Twins Place Miguel Sano On DL, Designate Dietrich Enns

The Twins have announced a series of roster moves today. Star third baseman Miguel Sano is heading to the 10-day DL with a hamstring strain, with infielder Gregorio Petit replacing him on the active roster after his contract was selected.

To create a 40-man opening, the Minnesota organization has designated southpaw Dietrich Enns for assignment. The club also announced that previously DFA’ed righty Tyler Kinley, a Rule 5 pick, has been returned to the Marlins.

The Twins had hoped to avoid a DL stint for Sano. After all, the last thing the team needs is another key player out of action. But his injury evidently did not improve enough to forestall the placement.

Petit, 33, is obviously not going to make up for the loss of Sano’s power bat in the lineup. The veteran utilityman has compiled only a .249/.291/.353 lifetime slash in 426 MLB plate appearances. But he’ll help round out the roster for at least a few days’ time.

As for Enns, who is nearing his 27th birthday with just four MLB frames under his belt, it seems the Twins were not optimistic that he’d be a notable contributor in the near term. Acquired from the Yankees in last summer’s Jaime Garcia deal, Enns had worked to a 4.50 ERA with as many strikeouts as walks (11 each) in his twenty Triple-A frames this year. He has previously produced outstanding results in the minors, though evidently teams do not quite anticipate him carrying that effectiveness into the majors.