Durbin, Kubel will be among Twins call-ups

Twins officials will huddle this week to discuss September call-ups.

Twins General Manager Terry Ryan will travel to Class AAA Rochester for a final evaluation of candidates before the selections are made.

"Terry has had his conversations with [Twins manager] Ron Gardenhire and we'll continue to talk about which players we should add," said Jim Rantz, the Twins' director of minor leagues.

Any player on the 40-man roster is eligible to be called up. Expect righthander J.D. Durbin, 2-1 with a 4.91 ERA in four starts after being promoted to Rochester, and outfielder Jason Kubel, who is leading the International League with a .354 batting average, to be locks for promotions. Durbin possibly could be called up before then to address starting pitching depth in the majors. Outfielders Mike Ryan and Michael Restovich, both with some major league experience, could be promoted as well.

Shortstop Jason Bartlett, who debuted earlier this month, could be recalled. And third base prospect Terry Tiffee, batting .304 with 12 homers at Rochester, could debut. Starting pitchers such as righthanders Seth Greisinger (4-4, 5.43) and Matt Guerrier (5-8, 3.14) are candidates.

If the Twins weren't competing, it would be easy to call up all the prospects who have a good chance of making the team next spring. But that won't be the case during a pennant race.

"We would like to reward some of those guys [for good seasons] but we need guys who can help us win games," Rantz said.

September call-ups are one thing, but the club has added minor leaguers before the Aug. 31 deadline to secure playoff rosters. For example, Michael Cuddyer was called up last Aug. 31 so he could be eligible for the postseason. That should happen to someone else this season.

The Aug. 31 deadline for postseason eligibility does have a loophole. With three players on the disabled list (Nick Punto, Joe Mays and Joe Mauer) the Twins have three roster spots that don't have to be settled on until later.

Remember Boof?

"He's making more quality pitches, keeping the ball down in the strike zone and keeping the ball in the park," Rantz said. "He was giving up a lot of home runs early."

Perkins sharp at Quad City