they pretty much had Dominican outfielder Lewin Diaz in their back pocket, so U expect that one to be announced.
UPDATES
The Twins have reached agreement with Diaz, but won't announce it officially until he passes a physical. Look for him to get a bonus of at least $1 million, and possibly close to the $1.4 million they signed Amaurys Minier to last year.
Minier, playing for the GCL Twins at age 17, was 3-for-3 with two doubles in the first game of a double header today. In the second game, he went 0-for-3 before leaving because of heat exhaustion.
