Sent to the Minors vs. Demoted to the Minors

I find it amusing the choice of words the team and the press uses for
some players when they find themselves in the minor leagues again.

Recently Francisco Liriano was "sent" to the minors. This is probably
an acceptable way to describe it since he's recovering from Tommy John
surgery. But supposine he had never been injured, never had the
surgery. Would he then be described as being "demoted" to the minors?

Remember when Torii Hunter was struggling in early 2000 he was
"demoted" to the minors.

There is also the choice of words, "sent down" to the minors, which
implies demotion without actually using the word.

Anyway, just something to watch for when a player winds up in the
minors after a stint in the majors.

Alternatively, a player either gets "called up", "recalled", or
"promoted" to the majors. For example, Glen Perkins was recently
"recalled" to the majors (www.twinsbaseball.com) though he didn't
start with the team when camp broke this year. Perkins was
"promoted" (startribune.com headline) and "recalled" (startribune.com
article); Perkins was "called up" (twincities.com), "recalled" (sports
network), "called up" (Rotoworld) etc.

Synchronicity strikes again!

From Sunday's StarTribune:

Former Twins outfielder Lew Ford, who signed with the Hanshin Tigers
in the Japanese Central League, was demoted to the minor leagues on
May 2. The official term in Japan is called "dropped for
readjustment."