Minnesota Twins Roster News, Rumors: Danny Santana Placed on Disabled List After Suffering Hamstring Injury, Team Recalls Max Kepler
The Minnesota Twins saw themselves getting blanked by the Kansas City Royals, 7-0 last Saturday, but it wasn't the only loss they suffered as outfielder Danny Santana exited with a right hamstring injury.
After the game, team manager Paul Molitor talked to The Associated Press, saying that Santana will have to undergo a couple more tests in order to figure out what's wrong. But for the moment, the Twins already placed him on the 15-day disabled list, while also recalling another outfielder from Triple-A Rochester, Max Kepler.
Kepler was last year's Southern League MVP; he hit a decent .322 and produced nine homers and 18 stolen bases for Chattanooga in Double-A baseball. The German-born 23-year old will be looking at making an impact for the Twins even on borrowed time.
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The decision to recall Kepler instead of a couple of other higher prospects is a sign that the Twins are looking to add a proven contributor instead of a young player. The team's loss to the Royals is as embarrassing as it can get, especially this early.
However, choosing Kepler still leaves an intriguing question since they could have recalled an infielder instead since the team already has two veteran outfielders at their disposal – Eduardo Nunez and Oswaldo Arcia.
The Twins acquired Kepler from Germany as a highly-touted prospect, although management knew for a fact that he needed a lot of time to develop his game in the United States. Although losing Santana for the time-being is a significant blow for a team that is already showing glimpse of mediocrity early in the season, they can at least see this one as an opportunity for Kepler to show his development since coming to the league back in 2009. Certainly the opportunity is temporary in nature, but it would later give Minnesota a glimpse of what to expect from him in the future.
