Immediately after Tsuyoshi Nishioka suffered a broken fibula in Thursday afternoon's game against the Yankees, the Minnesota Twins summoned infielder Luke Hughes from Triple-A Rochester. Today, manager Ron Gardenhire confirmed that Hughes, and not utility infielder Matt Tolbert, will be the club's primary second baseman. From Phil Mackey (via ESPN1500.com):
Twins’ Luke Hughes Set To Replace Nishioka At Second Base
As for an every-day second baseman, Gardenhire said his preference is to use Hughes over Matt Tolbert.
“My preference is if Luke is going to be up here, I’m going to play him. I think Matty Tolbert, we kept him for a reason, and that’s to come off the bench and do all those little things, go all over the field. Luke is more of a starter, so we’re going to run him out there.”
At 25, Hughes is nobody’s idea of a top prospect, even though he did hit a home run in his first major-league at bat last April. Hughes has been primarily a third baseman in the minors, and it’s quite possible that he will hit like a second baseman but won’t field like one.
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