Twins Activate Kevin Slowey

It's been awhile but the Twins can finally welcome back Kevin Slowey to their bullpen. Before going to the DL, Slowey had easily been the Twins most effective reliever, albeit in an extremely abbreviated sample. Since being sent on a rehab stint, the team had been trying to stretch him out in order to potential take Francisco Liriano's place in the rotation. Of course, we all know how Liriano has delayed those plans.

Should Liriano falter again of course, that could put Slowey right back on track to rejoin the rotation. In the meantime, the team will utilize him out of the bullpen where he's been solid. In order to make room for Slowey, the team has optioned waiver pickup Dusty Hughes to AAA.

Rays Claim Rob Delaney and Thoughts on Stats vs Scouting

A few days ago when the Twins announced they had claimed lefty Dusty Hughes from the Royals, I was surprised to see they had chosen to designate reliever Rob Delaney for assignment to make room for Hughes.

Twins Acquire Dusty Hughes Off Waivers From Royals

It was just five days ago that I wrote about the Royals designating Dusty Hughes for assignment. At the time I said that I expected Hughes to accept the assignment given the Royals. Kansas City was a good fit for Hughes, a pitcher who is essentially a replacement-level reliever because their bullpen is bad enough that he'd almost certainly get another chance at some point in 2011.

Royals Designate Dusty Hughes For Assignment

In order to clear room on the 40-man roster, the Royals have designated left handed reliever Dusty Hughes for assignment. Hughes has been decent in his brief tenure in the Majors. In parts of two seasons he's totaled 70.1 innings with a 4.09 ERA though his 4.28 FIP and certainly his 5.18 xFIP suggest he's been at least a little on the lucky side.  Hughes hasn't demonstrated a clear platoon advantage against lefties in his Major League career and therefor is unlikely to find a spot with another team as a LOOGY.

It's not a sure thing, but my guess would be that Hughes will end up accepting the assignment and pitch at AAA until an opening comes about in 2011. I had him as a member of the Royals opening day bullpen and I'm not 100% certain who will be replacing him yet. We'll let that sort itself out as we get closer to opening day.