What a difference 24 hours can make.
On Saturday, Twins officials doubted their chances of being part of the Mookie Betts megadeal with the Dodgers and Red Sox. But enough progress was made Saturday night and into Sunday morning that gives them hope that long-awaited trade could be completed.
Some elements of the deal have been tweaked enough to build momentum toward a resolution, according to a source, but a few hurdles remain.
As of last night, the Twins had added a second minor leaguer to the deal - a player outside their top ten prospects - in a last push toward a resolution. The talks progressed from there. The Twins are now expected to get a little more than Dodgers righthander Kenta Maeda in the deal. Just to manage expectations here, focus on "little."
This also means that the chances that Brusdar Graterol remain a Twin are slim. Personally, I was surprised to see him on the mound yesterday amidst the turmoil surrounding the deal and the Red Sox concerns over his medical information. But he threw his bullpen session despite all of it.
While the Twins will lose an 100-mph fastball from its bullpen, the addition of Maeda gives them the rotation depth they covet.
There's a chance of an announcement sometime today, stay tuned.
Other stuff:
Haven't seen too many major leaguers around the complex, but have heard a few have been around. Max Kepler arrived on Thursday to join Jorge Polanco, Luis Arraez and others. Byron Buxton is on campus too. One of the wise guys who hang around and watch workouts said he asked Buxton a few days if he was healthy, and Buxton replied that he was, "getting there."
Most of the bullpen sessions have been thrown by minor leaguers. It was cool to see Jordan Balazovic and Jhoan Duran throw on Saturday. Balazovic's fastball can move, and splinker that Duran throws is a funky pitch.
Bailey Ober threw on Saturday, too. Ober, who stands 6 feet, 9 inches tall, is 17-3 with a 2.38 ERA in 34 minor league games. He's averaged one walk and 11 strikeouts per nine innings. He finished last season at Class AA Pensacola, but hasn't thrown 80 innings in a season yet. He did have Tommy John surgery in 2015 while in college. But he's one worth tracking.
Dozens of minor leaguers are already in the dorms and have been working out daily. The Twins are wrapping up one of the many minicamps they hold during the offseason.
