Tommy

Watkins

This news adds another two-to-four weeks to his estimated recovery time, which, for all intents and purposes, ends his 2007 season. It’s too bad, because he was hitting very well when he was first recalled.

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.

The Twins are really digging deep now after losing Brian Buscher. The 27-year-old Watkins had a 753 OPS in Triple-A and the tools to match. This may be his one chance to play in the majors. He almost makes Nick Punto look like an attractive option at third base.

This won’t help his chances of supplanting Luis Rodriguez as the totally useless 25th man on next year’s roster. Or maybe it will. Watkins was 10-for-28 since being called up, and he had nowhere to go but down.

It’s possible Watkins will go on the DL to make room for Brian Buscher on Thursday.