The Twins offered Adam Everett an outright assignment to Class AAA Rochester on Tuesday, but then, upon learning that Alexi Casilla's right thumb would put him on the disabled list, activated Everett.
Earlier in the afternoon, manager Ron Gardenhire mistakenly told reporters that Minnesota had placed Everett on waivers, saying that he met with Everett and told him that there wasn't a place for him on the big-league roster. "He's done his rehab, his 20 days are over, now you've got to make a decision," Gardenhire said before Tuesday's game. "I just basically told him, I don't have a spot for you now. I'm not going to send any of these players out at the moment."
That changed quickly. An X-ray on Casilla's thumb showed no break, but an MRI showed a tear in the same ligament that forced Matt Tolbert into surgery earlier this season, Gardenhire said.
Casilla suffered the injury while diving into second base during Monday's game. He also tore his thumbnail on the play but stayed in for the remainder of the game. He will see a hand specialist Wednesday to determine the severity of the tear.
Minnesota signed Everett in the offseason, intrigued by his defense, not his bat, but the shoulder injury that sent him to the disabled list twice plagued him for much of the season, limiting him to a rather unstable glove and decidedly weak throwing arm.
Everett is in the Twin Cities and will be in uniform for Wednesday's game against Chicago. Gardenhire said he would move Nick Punto to second base in Casilla's absence, a DL trip that could prove quite costly to Minnesota's offense.
TWINS 6, WHITE SOX 5: Minnesota scored five runs in the fifth inning, erasing a four-run Chicago lead, as the Twins figured out rookie Clayton Richard the second and third times they faced him. With the win, Minnesota moved within a half-game of first-place Chicago. The Twins have taken the first two games of the four-game series.
