Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN - The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have acquired right-handed pitcher Jhoan Duran and outfielders Gabriel Maciel and Ernie De La Trinidad from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for infielder Eduardo Escobar.u5:p
Duran, 20, was signed by the Diamondbacks in 2015 out of Esperanza, Dominican Republic. The 6-foot-5, 175-pound right-hander made 15 starts for Arizona's Low-A affiliate Kane County this season, going 5-4 with a 4.73 ERA (64.2 IP, 34 ER), 28 walks and 71 strikeouts. In four seasons in the Diamondbacks system, he went 16-13 with a 4.35 ERA (223.1 IP, 108 ER), 81 walks and 186 strikeouts in 48 starts. Duran was named Arizona's mid-season 19th best prospect by MLB.com last off-season and 10th best by Baseball America.u5:p
Maciel, 19, was signed by the Diamondbacks in 2016 out of Londrina, Brazil. In 68 games for Low-A Kane County, he hit .287 (80-for-279) with 10 doubles, one home run, 16 RBI, 44 runs scored and 14 stolen bases. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound outfielder spent three seasons in Arizona's system, hitting .296 (214-for-724) with 29 doubles, four home runs, 55 RBI, 45 stolen bases and a .361 on-base percentage. Maciel was named Arizona's 11th best prospect by MLB.com last off-season and was named as a Pioneer League Midseason All-Star in 2017.u5:p
Trinidad, 22, was selected by the Diamondbacks in the 19th round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of UNLV. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound outfielder has played two seasons in the Diamondbacks system, hitting .306 (154-for-504) with 23 doubles, 10 triples, 13 home runs, 81 RBI, 10 stolen bases and a .396 on-base percentage. He was named Midwest League Player of the Week earlier his month.u5:p
Escobar was originally acquired by the Twins at the 2012 trade deadline in exchange for left-handed pitcher Francisco Liriano. Over seven seasons with the Twins, he played in 657 games, hitting .259 (565-for-2184) with 138 doubles, 18 triples, 63 home runs, 278 RBI and 262 runs scored. The utility man played in 97 games this season for Minnesota, hitting .274 (101-for-368) with 15 home runs, 63 RBI and an MLB-best 37 doubles.