Starting 2B Alexi Casilla will likely miss the rest of the season due to a torn tendon in his right thumb. That is a shame for both the Twins and Casilla as he really played well this season. Casilla finishes the 2008 season having played in 62 games for the Twins in which he was 76 for 243 (.313 avg, .775 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 4 homers, 39 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Nick Punto will be the Twins’ new starting 2B. He has played in 43 games for the Twins this season and he is 38 for 129 (.295 avg, .756 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 1 homer, 18 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. It will be interesting to see if Punto keeps hitting well with a full time gig as he didn’t do too well in that role last season for the Twins.

UPDATE: Casilla might be able to return by the end of August as his right thumb is improving.

The Twins had high hopes for Adam Everett this season as they pretty much handed him the starting shortstop job in spring training. But, he played poorly and he got injured which opened the door for 2B Alexi Casilla to steal his job. Everett played in 25 games for the Twins this season and he was 14 for 74 (.189 avg, .559 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. Everett will likely not accept a assignment to AAA and become a free agent in 10 days. Some team will give him another chance as he still is a great defender.

UPDATE: The Twins changed their minds and decided to activate Adam Everett from the D.L. instead of designating him for assignment after the team learned that Alexi Casilla will miss the rest of the season with a thumb injury. Everett will back up Brendan Harris at shortstop and be a defensive replacement for him late in games.

27-year old lefty swinging 3B Brian Buscher has been a godsend at 3B for the Twins. The Twins brought in Mike Lamb as a free agent in the off season to start at 3B and he has been a disaster. Lamb’s awful play opened the door for Buscher and he kicked it open. He has played in 30 games for the Twins this season and he is 35 for 105 (.333 avg, .830 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 3 homers and 26 RBIs. Buscher has to feel a little like Rodney Dangerfield right now as he seems to get little respect for the job he has done. That’s because the Twins have been linked to trade discussions for players like Adrian Beltre and Hank Blalock.

Scott Baker has been really solid this season as he has emerged as the best pitcher in the starting rotation for the surprising Twins this season. He is 6-2 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP so far this season and he would be even better if he weren’t injured earlier this season. The Twins are sitting at 53-42 on the season which has them only 1.5 games behind the White Sox in the American League Central. The Twins are also only 2.5 games behind the Rays for the American League Wild Card. The Twins will need Baker to have a good second half if they are going to secure a playoff spot.

The Twins have been led on offense by Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer as should be expected. Morneau is hitting .323 with 55 runs scored, 14 homers and 68 RBIs this season for the Twins and he should be even better in the 2nd half. The Twins hope Joe Mauer can stay healthy as he has really hit well this season. He is hitting .322 with 58 runs scored, 5 homers and 41 RBIs this season. Two big surprises for the Twins this season have been 2B Alexi Casilla and 3B Brian Buscher. The Twins signed Adam Everett and Mike Lamb to handle SS and 3B this year but they both failed as Everett was injured and Lamb just couldn’t hit the ball. Brendan Harris shifted to shortstop to replace Everett and Alexi Casilla was brought up to replace Harris at 2B. Casilla looked overmatched last season in the bigs but he has been outstanding all year long for the Twins. Casilla is hitting .315 with 29 runs scored, 4 homers, 36 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. The Twins hope that he can keep up the good work in the 2nd half of the season. The Twins are discussing trading for a new starting 3B but that’s no fault of Brian Buscher who has been outstanding since coming to the Twins this season. He is hitting .313 with 13 runs scored, 1 homer and 17 RBIs which is impressive when you consider that he has only batted 83 times this season. He deserves to prove whether he can handle the job or not but that decision won’t be made by him or his play.