Chris

Heintz

All that fuss about Corky Miller earlier this season and now the Twins are bypassing him for Heintz, a 31-year-old making his major league debut. He’ll be the third catcher.

The Twins go back down to two catchers. Heintz was 5-for-25 with two RBI during his time on the roster.

The Twins wanted an extra catcher with Joe Mauer likely to be limited for a few days. Heintz will play behind Mike Redmond.

Jason Miller will head to Triple-A to open up room on the roster, leaving the Twins with three catchers for now. Chris Heintz should return to Triple-A eventually. It’s possible that Mauer will bat second, rather than his usual third, giving the Twins a stronger top of the order.

Heintz, 33, spent three years on Minnesota’s 40-man roster for no good reason. He hit .232/.267/.268 in 82 at-bats over the three seasons. When he was helping to fill in for Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond in September, the Twins went 0-10 in his appearances.

Heintz, 33, hit .232/.267/.268 in 82 at-bats for the Twins over the last three seasons. He could be considered the current favorite to act as Ramon Hernandez’s backup over Guillermo Quiroz, though there are still better options out there.

It’s possible Quiroz will function as Adam Loewen’s personal catcher, with Ramon Hernandez playing the rest of the time.

For the second September in a row, the 32-year-old Heintz is acting as the Twins’ third catcher. He hit .286/.323/.369 for Triple-A Rochester this season.

The Twins were basically playing with 24 man with Heintz on the roster. His lone appearance came in a blowout loss to the Yankees.

Heintz will back up Mike Redmond until Joe Mauer comes off the disabled list.