Tristan

Gray

All are expected to become free agents. Banda had a 4.46 ERA in 39 relief appearances during the first three months of the season before undergoing season-ending surgery for a torn lat.

Gray gets squeezed off of the Twins’ active roster as they had to make room for the promotion of top prospect Kaelen Culpepper on Friday. The 30-year-old has hit .225/.267/.324 with four homers, 29 RBI and a pair of stolen bases in 188 plate appearances with the Twins this season. He’ll continue to function as extra infield depth at the Triple-A level.

Gray gets the nod to replace an injured Byron Buxton (hip) on Minnesota’s active roster. The versatile 30-year-old has hit .232/.271/.333 with four homers and two steals in 182 plate appearances over a career-high 63 games in the big leagues this season.

Gray was hitting .232/.271/.333 in 182 plate appearances for the Twins. It seems like Ryan Kreidler will be the primary shortstop in Minnesota for the time being.

Gray’s fourth homer of the year, hit 384 feet to right, was also his second grand slam. He’s 12th on the Twins with 108 plate appearances but fifth with his 23 RBI. The 30-year-old is hitting .237/.290/.392 while functioning as the Twins’ starting shortstop of late. Some would prefer Kaelen Culpepper in that role right now, but Gray’s trying to prove that there’s no reason for a switch.

Gray was away from the team for the weekend while helping take care of something bigger than baseball. The 30-year-old is up with Gabriel Gonzalez heading back to Triple-A St. Paul to make room.

Congratulations to Tristan and his growing family. The infielder will miss up to three days, and likely return at the start of next week.

That means the team will need to promote someone from Triple-A St. Paul to take his place for the team’s weekend series against the Red Sox. It’s unlikely that they’ll want to bring back Royce Lewis so soon after his demotion, so it’s possible that Gabriel Gonzalez could get a cup of coffee with the big league club.

Just a week after optioning Matt Wallner to the minors, the Twins will do the same with Lewis. The 26-year-old is hitting .163/.261/.279 in 119 plate appearances with three home runs, 13 RBI, and three steals. That also comes with a 31 percent strikeout rate. Lewis has plenty of promise, but the 26-year-old has failed to produce consistently or stay healthy at the MLB level. Tristan Gray started at third base on Monday and could get a chance to fill that role regularly.

Lewis started each of the first two games of the week following a return from the injured list, so he’ll get a breather on Thursday as the Twins attempt to ease him back into action. Tristan Gray will start in his place at the hot corner and will bat ninth for the Twins against Mets’ rookie right-hander Christian Scott.