FORT MYERS, FLA. -- Joe Mays walked over to Michael Cuddyer, who was packing his bags, hugged him and offered some encouragement.

"You had a hell of a spring," Mays said. "Don't let this get to you."

The Twins clubhouse was quieter than usual Wednesday morning as word spread that Cuddyer and Bobby Kielty were optioned to Class AAA Edmonton and righthander Brian Meadows was reassigned to the minor league camp. In a spring of close competition, the team's biggest personnel decision thus far was to send down Cuddyer, the organization's first-round pick in 1997.

Cuddyer had strong support to be the starting right fielder, but Brian Buchanan will get a chance to prove he's a full-time major leaguer after batting .274 with 10 homers and 32 RBI in 197 at-bats last season.

"Buck had a good spring, a very good spring," Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Cuddyer had a great spring. It came down to Michael Cuddyer needing to go play [in Edmonton] and Buck deserving a shot. It's time to see what he can do."

Cuddyer made the decision difficult. He hit .317 after a slow start and hit two home runs against Cincinnati on Tuesday. He also played a strong right field, getting good jumps and reads on fly balls.

But the Twins want him to continue to adapt to right field, a position he started playing this spring. They also want Buchanan to play every day in the majors, and since he's out of options and is hitting .302, the Twins decided to send down Cuddyer -- on what happened to be his 23rd birthday.

"I feel like at least I gave myself a chance," Cuddyer said. "I think [Tuesday night] actually was the best night of sleep I had in the last two weeks, because I knew it was out of my hands. I know I did all I could to try to make the team."

Kielty became upset when told of his demotion.

Gardenhire admitted that Kielty took the news the hardest of the three, but in contrast to Adam Johnson's blowup earlier in camp, he could understand the anger.

"I don't hold anything against any of the three," Gardenhire said. "They should be upset. If you aren't, you don't have any fire in your gut."

Kielty batted .351 and was second on the club with 12 RBI but was cut during the last week of camp for the second consecutive season. His switch hitting could have been a plus, but Gardenhire feels Dustan Mohr can be more effective as a pinch hitter.

"The competition was very good," Kielty said. "[But] this is the second straight year for me [being cut late]."

Kielty was trying to make the team as a reserve outfielder, the role Mohr won with a .396 batting average and team highs in doubles (eight) and RBI (13). Warren Morris stands to benefit the most from Kielty's demotion. The club needs a lefthanded pinch hitter, and Morris has batted .333 since being signed three weeks after Pittsburgh released him.

One of the final decisions left for the Twins is to determine who will join Mohr on the bench. Four utility players -- Morris, Denny Hocking, Jay Canizaro and David Lamb -- remain in camp.

Canizaro is a near lock despite a .098 spring batting average. Lamb, a non-roster invite, can switch hit, has batted .350 this spring and can play shortstop. But Morris appears to be ahead of him. Another option is Matthew LeCroy, who has great power potential.

Gardenhire has to make sure Hocking (left knee) and catcher Tom Prince (right hamstring) are healthy, or LeCroy can step in. LeCroy can catch, play first and DH, and Gardenhire said he is concerned about having options at first if Doug Mientkiewicz is injured.

Meadows, 26, might be valuable to the Twins if he accepts his assignment, because he has 599 1/3 major league innings under his belt.

But Meadows can reject the assignment and become a free agent. It doesn't help that the Twins want him to become a reliever -- he's come out of the bullpen just once in 105 major league appearances.

Mays patted Meadows on the back, too.

"These days are tough," Mays said. "If we would have had a 30-man roster, there still would have been tough decisions to make."