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 infielderEduardo Escobar.
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.
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.
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.
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.