Twins signed C J.R. Towles to a minor league contract. He gets an invite to camp. The former top prospect has been a major bust in the big leagues, batting just .187/.267/.315 with 11 homers and 50 RBI over 484 plate appearances. Towles, now 27, picked a decent spot to try to resurrect his career. Joe Mauer is brittle and Drew Butera wouldn't be handed the starting job if (when) Mauer lands on the disabled list in 2012 because of his terrible bat. Minnesota would also probably like to stay away from putting Ryan Doumit at catcher for an extended period of time because of his own health issues. It's not a reach to believe Towles could accrue some at-bats at Target Field in 2012.