Yet Another Injury Speculation Report

I have been speculating for time about who would be leaving when Shannon Stewart returned, but now with the news that Ruben Sierra is also on his way back I figured it was time for another quick discussion. This news can be found all over the place, but the Strib has most of it in on convenient location here.

So, within 10 days two outfielders could be on their way up. Who will be on their way out?

The Trib suggests that the Twins are "losing patience" with three players: Rondell White, Tony Batista, and Juan Castro. I'll grant two out of the three, but if the Twins are losing patience with the great fielding of Juan Castro (whose .236 batting average isn't too far from where I'd expect him to hit), then there is something wrong. Maybe that's just some politicking on the part of the Trib in favor of a Jason Bartlett promotion. Who knows.

Anyway, the simplest solution would probably be to cut both White and Batista, give the third base job to Tiffee, the DH spot to Kubel, and use Sierra as a pinch hitter. Frankly, I'd be fine with that, but I don't think it's going to happen.

I said just a couple of days ago that I think the odds are slim the Twins would cut White soon. I didn't think such a thing would happen until closer to the trade deadline. It appears I may be wrong (and frankly I hope I am...this is a failed experiment if ever I saw one). In fact, with two spots to empty, I think the solution of getting rid of Batista and White may be adopted. However, I think there's another solution that's a little more likely.

I think the Twins will send Tiffee down, being unprepared to accept him as the everyday third baseman. That means they will have to keep Batista around for awhile. Then, I think the only solution for who goes next has to be Rondell.

Honestly, I'm not that worried. Pretty no much what the Twins do, the additions of Stewart and Sierra will be positive ones for a team that has struggled mightily at times this season.