The Twins have placed starting RF Michael Cuddyer on the 15-day disabled list with a strained tendon in his left index finger. Cuddyer has played in 62 games this season for the Twins and he is 59 for 234 (.252 avg, .700 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 3 homers, 35 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Twins have recalled 24-year old lefty swinging Denard Span to replace Cuddyer on the roster. Span will likely get a chance to show what he can do this time around for the Twins. Span has played in 12 games for the Twins this season and he is 8 for 31 (.258 avg, .582 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Span has been really effective in the minors this season. He has played in 39 games in AAA ball this season and he is 53 for 155 (.342 avg, .920 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 3 homers, 14 RBIs and 15 stolen bases.

The Twins need an upgrade at 3B, so with that in mind why not trade Boof Bonser to the Brewers for Bill Hall and cash? The Twins have a lot of better options than Bonser coming up in the minor league system for the rotation. Bonser has pitched in 17 games (12 starts) for the Twins this season and he is 3-6 with a 6.45 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Bill Hall has decent power but he has lost his full time starting job in Milwaukee. He has played in 63 games for the Brewers this year and he is 46 for 213 (.216 avg, .675 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 9 homers, 25 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Hall is just two years removed from a season in which he hit 35 homers, scored 101 runs and drove in 85. This would likely be a move that helped both teams.

Jason Kubel has taken over the starting job at DH full time over Craig Monroe and he’s done a good job. The Twins always thought Kubel would be a good hitter they just had to find a way to keep him healthy and they have done that by limiting his play in the outfield. That’s a good thing because he’s a pretty poor defender. Kubel has played in 61 games this season for the Twins and he is 54 for 210 (.257 avg, .758 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 10 homers and 36 RBIs.

Juan Rincon has rejected an outright assignment to AAA so the Twins will have 10 days to trade or release him. Rincon was not pitching well this season for the Twins. In 24 games (0 starts) this season he was 2-2 with a 6.11 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. Rincon did have a solid 8 year career with the Twins. He pitched in 386 games (3 starts) in his career with the Twins and he was 30-26 with 3 saves, a 3.69 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. It will likely be hard for the Twins to trade Rincon as they had a deal set with the Rays and the Rays nullified the Rincon part of the deal due to health concerns.

The Twins should consider giving 29-year old righty swinging Darnell McDonald from AAA ball if they have a need for an outfielder. I know that Denard Span probably has a better future for the Twins but McDonald has really been swinging a hot stick in AAA. McDonald has played in 51 games in AAA this season and he is 65 for 203 (.320 avg, .937 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 9 homers, 40 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. It would be nice to see McDonald get a reward for all of his hard work in the minors both this season and over his career.