Twins to Josh Willingham activate from DL on Monday
Josh Willingham looks set to return to the Minnesota Twins roster, after recovering from his wrist injury which sent him to the DL. Willingham may have been called up prior to the series in San Francisco, however, the Twins were reluctant to send him on a plane to San Francisco.
More from Minnesota Twins
- MLB standings ordered by hard hit rate: Struggling Cardinals still cracking bats
- 3 teams that still wouldn’t be World Series contenders after trading for Shohei Ohtani
- Juan Soto rumors: 5 monstrous trade packages to land the Padres star
- Immaculate Grid baseball: Answers, connections, hints for Grid 108 (July 19)
- MLB standings ordered by FanGraphs postseason chances: Braves take control
Twins manager, Rob Gardenhire, spoke to Twin Cities about Willingham, and his recent minor league rehab stint.
"“His wrist is feeling good,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “He actually put some nice swings out there. His numbers aren’t great. Yes, I’d like to see him get some hits, but he’s feeling great and his timing, he basically said he’s seeing it and getting the bat head to the ball better than he has. That’s a good thing.”"
Whilst his minor league numbers weren’t great – batting .150 prior to Friday – in what could be his last minor league game, Willingham went 2-2 with a double and a homerun, for Triple-A Rochester.
MORE: Mauer has advice for Posey | Rays win with another walk off | Cards looking to trade for pitching?
The Twins, who are five and a half game back on the Detroit Tigers with an even 23-23 record, will warmly welcome Willingham’s return.Willingham had only played in six games for the Twins, and was batting .297 with one run batted in. However, last season he was an integral part of their lineup.
Although he did battle injuries, and hit a mere .208, he managed 14 home runs and knocked in 48 runners. The Twins will hope Willingham can return to his form of 2012, when, in Minnesota, he hit .260 with 35 home runs and batted in 110 runs. The Twins offense which started off so hot, has cooled down a little, and will hope Willingham can get them back on track.