The Twins have shut down 30-year old lefty swinging 1B Justin Morneau for the rest of the season. He had surgery today to remove a cyst from his left knee and a bone spur in his right foot. Morneau played in 69 games for the Twins this year and he was 60 for 264 (.227 avg, .618 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 4 homers and 30 RBIs. He has now played in 1,017 games in his first 9 years with the Twins and he was 1,055 for 3,749 (.281 avg, .851 OPS) with 550 runs scored, 185 homers, 709 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. The Twins hope that Morneau will be ready to rock in 2012 as he has suffered two injury ravaged years in a row now.

The Twins have shut down 29-year old lefty swinging OF/DH Jason Kubel is likely out the rest of the season due to a foot injury. Kubel played in 98 games for the Twins this year and he was 100 for 364 (.275 avg, .770 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 12 homers, 58 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 752 games in his first seven years with the Twins and he is 694 for 2,557 (.271 avg, .794 OPS) with 334 runs scored, 104 homers, 429 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.

The Twins have shut down 28-year old lefty swinging catcher Joe Mauer for the rest of the 2011 season due to pneumonia. Mauer signed a big 8-year, $184 million dollar deal last winter and his first year under his new contract was very disappointing from the Twins’ point of view. Mauer played in only 82 games for the Twins this year and he was 85 for 296 (.287 avg, .729 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 3 homers and 30 RBIs. He has now played in 918 games in his first 8 years with the Twins and he is 1,096 of 3,388 (.323 avg, .874 OPS) with 545 runs scored, 84 homers, 502 RBIs and 35 stolen bases. With the Twins shutting down Mauer for the season, it means that 28-year old righty swinging Drew Butera is going to be the starting catcher the last two weeks of the year. He has played in 82 games for the Twins this year and he is 34 for 216 (.157 avg, .421 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 2 homers and 19 RBIs. Butera is probably the worst hitter of any position player in the majors right now, so don’t expect any heroics from his bat the last two weeks of the 2011 season.

The Twins have placed 27-year old lefty starting pitcher Francisco Liriano on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left shoulder. Liriano has pitched in 24 games (all starts) for the Twins this year and he is 9-9 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. He has only given up 121 hits in his first 132 innings this year but he has walked 73 batters which has gotten him into a lot of trouble. The Twins have called up 24-year old lefty starting pitcher Scott Diamond to replace Liriano in the starting rotation. Diamond pitched in 1 game (1 start) earlier this year for the Twins and he was 0-1 with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He has also pitched in 23 games (all starts) in AAA-ball for the Twins this year and he is 4-14 with a 5.56 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP.

The Twins have placed 29-year old righty starting pitcher Nick Blackburn on the 15-day disabled list due to a right forearm strain. Blackburn has pitched in 26 games (all starts) for the Twins so far this year and he is 7-10 with a 4.49 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. He will be replaced in the starting rotation by righty Anthony Swarzak. Swarzak has pitched in 20 games (5 starts) for the Twins so far this year and he is 3-3 with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. This could be a blessing in disguise for the Twins as Swarzak will likely be an improvement on Blackburn in the rotation going forward.