Injury Report: Mastroianni AND Wait...Who's This? Oswaldo Arcia (belated)

The Twins have placed Darin Mastroianni on the 15-day disabled list with a stress reaction to his left ankle.

A stress reaction is an injury to the bone, but no fracture is seen on the imaging -- kind of like a "pre- stress fracture," I guess. It's usually happens with runners, often caused by the force of pounding of the feet on the ground and compounded by improper shoes. It can also be caused by bone deficiencies like osteoporosis.

He's been nursing a sprained ankle and bone bruise since the last week of Spring Training. It's not clear if this is related to that, but I am willing to bet it is.

And recovery doesn't sound like it's going to be a walk in the park. He needs a boot. And he needs to be non-ambulatory for a while. In fact, according to the StarTribune's Phil Miller:

Mastroianni's injury worse than Twins thought, he'll be out 3 weeks. Foot in a boot for 10-14 days. Arcia should get a long look up here.
— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) April 17, 2013

The Twins will recall Oswaldo Arcia to replace Mastro's roster spot.

Sources:
http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_23038836/minnesota-twins-drop-aaron-hicks-lineup-scratch-darin
http://www.drpribut.com/sports/stress_fracture.html
http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/cme/conferences/pdfs/RAD-2012-PDFs/02_MON-Greenspan.pdf

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Note: I should have introduced you to Oswaldo Arcia before Monday, because that's when he got to play. I figured I could get to it on Tuesday, but he was sent right back down (he was up because Wilkin Ramirez was on paternity leave). But now that we'll get a good, long look at him, here he is.

Wait Now...Who's This?

Oswaldo Arcia

Outfielder
Bats lefty; throws righty
Almost 22 years old

What he looks like:

Source: Getty Images

Where did he come from:

Signed as a 16-year-old free agent.

A few things to get excited about:

• He's a highly-rated prospect
• He's young
• He has some power and is generally a good all-around hitter

A few things to temper your enthusiasm

• His strikeout and walk rates are something one would want for a pitcher, but he's a hitter
• He's not really a center fielder (in case you're thinking he could fill in for Aaron Hicks)
• He's still young

Injury Report: Cole DeVries and Wait Now...Who's This: Pedro Hernandez

The Twins have placed Cole DeVries on the 15-day Disabled List, retroactive to March 30, with a strained right forearm.

He noticed tightness during his final appearance in Spring Training. After resting it for a few days, he still felt tightness when throwing his breaking balls.

He and the Twins are taking a cautious approach; they don't want it to get worse. He's scheduled to have an MRI on Monday.

This is of concern to me because Nick Blackburn's woes started with forearm tightness. Here's hoping Cole's isn't as serious.

The Twins have recalled lefty pitcher Pedro Hernandez to replace DeVries on the roster.

In other transaction news: the Twins have activated pitcher Anthony Swarzak off the DL and optioned Tyler Robertson to AAA Rochester.

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Wait Now...Who's This?

Pedro Hernandez

Starting Pitcher
Right-handed
Almost 24 years old

What he looks like:

Source: StarTribune

Where did he come from:

Acquired in the Francisco Liriano trade last season. Made Twins debut on Sunday.

A few things to get excited about:

• He had an outstanding spring (not that that matters much)
• He's young
• He looked pretty sharp on Sunday

A few things to temper your enthusiasm

• He's probably going to give up too many hits
• He's probably not going to strike out very many batters
• He's still young

Wait Now...Who's This? Wilkin Ramirez

There are a few new faces on the Minnesota Twins roster. The season is starting soon, and I thought I'd introduce them to you. If you haven't had a chance to see any Spring Training games, you probably won't know who you're looking at when you're watching on Opening Day. Back in the day, the Twins had a "Get To Know 'Em" ad campaign, but I'm sure that phrase is all trademarked and stuff, and I'd get in a whole heap of trouble if I used it, and I've been pretty busy lately, and the last thing I need is a whole bunch of "cease and desist" emails and phone calls, even though my tiny little blog isn't likely to dilute their precious trademark or anything, but whatever, so I present to you...

Wait Now...Who's This?

Wilkin Ramirez

Outfielder and Pinch Hitter
Right-handed
27 years old

What he looks like:

Source: Getty Images

Where did he come from:

Signed as a minor league free agent after the 2011 season. Spent the 2012 season in the minors.

A few things to get excited about:

• He had an outstanding spring (not that that matters much)
• He has some pop in his bat
• He dominated AAA
• On Tuesday, according to Baseball Reference, he was baseball's 5 millionth player appearance
• He drove in a run on Wednesday

A few things to temper your enthusiasm

• He's going to strike out way more than he walks 
• He might strike out more than he gets hits
• He probably won't have a great batting average
• He's going to be stuck on the bench for most of the season