Parmelee Promoted

File this one under “didn’t see that coming”. The Twins have announced the promotion of 1B Chris Parmelee to the major league roster. In a corresponding move, the team sent down Cole De Vries.

Parmelee was optioned to AAA last month after suffering a long slump at the plate. During his 15 games with the Red Wings, Parmelee hit .375 with 4 home runs and 4 doubles. Parmelee also cut down on his strikeouts, tallying only 8 during his stay in Rochester.

It was suspected that the Twins sent Parmelee down simply to build his confidence and get him some regular at bats. It’s safe to say that happened when you look at his AAA numbers. Parmelee fills in a large whole in the Twins lineup – evidenced last night by Trevor Plouffe playing 1B.

This is Parmelee’s third stint with the Twins and his second time on the 25 man roster this season. If he can continue to swing the bat with the same authority in the majors as he was in AAA, he’s likely to stay with the club for the remainder of the year.

If Parmelee can come up and play at a consistent level, it may make the Twins decision regarding Justin Morneau easier when the trade deadline rolls around. If they’re sure they have their next 1B on the roster, Morneau becomes an expendable piece.

It’s no secret that I wasn’t the biggest fan of Cole De Vries. He was absolutely maddening to watch. He’d get ahead in the count and then nibble around the edges until the count was full. He didn’t have electric stuff – but it seemed like it would have been good enough if he simply attacked the zone a little more often.

That being said, De Vries did exactly what the team asked him to do; he stepped in and gave 3 solid starts while the starters were injured or otherwise worthless (Liriano).

In all fairness, this call up was De Vreis’ first time at the major league level – for a first appearance, this wasn’t too bad of a showing.

With De Vries sent down, Jeff Manship will likely step in to his starting spot on Sunday against the Cubs. Manship looked good in one inning of work last night and has the endurance to be a starter (he was starting in AAA).