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.

The Twins have placed 27-year old lefty swinging outfielder Denard Span on the 15-day disabled list with migraine symptoms. Span has played in 65 games for the Twins so far this year and he is 70 for 266 (.263 avg, .673 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 2 homers, 15 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. The Twins will go with 23-year old lefty swinging Ben Revere in CF until Span is ready to return to action. Revere has played in 81 games for the Twins so far this year and he is 75 for 294 (.255 avg, .602 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 0 homers, 18 RBIs and 21 stolen bases.

The Twins have placed 27-year old switch-hitting 2B Alexi Casilla back on the 15-day disabled list as he re-injured his right hamstring in his first game back from the D.L. Casilla has played in 97 games for the Twins so far this year and he is 84 for 323 (.260 avg, .690 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 2 homers, 21 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. 25-year old righty swinging Trevor Plouffe and 29-year old switch-hitting Matt Tolbert will likely share 2B until Casilla is ready to return to action. Plouffe has played in 38 games for the Twins already this year and he is 23 for 114 (.202 avg, .664 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 5 homers, 16 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Tolbert has played in 67 games so far this year for the Twins and he is 35 for 169 (.207 avg, .534 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 0 homers, 11 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Twins need Casilla back as he is a better defensive player that either Tolbert or Plouffe….and he’s faster on the bases.