Ref continues making OF case in return

HOUSTON -- Rob Refsnyder found himself referring to his recent Triple-A rehab assignment as a "lower-pressure situation" on Friday -- which must have felt like quite the relief for the journeyman who has spent most of his career bouncing between the Majors and Minors.

And why not? For once, he could feel quite secure in the knowledge that there would be a job waiting for him with the Twins at the end of it, considering his .321/.371/.500 slash line through his first 18 games and his ability to play center field.

And once he returned to the Majors on Thursday, he built up a little bit more of that job security with a single, double and a pair of walks, picking up right where he left off in June before a severe strain to his left hamstring sidelined him for nearly two months.

"You always get up here and you get nervous again," Refsnyder said. "It's like, 'Ah, man. I hope I have a good game.' I went [hitless] against [Framber Valdez] last time I faced him, so it's nice that first hit dropped. I felt like I could just relax and just play baseball."

With Gilberto Celestino and Nick Gordon no longer in the center-field mix, the position appears to be Refsnyder's to lose until Byron Buxton gets healthy in the coming weeks, considering he started in center against the left-handed Valdez on Thursday and was again penciled in at the position against right-hander Zack Greinke on Friday.

Refsnyder appears to have already leapfrogged close friend Jake Cave in the Twins' outfield pecking order with the hot start to his Twins career. Even upon Buxton's eventual return, there might still be a spot for Refsnyder on the roster due to his ability to play all three outfield positions and the newfound life in his bat.

Though Refsnyder is 30 and playing for his fifth MLB team while carrying a career .232/.317/.327 slash line before this explosion in a small sample size in 2021, he's hoping that the wholesale mechanical adjustments he made to his swing and approach before the season with Triple-A hitting coach Matt Borgschulte has heralded a new phase of his career.

And it's that ability to carry adjustments onto the field that could pave a way for Refsnyder to play himself into the Twins' plans with continued performance -- even if he isn't necessarily a young player or prospect.

"When you continue to make adjustments as a player and prove that you can do things at the Major League level, it doesn't matter how old you are if you're a productive player," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "And we think Ref absolutely has the ability to continue to be a productive player going forward."

Plenty can change between now and Buxton's return -- and in this sport, things always do change -- but if this current situation carries forward, the Twins might find themselves choosing between Cave and Refsnyder once Buxton gets healthy.

Defensively, Cave and Refsnyder offer similar skillsets -- both can capably play all three outfield positions, and Baldelli indicated that the Twins aren't really considering Refsnyder as an infielder depsite his experience on the dirt. Surgical procedures for both Alex Kirilloff and Kyle Garlick have also created some opportunity -- and it doesn't hurt that Cave has a remaining Minor League option.

Refsnyder is plenty used to that uncertainty at this point in his career -- and he's just grateful for the stability that this season has already afforded him, regardless of whatever comes next.

"Obviously, if Buck was here and healthy, we'd be playing him," Refsnyder said. "I guess all I can control is I keep transforming myself as a hitter. It's been fun seeing the hard work kind of carry over into the games and things like that. I've never really had this kind of success."

Winder shut down for 2-3 weeks

The Twins will sideline top pitching prospect Josh Winder for 2-3 weeks at Triple-A St. Paul as a precaution for right shoulder fatigue. Winder, the No. 14 prospect in the organization, took huge strides during the canceled 2020 Minor League season to pitch himself into the Twins' immediate plans, and he carried that into this season with a 2.63 ERA in 14 starts across Double-A and Triple-A.

Considering Winder didn't throw any competitive innings in 2020, the Twins have every reason to play things safe with the 24-year-old, who should factor into the club's rotation next season -- if not late this year.

The right-hander, who represented the Twins at the 2021 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, has a 4.67 ERA and 0.98 WHIP with 15 strikeouts and three walks in 17 1/3 innings for the Triple-A Saints.