Indications are that the Twins and the agent for Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka are still hammering out details on a contract - but the switch-hitting, slick fielding star is still expected to arrive in the Twin Cities by the end of the week.
He'll probably take his physical then and meet with some of the staff. But there's a chance he might leave town without a deal getting done. Not sure if there will be a press conference. My guess is that the Twins wouldn't do that until a contract is signed.
I have not received any indications that the deal is in danger of falling apart. The deadline to sign him is Dec. 26, but I'm sure no one wants to run this thing up to Christmas.
CLARIFICATION
I've been writing that the Twins wouldn't have traded J.J. Hardy unless they knew they had a deal done with Nishioka. The real truth, I've been told, is that the Twins intended to trade Hardy all along and would have done so even if Nishioka wasn't on their radar screen.
I feel I needed to clear that one up.
OTHER STUFF
I did a double-take when I saw the stats but, yes, that is new Twin Brett Jacobsen playing in the Australian Winter League. The league operated from 1989-99 but is back this year. Some teams have sent players there. Infielder Luke Hughes and Liam Hendriks, a couple of the Twins' cluster of Australian prospects, are playing in the league.
