Twins send slumping fan favorite Willians Astudillo down to minors

DETROIT – Rosters full of relief pitchers long ago made it impossible for most teams to carry three catchers. Willians Astudillo managed to fend off that reality for more than two months.

But after Friday's 6-3 victory over the Tigers, with a seven-man bullpen beginning to show signs of wear, the Twins finally decided that they needed the slump-ridden Astudillo's roster spot. The popular catcher, who earlier in the evening struck out twice for the first time in his career, was informed he is being sent down to Class AAA Rochester.

Another player will join the Twins on Saturday, and all indications are that it will be an eighth reliever for the bullpen.

The 27-year-old Astudillo, whose unique ability to play nearly any position, and also to avoid strikeouts and walks — Friday's two whiffs gave him eight for his career, in 205 at-bats — made him a valuable part of the bench, had slumped after returning from a strained left hamstring in mid-May.

The Venezuelan fan favorite, nicknamed "La Tortuga" for his hustling exploits on the bases, batted just .190 (12-for-63) in 17 games since being activated May 12. He went 0-for-4 Friday, when he played third base.

Max Kepler, who propelled the Twins to victory in Cleveland on Thursday by smashing three home runs in a game for the second time in his career, found himself in a surprising spot a day later: on the bench.

"Yeah, you kind of laugh to yourself and go, 'This guy just went deep three times!' " manager Rocco Baldelli said

So when the Twins projected a week ago that Matthew Boyd — a lefthander who has limited Kepler to one hit in 14 career at-bats — would be starting Friday, Baldelli and his staff chose to sit the regular right fielder for the eighth time this season — although Kepler did enter the game as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning.

"It's preplanned. Today was the day we were going to give Max [off], get him off his feet," Baldelli said.

You might think a mid-June series in Detroit would bring back unhappy memories for Miguel Sano. That's not the case, he says.

Next Friday is exactly one year since the day that Sano, frustrated by a slow recovery from offseason leg surgery and his .203 average at the plate, was told in Comerica Park's visitors clubhouse that he was being sent to Fort Myers, Fla., to get his body and his game healthy again.

That Sano is back and thriving again, even after missing six weeks of the season because of a different injury, is due to that decision last June, he said.

Coincidentally, he was out of the lineup both Thursday and Friday, but that had more to do with giving other players time. Sano is batting .250 in his first 15 games back, had hit six doubles and five home runs, and while his strikeout rate remains high (34.9%), his walk rate (13.6%) is higher than it's been since his rookie year of 2015, too.

"I'm not a superhero, but I try to do the best I can," Sano said. "I only have [15] games played. I don't have spring training. And I'm back and trying to fit in the best I can."

• Lefthander Devin Smeltzer also was sent back to Rochester, enabling the Twins to activate Michael Pineda from the injured list. Smeltzer was impressive in his two-start big-league cameo, giving up only eight hits (albeit four of them home runs) in 12⅓ innings.