Twins Call Up Cali

News came down today that the Twins have placed Glen Perkins on the 15-day DL with his muscle problem, and have replaced him by purchasing the contract of LHP Carmen Cali. The Twins 40-man roster was sitting at 39 after the release of Sidney Ponson, so Cali's addition brings the team back to having a full roster. If further additions to the roster are needed, both Jesse Crain and Alejandro Machado could be moved to the 60-day DL.

I'm a little surprised by the decision to call up Cali instead of Ricky Barrett, but the fact that Barrett has only pitched in 6 games since coming off of the disabled list and has no Major League experience probably were involved. Cali has been solid this season, posting a 2-0 record and a 2.70 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 16.2 innings. Of some note, however, is the fact that he has just 5 K's and 6 BB's this year, which is not only a bad ratio, it's simply not very strong in absolute number terms either.
Cali last pitched in the big leagues in 2005, when he made it into 6 games for the Cardinals. He pitched in 10 games for St. Louis in 2004. His career MLB numbers are not good -- 9.45 ERA, 2.63 WHIP, 13-12 K-BB. Hopefully, he'll be able to turn this around this time through, and maybe make things interesting for Julio DePaula when Glen Perkins comes back.

Finally, who would have guessed during Spring Training that Carmen Cali would end up playing for the Twins while Mike Venafro and Randy Choate, two veteran lefties, never did? Life can be funny that way. Good luck to Carmen, and hopefully the Twins can stem the tide of player injuries soon. One last note -- I haven't seen any news about it happening yet, but the Red Wings were carrying just 11 pitchers when Cali was called up, so they're short at least one guy in the bullpen. I would guess that another AA pitcher is about to get a promotion -- and that guy might be a member of the Twins 40-man roster, lefty Jose Mijares, who has a 3.20 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 19.2 innings this season for the Rock Cats.