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* The Twins needed pitching reinforcements after Friday night's marathon contest in Kansas City extended past bar close. The unfortunate victim in the ensuing roster shuffling was Kennys Vargas, who hasn't done much during his time with the team to deserve a demotion.
Since coming up in early July, Vargas has posted a .955 OPS with six homers and 17 walks in 25 games, delivering both patience and power. The switch-hitter has cooled off here in August amidst sparse playing time. Therein lies the problem.
Joe Mauer is locked in at first. Miguel Sano is relegated mostly to DH as long as Trevor Plouffe is here and maybe beyond, given the elbow issues. This leaves no path to immediate playing time for Vargas, and that didn't figure to change any time soon. The 26-year-old's offensive profile looks good in the middle of the order, but there's not a fit for him here. The same was true for Oswaldo Arcia, who was designated for assignment by the Rays over the weekend.
Sometimes, being able to crush the ball simply isn't enough.
* In the corresponding move when Vargas was optioned, the Twins called up Adalberto Mejia, who came over in the Eduardo Nunez trade. The lefty had been fairly sharp in his first three starts with Rochester, but got pushed into the big-league fold sooner than anyone expected, out of necessity.
Mejia made his MLB debut in mop-up duty, handling the middle innings of a blowout loss. He didn't fare too well, yielding five hits and a walk over 2 1/3 innings, and was optioned following the game. It wasn't the most glamorous opportunity for his first chance, but the prospect did his thing and should be back in 10 days when rosters expand.
Replacing him on the staff is Pat Light, who was acquired by the Twins a few days after Mejia. Rob Antony and the front office are wasting no time getting a look at their new additions. Light made a couple of inauspicious appearances in the Red Sox bullpen this year before being swapped for Fernando Abad on deadline day. He was still waiting for his first extended chance in the majors.
Now, he should get it, albeit 10 days after it was supposed to happen. MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger explains the rookie's phantom call-up:
Light was nearly called up by the Twins on Aug. 11, when lefty Buddy Boshers was placed on the 15-day disabled list after the first game of a doubleheader, but Light's flight was ultimately cancelled. Light, though, took it in stride and was able to joke about the incident.
"That was a special day," Light said with a laugh. "I went to the airport in Syracuse and they kept delaying the flight. I ended up not being able to get there by game time. So it is what it is."
You can only imagine how frustrating the experience must have been for the hard-throwing righty, so this opportunity must feel redeeming.
Light has put up impressive numbers in Triple-A this year (2.37 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 9.9 K/9) so I'm eager to see what he's got.
* One player that has failed to impress in several chances for his new club is Hector Santiago. His horrendous outing at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday night paved the way for Mejia's long-relief outing. The veteran has been raked all over the yard whenever he has taken the hill for the Twins. His first impression feels similar to the one Tommy Milone gave after coming over from the West Coast two years ago.
Of course, Milone shook off the slump and reverted back to his old self the following year. In 2015, he put up a 3.92 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 128 innings, perfectly respectable numbers. We can reasonably expect the same from Santiago. The problem is that, like Milone, Santiago at his best is essentially an average pitcher.
Do the Twins want to commit to such low-risk, low-reward gambles at a time when they need to be aiming high? Luckily, Santiago's contract status essentially gives Minnesota a team option for next year, so they can make that decision on its own merit.
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