Stauffer DFA'd. Tonkin Recalled. We Don't Know What We Don't Know

The Twins announced they had designated Stauffer for assignment after Wednesday night's loss to the Royals. The move was inevitable due to his struggles in the bullpen throughout the year.

Stauffer was rocked in his first spring training outing and never really regained any credibility or velocity. His $2.2M signing (plus quite a bit more in incentives) was logical enough if one looked at his numbers as a reliever: 57K in 56.1 IP with 19 BB. Critics might point out that his numbers were also considerably better in spacious Petco Park, and that's true. But Target Field can hide some flaws, too, and a comparison to Glen Perkins did not seem outlandish at the time of his signing.

Until, of course, his velocity and strikeout numbers fell off a cliff. For the Twins this year, that 1:1 ratio for strikeouts and innings pitched fell to 6:15 - with more walks than strikeouts. That suggests something was wrong. He acquiesced to a month on the disabled list, but came back to the majors after having almost no success in AAA-Rochester, despite having additional time he could spend in AAA.

His return went about as well as one would think of a pitcher who has shown zero credibility as a reliever. He got a single out in his first outing. Was shelled in his second. His next three he gave up hits in short outings, but nothing disastrous. And then, after not pitching for three days AND having an off-day the next day, he was replaced with (a far more deserving) Michael Tonkin.

So what happened? Your guess is as good as mine. It's not like the Twins bullpen is in IMMEDIATE need of help; the whole bullpen other than mop-up guy JR Graham had Wednesday night off and Thursday is an off-day. On Friday, most of the bullpen should be fresh.

And Stauffer should be at the top of that fresh list. The Twins have used Stauffer in extremely low leverage situations all year, put him on the disabled list for a very dubious injury, recalled him long before they needed to and then put him back into low-leverage situations the rest of the year.

Instead, the Twins are moving to Tonkin. They have been yo-yo-ing reliever Michael Tonkin between AAA and the majors all season, despite his superior performances.

So if you're looking for good news, you have it. If you're looking for a good explanation, I'm afraid I'm coming up short. The wondering is going to need to continue.