Valencia replaces injured Plouffe

The Twins placed third baseman Trevor Plouffe on the 15-day disabled list Friday because of a bruised right thumb and recalled Danny Valencia from Class AAA Rochester.

Plouffe, who hasn't played since July 20, was scratched from Friday's lineup after feeling more pain in the thumb during batting practice. He is batting .259 with 19 home runs and 38 RBI and is eligible to return Aug. 5.

Valencia hit .190 with one homer and 11 RBI in 27 games before the Twins demoted him in May. In 69 games for Rochester, he hit .250 with seven homers and 37 RBI.

"It's a natural move," Twins GM Terry Ryan said. "It's an opportunity for Danny. Sometimes when an opportunity arises, you take advantage of it, just like Plouffe did. Here's a chance for Danny to make a good impression. See how he responds."

Asked for the team's recent reports on Valencia, Ryan said they're "OK."

"I don't think the numbers are great, but they're maybe not indicative," Ryan added. "I'm sure he wasn't happy to be down there after spending two full years up here, but you've got to get over that disappointment when you get a demotion. And I've talked to [Rochester manager] Gene Glynn and those guys about it; [Valencia] went about his business decently."

Still 'interim' GM The Twins named Ryan their interim GM last November, when he replaced Bill Smith, but nobody in the organization uses the "interim" tag. Twins CEO Jim Pohlad hopes Ryan is back in the position to stay.

"We've got a lot of work to do. And I'm not in any position to say the interim's going to be off. I don't want that off there yet. I've got to prove myself I can do the job."

Pohlad, who was on the field during batting practice, said as Tuesday's nonwaiver trade deadline approaches the team has full confidence in Ryan.

"We're totally on board with him," Pohlad said. "We went to visit the commissioner [Bud Selig] this week, and he has nothing but good things to say about Terry. And that doesn't make our decision for us, but it makes us feel good."

Pohlad also said Ryan is under no pressure to unload payroll, which is about $100 million, down from a franchise record $113 million last year.

"This year, we're where we want to be," Pohlad said.

• Daniel Turpen, the pitcher the Twins received from the Rockies for Kevin Slowey last December, was promoted to Rochester after posting a 4.25 ERA in 33 appearances for Class AA New Britain, with 59 strikeouts and 23 walks in 53 innings.