Twins set rotation to give Santana extra rest

KANSAS CITY -- With the decision to push back their starters and keep them inline after Saturday's rainout, the Twins won't activate left-hander Héctor Santiago from the bereavement list until his scheduled start against the A's on Wednesday, while right-hander Ervin Santana will have extra rest for his start on Tuesday.
Santiago, who was placed on the bereavement list on Friday after the death of his grandmother, will return to Minnesota on Sunday night and will throw a light bullpen at Target Field on Monday to get ready for Wednesday's start. It'll allow the Twins to keep lefty Buddy Boshers as an extra reliever until Santiago is activated on Wednesday.
When the Twins were postponed on April 19, manager Paul Molitor decided to skip rookie left-hander Adalberto Mejía to keep Santana on regular rest, but Molitor this time chose to start Phil Hughes on Sunday to give Santana an extra two days of rest with Monday's off-day. Santana has thrown at least 100 pitches in each of his last three outings, which went into the decision.
"You look at how Phil's been throwing, which we've been happy with, and the fact that Ervin has been over 100 pitches consecutively," Molitor said. "The two days work out pretty well for him to get a blow. There are no guarantees with how it'll work out, but you try to do what makes sense for the short term and long term."
With Santana slated to start on Tuesday, he finishes April by going 4-0 with a 0.77 ERA in five starts, making him a strong candidate for American League Pitcher of the Month. As a 13-year veteran, he said he has no trouble making an adjustment to start on long rest.
"I'm just doing my normal routine," Santana said. "I'm playing long toss and catch today and tomorrow on the day off, I'll play some catch and do some sprints. I just have to get ready mentally for the next game. It's not really a challenge."
Worth noting
• Infielder Ehire Adrianza, on the 10-day disabled list since March 30 with a right oblique strain, continues to play in the outfield as part of his rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester to increase his versatility. He's made three appearances in left field, and is hitting .350 (7-for-20) in five games.
• Outfield prospect Zack Granite, the club's reigning Minor League Player of the Year, was reinstated from the Minor League disabled list and transferred to Class A Advanced Fort Myers to rehab after starting the season on the DL with a left oblique strain. Granite is ranked as the club's No. 22 prospect by MLBPipeline.com.