The Twins have placed rookie third baseman Brian Buscher on the 15-day disabled list with an infection in his right leg.  This is a bad break for him as he was auditioning for the starting 3B job on the Twins.  He has played in 8 games this season and he was 5 for 22 (.227 avg, .519 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI.  The Twins will turn to Nick Punto to start at 3B for the time being.  He has played in 105 games this season and he is 71 for 339 (.209 avg, .569 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 1 homer, 20 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.  The Twins have recalled 27 year old righty swinging Tommy Watkins to replace Buscher on the Twins roster.  He has played in 110 AAA games this season and he was 95 for 349 (.272 avg, .753 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 8 homers, 49 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.  He likely won’t get too much playing time this season.

24 year old righty starting pitcher Nick Blackburn has been dominant so far in the minors this season.  He has pitched in 20 games (19 starts) for the Twins this season and he is 9-2 with a 2.51 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP.  In 118.1 innings this season he has allowed 104 hits, walked only 15 batters and he has whiffed 59.  Look for Blackburn to get a chance with the Twins soon if he continues to pitch like he is right now.

The Twins have traded reserve infielder Jeff Cirillo to the Arizona Diamondbacks.  This was another cost cutting move for the Twins who seem to be giving up on this season.   Cirillo played in 50 games for the Twins this season and he was 40 for 153 (.261 avg, .713 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 2 homers and 21 RBIs.  The Twins received and undisclosed minor leaguer in return for Cirillo.