Plouffe remains an intriguing infield option

MINNEAPOLIS In early June, Minnesota Twins infielder Trevor Plouffe was demoted to Triple-A Rochester partly because of his shaky defense at shortstop. In 15 games at short, Plouffe committed seven three errors and was having trouble throwing cleanly across the diamond to first base. When he returned to the majors in mid-July, he didn't return to shortstop. Instead, the 25-year-old Plouffe was put in right field and at second base while Tsuyoshi Nishioka held down his post at short. But with Nishioka currently dealing with a back injury, Plouffe has made three consecutive starts at shortstop and seemingly has corrected his throwing issues. "He's doing fine. He's been working really hard. That's half the battle," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He knows it's all about catching the ball and staying on top and pulling the ball down, but catching the ball first before you do anything else. He's done real well so far. We'll see what happens as we go." The work seems to be paying off, as Plouffe is looking more comfortable at shortstop the second time around. "I felt comfortable there early in the season. I just had some mechanical issues I needed to correct," Plouffe said. "I think we've done that, and I'm going to continue to work on it and see what happens." In his three games at shortstop this week, Plouffe is batting 4-for-13 with two extra-base hits. On Wednesday, he hit his first career triple when Orioles center fielder Adam Jones couldn't track down Plouffe's fly ball hit deep to center field. Plouffe has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games (13-for-44). "Whenever you get a chance to get some consistent at-bats, that's what I'm used to getting. I definitely feel more comfortable doing that," Plouffe said. "Hopefully that can continue over and just keep putting my work in, that's all I can do." Wednesday's game showed that Plouffe still has some kinks to iron out in the field. With two outs in the fifth, Plouffe fielded a slow grounder off the bat of Baltimore's Mark Reynolds. Plouffe's throw to first baseman Justin Morneau was high, but Morneau was able to make the catch while keeping a foot on the base to record the out and save Plouffe from another error. Nishioka has had his fielding own issues at shortstop. Signed in the off-season for a three-year, 9.25 million contract, Nishioka began the year at second base but moved to shortstop after returning from a broken leg in April. He's committed eight errors in 54 games at shortstop and is hitting just .217.257.241 with five doubles. When Nishioka returns from his current back injury, Gardenhire said he's not opposed to using both Nishioka at Plouffe at shortstop for the rest of the season. "We're going to find spots for everybody. Nishi will be back out there. As I told Nishi, when you get healthy, you've got to let me know," Gardenhire said. "He's getting closer. We'll move people around. It'd be nice to have everybody healthy at some time."