Twins place slugging Cruz on IL with wrist injury
The Minnesota Twins placed designated hitter Nelson Cruz on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 14, with a strained left wrist.
Cruz left Sunday's loss to the Detroit Tigers due to wrist soreness and hasn't played since. He said he'd been previously dealing with the injury, but felt more pain after a swinging strike in Sunday's game, according to Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com.
Initially, Cruz thought he'd avoid a stint on the IL after an MRI came back negative, according to Betsy Helfand of The St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Cruz, who signed a one-year, $14.3-million contract in January, has been a pillar of health in recent years, playing in no fewer than 144 games in each of the last five seasons. Prior to this injury, he was batting .270/.354/.508 with seven home runs, nine doubles, and 22 RBIs in 35 games.
The team recalled infielder Luis Arraez from Triple-A, the Twins' No. 17-ranked prospect, to take Cruz's place. Arraez is set to make his major-league debut.
The Twins signed the 22-year-old as an international free agent out of Venezuela in 2013. He only recently received the promotion to Triple-A, appearing in three games before getting the call to Minnesota.
Arraez lacks power, but has so far shown an ability to make consistent contact. Between Double-A and Triple-A, he's hitting .322/.413/.394 with no home runs and only 15 strikeouts in 41 games.