Josh

Rabe

Rabe has hit homers in each of his last three starts. Expectations were that he’d be sent back to the minors when Torii Hunter returned, but now he seems poised to stick around and earn more at-bats. Maybe he has a little value in AL-only leagues.

Rabe was 14-for-45 with three homers in five weeks with the Twins, but since he struggled some on defense, the Twins preferred Jason Tyner. Rabe will be back next month.

With Luis Rodriguez also gone, the Twins already seem to be getting a bit more aggressive about getting guys off the 40-man roster that simply don’t need to be there. Ford, 31, has been a poor reserve for 2 1/2 years now, and he was arbitration eligible again after making $985,000 last year. He’s not worthy of more than a minor league deal at this point.

Rabe is out for the season after surgery to repair a torn labrum.

Rabe will be ready for spring training, but he’s likely to be off the Twins’ 40-man roster by that time.

Sadly, the 27-year-old Rabe was the best alternative the Twins had at Triple-A. After a fast start, he had faded to .297/.364/.399 with six steals in 10 attempts. However, there’s no one on Rochester’s roster with even an 800 OPS. Rabe probably won’t be worth owning in AL-only leagues, though with as few outfielders as the Twins have, the situation needs to be watched closely.

Rabe is 8-for-17 since being called up on July 16. With the way both he and Jason Tyner have performed, it seems likely that the Twins will demote either Terry Tiffee or Luis Rodriguez to make room for Torii Hunter on Monday. Because Hunter is coming back, Rabe probably isn’t worth picking up in AL-only leagues.

Rabe was 14-for-45 with three homers before being sent down Aug. 24. He’s another option in left field for the Twins, but because he’s a weaker defender than the alternatives, he probably won’t get a lot of playing time.

Rabe was probably going to be sent down to make room for Lew Ford anyway. He was 6-for-31 with no extra-base hits or walks this season.

This means the Twins will carry a third catcher and offensive zero in Chris Heintz. Heintz, Luis Rodiguez, Jason Tyner, Mike Redmond and Jeff Cirillo might not be the worse bench in baseball, but it will certainly be the least powerful.