Willingham, Arcia ready to rejoin Twins

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Minnesota lineup will likely feature a lot more pop Monday when the team opens its home series against the Rangers.

A night after Josh Willingham and Oswaldo Arcia helped power the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings to a 7-1 victory, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said both outfielders would likely be added to the active roster following the Giants series.

The skipper expects both players to come back with no limitations.

"Absolutely," Gardenhire said. "They're ready. We wouldn't bring them back if they weren't."

Willingham suffered a wrist injury when he was hit by a pitch April 6 and batted 5-for-24 (.208) in his first seven rehab games. Gardenhire said he's eager to see Willingham return to the fold after enduring knee problems that caused him to spend 35 games on the disabled list last season.

Arcia, who batted .251/.304/.430 with 14 homers and 43 RBIs in 97 contests for the Twins last year, has been with Rochester since returning from his right wrist injury May 14. The 23-year-old went 3-for-5 with a double, a homer and four RBIs on Friday while Willingham went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer and two RBIs.

"We're excited to have them healthy now and they're both swinging very well," Gardenhire said. "Willingham is seeing the ball and his timing is looking really good. It's nice to have those two. We'd like to see what it's like having some more pop back in the lineup. These two guys can both hit the ball a long ways."

With Willingham set to reclaim everyday duties in left field and Arcia primed to get back in the rotation, outfielders Chris Herrmann, Aaron Hicks, Eduardo Nunez and Chris Parmelee are all candidates to be sent back down to Triple-A.

"Once those two guys get back, it's going to definitely adjust some of the at-bats for some people up here," Gardenhire said. "These guys are going to be playing. We've got [roster] moves. We can do those things. Just means you've got some people that are being sent out that are doing OK here."