Hardy’s injury is being listed as a deep bone bruise and the irritation is being caused when the bruised bone rubs up against another bone during his batting swings.  Doctors are unsure of how long it will take Hardy’s wrist to fully heal and estimated that it can take a couple of weeks or up to a month.  Hardy will wear a brace to help the process along.

In Hardy’s absence, the Twins have opted to recall shortstop Trevor Plouffe from Triple-A.  Plouffe spent a short time with the Twins earlier this season playing three games in an interleague series against Hardy’s former team, the Milwaukee Brewers.

Plouffe went 3-for-13 during the series for a .231 batting average and picked up a double and three RBI.  Five of the 13 at bats, however, ended with a strike out, including the final at bat with the bases loaded in a 4-3 loss.

Hardy’s move to the disabled list is retroactive to June 7th.

It was originally feared that the damage was severe on his surgically repaired wrist, but an MRI and a CT scan revealed no new injuries. Hudson’s recovery process has been slow, though, and the Twins feel Hudson will need a little more time to fully recover.

Placing Hudson on the DL also opened a roster spot for Michael Cuddyer, who is coming back from after being placed on the family bereavement list.  This option also lets the Twins keep Danny Valencia and Matt Tolbert on the roster as JJ Hardy is still suffering from a sore wrist.

Neshek made six appearances with the club this season giving up two earned runs over 4.1 innings of work for a 4.15 ERA.  Both of his earned runs came off his last appearance where he walked and hit the only two batters he faced.  Neshek found himself on the disable list four days later as the Twins when with a short pitching staff to bring up Wilson Ramos.

Ron Gardenhire stated that Neshek would have to pitch his way back on to the 25-man roster.  “When there’s a need, he’ll get an opportunity – if he’s the one throwing the ball good,” said Gardenhire.

The club did not have another outfield option on the 40-man roster so the Twins decided to take a chance with Valencia.  With Orlando Hudson being listed as day-to-day with his wrist injury, this gives the Twins an option to put Valencia at third while moving Nick Punto to second base.  Valencia will also give the Twins another right handed bat in the left handed heavy lineup.

Valencia has played in 48 games while in Rochester this season with a .292 batting average with 15 doubles and 24 RBI. Surprisingly, though, Valencia has yet to hit a home run this year.  He will make his MLB debut Thursday night against the Seattle Mariners.

Casilla has been battling with the bone spur and has been taking anti-inflammatory medication but the progress has been slow.  Casilla will meet with doctors to go over options but may end up having arthroscopic surgery to remove the spur.  If they opt to go ahead with the surgery, Casilla will most likely be on the shelf for at least four weeks.  Casilla has said the bone spur is affecting his swing.

The recall for Matt Tolbert marks the second time he has been placed on the 25-man roster this season.  Tolbert was originally called up once JJ Hardy was placed on the DL on May 11th.  Tolbert played in three games during his short stint with the Twins going 1-for-4.  His sole hit came during the 6-3 victory over the Yankees, which he hit off of Sergio Mitre.

Due to Casilla’s injury, the Twins found themselves shorthanded in the infield once Orlando Hudson suffered a wrist injury on Sunday night.  The Twins put Michael Cuddyer at second base for the time being, allowing Brendan Harris to be in a utility role.  The addition of Tolbert will give the Twins a few more options while Hudson is recovering from his wrist injury.

Hardy bruised his wrist in the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers on May 4th.  Hardy scored the winning run off a wild pitch but injured his hand after sliding into third base with a one-out triple.  Since then, Hardy has changed the way he slides into bases to avoid having the injury happen again, including wearing a brace on the base paths.

Plouffe was brought up to start the weekend interleague series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Plouffe got off to a hot start in his Major League debut, picking up two hits, including a double, and knocking in two runs while scoring one.  He cooled off the next two games and recorded the final out of the 4-3 loss against the Brewers and going 3-for-13.  Overall, though, the Twins were impressed by the 23 year old.

Plouffe is a natural shortstop, which is an upgrade from the spot utility infield duties shared by Brendan Harris, Alexi Casilla or Matt Tolbert when he is on the active roster.  Plouffe was a first round draft pick by the Twins in 2004 and has had a hot streak this year in Rochester, hitting .303 in 38 games with 11 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 21 RBI.

Plouffe became the best option for the Twins as Luke Hughes is on the disabled list and Matt Tolbert is still in his 10-day holding period after being sent back down to Triple-A.  The move marks the first time Plouffe has been a part of the Major League roster and will wear number 24.

Jeff Manship was sent down to Triple-A to make room for Plouffe.  The Twins went short handed on the bench during their two game series against the Boston Red Sox to allow for 13 pitchers as their bullpen overused against the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays.  In his short stint with the team, Manship made one appearance out of the bullpen giving up one run off of one hit over 1.1 innings.

Manship was briefly called up when Nick Blackburn took an emergency family leave in April.  Manship started one game against the Cleveland Indians giving up two runs off five hits with six strike outs over six innings in an extra innings loss.  Manship has pitched in 12 games in his career posting a 5.26 ERA with 27 strike outs over 37.2 innings.

Matt Tolbert was called up to the roster after shortstop JJ Hardy was retroactivley placed on the disabled list.  Since being called up, Tolbert has gone 1-for-4 with one start at third base.  Tolbert also played second base for a few innings during Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays.  After spending time with the Twins over the past three seasons, Tolbert has a career batting average of .251 in 315 at-bats.

Ron Gardenhire and the Twins felt some time on the disabled list may be necessary and flew Matt Tolbert into the Twin Cities just in case.  With Hardy going on the DL, Tolbert has been activated on the roster and will be with the team as they start a two game series against the Chicago White Sox.  Tolbert has played in 27 games this season with Rochester where his batting average is .232 with one home run and five RBI.

Matt Tolbert has spent parts of the past two seasons with the Twins and has a career average of .251 in 112 games in the major league level.

The club considered moving Neshek to Triple-A to open a roster spot but the reliever said that he’d rather go on the DL instead as he has been pitching with an inflamed flexor tendon on the middle finger.  As of late, Neshek was used sparingly in the bullpen and didn’t fare well in his last outing, throwing eight pitches with only one strike and hitting a batter.  Neshek’s stint on the disabled list is retroactive to April 29th.

Ramos hasn’t been hitting so hot in Rochester, posting a .179 batting average in 16 games, but the lack of a backup catcher during Mauer’s injury prompted Gardenhire to make the move.  Ramos will be taking over the everyday catching duties with Drew Butera backing him up.  Ramos looked good during Spring Training and should fit well in the everyday catcher role with the team.  It has been said that Mauer may miss the entire three game home series against the Detroit Tigers.

In other moves, Nick Punto has been activated from the disabled list this past Saturday after spending time on it with a strain in his right hip.  His replacement, Luke Hughes, has been sent back down to Triple-A.  During his time with the club, Hughes went 2-for-7 in his time with the club and hit a home run in his first at bat.