The Minnesota Twins banish Alexi Casilla to AAA
The Minnesota Twins have sent 24-year old switch hitting 2B Alexi Casilla to AAA because of a lack of hustle. Let’s be frank here, he was also playing horrible. Casilla played in 24 games for the Twins this season and he was 14 for 84 (.167 avg, .433 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 4 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Twins had thought that Casilla had turned the corner in his major league career but they were wrong. The Twins have called up 27-year old switch hitting infielder Matt Tolbert. Manager Ron Gardenhire said that sending Tolbert down to AAA as the last cut was the hardest thing he ever had to do in baseball. Tolbert will likely get some P.T. at 2B and the chance to prove himself in the majors. He played in 23 games in AAA this season and he was 25 for 96 (.260 avg, .699 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 1 homer, 9 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Tolbert played in 41 games as a rookie last season for the Twins and he was 32 for 113 (.283 avg, .711 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 6 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. 28-year old righty swinging infielder Brendan Harris will also likely see a bump in playing time with Casilla gone. Harris has played in 19 games for the Twins this season and he is 16 for 50 (.320 avg, .760 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs.