Article: And Then There Were Two: Joe Benson Optioned To Rochester

[John Bonnes]

Download attachment: Benson_Joe_Original.jpg The Minnesota Twins made three roster moves today, the most significant of which was optioning outfielder Joe Benson to AAA-Rochester.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Benson had been nominally competing for the Twins centerfield spot with Aaron Hicks and Darin Mastroianni this spring. In addition, left-handed pitcher Pedro Hernandez was also optioned to Rochester and right-handed reliever Luis Perdomo was reassigned to minor league camp.

 

Benson was always the longest of shots to win the center field job. Last year he struggled in AAA, was demoted to AA and finished the year with microfracture knee surgery. He also started slowly this spring, though he showed his potential later with a home run and some extra-base hits. The 25-year-old will try to regain his prospect status in Rochester this year.

 

The Twins received Pedro Hernandez (along with infielder Eduardo Escobar) last year when they traded away Francisco Liriano at the trade deadline. The 23-year-old posted a 5.19 ERA in his four starts at Rochester last year before ending the season on the DL with a strained rotator cuff. Luis Perdomo threw 17 innings for the Twins last year, posting a 3.18 ERA, but he struggled with his control and was dropped from the 40-man roster this offseason.

 

In addition, the Twins made some minor league cuts as well.

 

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