Twins reinstate Trevor Plouffe, option Tsuyoshi Nishioka to Triple-A
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Tsuyoshi Nishioka's stay with the Minnesota Twins was a brief one.
The second baseman was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Monday and the Twins reinstated third baseman Trevor Plouffe from the disabled list. Plouffe had been on a rehab assignment at Rochester.
Plouffe, who missed 21 games, was placed on the disabled list in late July because of a bruised right thumb.
Nishioka, who was recalled on Aug. 5, appeared in three games for the Twins in their series at Cleveland. The 28-year-old went 0-for-12, was charged with three errors and had numerous other struggles in the field, including misplaying a ball in the sun in the third game of the series.
The Twins did not use Nishioka this weekend in being swept at home by Tampa Bay.
The question now becomes how much longer will the Twins keep Nishioka in the organization? The former Nippon Professional Baseball batting champion hit .226 for the Twins last season in 68 games in his first year with the team.
The Twins signed Nishioka to a three-year, $9.25 million contract before the 2011 season. The team has about $14.5 million invested in him. That includes the $5.3 million posting fee the Twins paid to the Chiba Lotte Marines to acquire the negotiating rights for Nishioka.
He was hitting only .245 at Rochester when he was recalled.
