OAKLAND, CALIF. – One reason the Twins were willing to relinquish their second-round pick in the June draft — for signing free agent Ervin Santana last offseason — was because they received a compensation pick in the competitive balance round. They used that pick, No. 73 overall, to select Kentucky righthander Kyle Cody.
All they had to do was sign the kid and send him to the minors. But negotiations ended up being tougher than anticipated and, on Friday, the 4 p.m. deadline for inking draft picks came and went without Cody's signature.
The 6-7, 240-pound Cody will return to Kentucky for his senior season, frustrating Twins officials. They thought they were close to a deal, but they couldn't wrap it up.
"We worked on it, and it just didn't work out," General Manager Terry Ryan said. "I'm disappointed that we didn't get our second pick. You never like to go through a draft process without signing your top 10, top 15."
Cody has a mid-90s fastball along with a good curve, although he struggled at times for the Wildcats last season. Ryan said there were no health concerns that affected negotiations.
The assigned value of the pick was $839,700, which the Twins will not be allowed to use now. The Twins ended up signing 28 players from this year's draft class.
Because the Twins failed to sign Cody, they will receive the No. 74 overall pick in next year's draft.
"I think he was hoping to go a little higher than where we picked him," Ryan said. "That's the way it is. The slotting system is a little different than a free-for-all."
Back to bashing
Brian Dozier received dozens of text messages Thursday after he homered in the eighth inning of Tuesday's All-Star Game in Cincinnati.
"I got a ton," he said. "I spent about an hour just replying to everybody the same thing. 'Thank you, thank you.' "
Dozier ended up with a one-day All-Star break — but he didn't really need a break, anyway.
Dozier led off Friday's game with a home run to left off All-Star teammate Sonny Gray, getting the Twins off to a fast start.
It was Dozier's fifth leadoff homer of the season and 12th of his career.
It was also Dozier's 20th homer of the season. He hit 23 last season, with No. 20 also coming at Oakland, off Jason Hammel on Aug. 10.
Injury updates
Righthander Ricky Nolasco will be fitted for a walking boot following his surgery Monday to remove a bone fragment from his ankle. Ryan said Nolasco will be in the boot for a while. Nolasco remains out indefinitely, and it should be pointed out that it was not arthroscopic surgery. An incision was made, and that will affect recovery time.
Byron Buxton is doing strengthening exercises for his sprained left thumb and will begin baseball-related activities once it's stronger.
Etc.
• Former major leaguer Scott Atchison asked for and received his release from Class AA Chattanooga. Atchison, 39, signed hoping that something would open up at other levels but decided to leave when nothing materialized. "He didn't want to languish in Double-A," Ryan said. "I understood that, and he did too. If we were going to do anything, there would have to be opportunity and there just wasn't an opportunity."
• The Twins released 2011 second-round pick Madison Boer, a 25-year-old righthander, from Chattanooga. The Eden Prairie High School product posted a 4.38 ERA in 13 games.
