Notes: Arraez returns; JD, Buxton day to day

MINNEAPOLIS -- The good news is that every member of the Twins' starting lineup is now on the active roster -- on paper, at least.

The bad news is that it's not quite that simple, as Josh Donaldson (right calf cramp) and Byron Buxton (head contusion) remained out of Saturday's lineup with the lingering effects of minor injuries sustained in Friday night's loss to the Reds, even as Luis Arraez was activated from the 10-day injured list to finally fill up the Twins' offense.

Arraez played second base and batted second in Saturday's 7-3 win over the Reds, recording a four-hit game with three doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored, after missing 13 games with left knee tendinitis and a sprained left ankle. In other encouraging news, Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said Saturday that Donaldson reported feeling better after an early departure from Friday's game and that the club is optimistic Buxton will be in the lineup for the Wild Card Series despite showing mild concussion symptoms.

"We’re just going to continue to monitor them and think that with added time, both will improve. But we’re just going to wait and see," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "We’re going to have to wait this thing out and literally treat it day to day."

There's extra caution in both cases due to the players' injury history. But all things considered, it could have been much worse.

Though it appears unlikely that the Twins will field their full first-choice lineup before the end of the regular season, the lack of any new IL moves appears to indicate cautious optimism with both players. Minnesota hasn’t fielded its first-choice starting lineup since July 30.

Still, Arraez's return is a good start. The 23-year-old tested his ankle and knee with drills on the field before Saturday’s game and cleared every medical hurdle he needed to be activated. Baldelli indicated that there's still some evaluation to be done, so the Twins will keep a close eye on Arraez to see how he gets through the next two days.

Though Arraez had a slow start to the season, he hit .358/.382/.434 in his last 15 games before going on the IL and hit safely in 13 of those games. Arraez's bat is important enough to the Twins that they allowed him to play while clearly hobbled in last year's American League Division Series.

They hope he'll be slightly more healthy this time around.

"Luis is another guy with a really pretty awesome skillset," Baldelli said. "He does some things that are unique, that are very difficult to really defend against or pitch against when he’s at the plate. So yeah, he is an important piece. We want to get him out there."

The Twins also recalled Devin Smeltzer and optioned Edwar Colina and LaMonte Wade Jr. off the active roster in corresponding moves.

Twins-Reds series a Bell family affair
Twins bench coach Mike Bell knows that his parents and sister were likely rooting hard against him during Minnesota's 7-2 loss to the Reds on Friday night. It's fine. He understands.

He can't help it that his father, Buddy, is a vice president and senior advisor to the general manager for the Reds. Or that his sister, Traci, is a diehard Reds fan. And, well, his brother, David, is the manager of the Reds. He's rather outnumbered there.

Still, the chance for Mike Bell to reunite with his brother on the field -- especially in this difficult season -- isn't something that he takes lightly, even if the rest of his family is eagerly cheering for his defeat.

"I'd have preferred if it had been the first series of the year and not the last series when it's really important games for both clubs," Mike Bell said. "We'll enjoy it. Getting to be on the same Major League field as my brother, not a lot of people can say they've done that before. I know I'll cherish it."

Now that the serious business is out of the way for Cincinnati -- the Reds' win Friday clinched their first playoff berth since 2013 -- Mike Bell will hope that this on-field meeting with David will go better than the last time. Back in March 2001, Buddy managed the Rockies, Mike was on his father's Spring Training roster, and David was in the dugout for the opposing Mariners.

"I actually broke my arm tagging Carlos Guillen at first base," Mike Bell said. "I had to be taken off the field and ended up having surgery. I guess [David] got the better of it that day. That was a special day, too. The pain of a broken arm goes away, but I'll always have that memory of my dad managing me in the dugout, my brother being across the field."