CLEVELAND – With injuries forcing roster moves, the Twins have had to adjust to carrying only two catchers on their roster in Mitch Garver and Willians Astudillo.
Astudillo started at catcher Saturday at Cleveland, with usual starter Garver taking a rest day.
"He came up as a catcher, so he knows how to read swings," Garver said of Astudillo. "He knows how to call a game. He's pretty aware of the kind of plan that we have going forward with all of our guys.
"Unfortunately for him, he hasn't had a lot of work with some of our guys, so every day seems like it kind of brings a new challenge just with the familiarity part of it."
"La Tortuga," as he's affectionately known, does have a lot to keep straight in his mind. Manager Rocco Baldelli has looked to keep him as a utility player who can slot in pretty much anywhere, even at pitcher in a blowout game.
"It does change the dynamics of some of the moves and some of the flexibility that we have," Baldelli said. "… You may not be able to use him the way that you would prefer, but that's fine. We can function well and still be able to put some good lineups out there the way we want in this setup."
Baldelli added that using Astudillo more at catcher means he's not on the bench to pinch-hit or for other situations. Baldelli also has to think about playing Astudillo in the field at all and risking injury, prevalent at the catcher position.
"There are days where he might be catching, and we have an issue in the field. A few of those issues he might be the only answer to. Therefore Garv might have to go back behind the plate," Baldelli said. "Some of the time when he's not the only answer, but you'd prefer to use him there, you're not going to be able to use him there. You're going to have to use someone else or try a different configuration."
