Twins notes: Second-round pick Eades signs

The Twins nearly are finished restocking their farm system with 2013 draftees, having signed second-round pick Ryan Eades, a righthander from LSU, on Thursday for $1.29 million — the bonus for his No. 43 overall slot that was recommended by the commissioner's office.

Eades was the 23rd of the Twins' first 25 picks to sign a contract, and Indiana righthander Aaron Slegers, the fifth-round pick who visited the Twins' clubhouse on Thursday, will become the 24th on Friday, once the results of his medical exam are completed. Slegers is also believed to have accepted the slot amount, in his case $350,000.

That leaves only Slegers' Hoosiers teammate Dustin DeMuth, a third baseman taken in the eighth round, unsigned from the first 25 rounds, along with another Hoosier, righthander Ryan Halstead, who went in the 26th round. Online reports in Indiana asserted Wednesday that both intend to return to the Hoosiers next year, but Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said, "I wouldn't go too far on that. We've got some concerns, but I don't worry about that."

The Twins have until July 12 to sign their draft picks.

Eades signed his contract in Minneapolis in the morning, then caught a flight for Tennessee so he can join rookie league Elizabethton immediately.

"It's always nice when you bring a kid here, and he's enthused and wants to go right to work," Ryan said of the 21-year-old. "He hasn't pitched in about two weeks. It's important that you let a kid get off to a successful start."

The Twins will monitor Eades' innings, Ryan said, since he pitched 100 innings for LSU this season.

Darin Mastroianni's left ankle was a little stiff from his first full-speed run in two months when he stepped into the batting cage Thursday, and "it's the first time in almost three months I've seen a baseball coming at me," so he wasn't sure what to expect. When he stepped out a few minutes later, he was thrilled.

"I didn't feel any pain at all as I was swinging, and it loosened up as I worked," the reserve outfielder said of his surgically repaired broken ankle. "For it to actually feel better as I worked it, that was really great. It was a big step."

Mastroianni, who injured the ankle during the last week of spring training and had surgery in May, will have an x-ray taken next Tuesday, the six-week anniversary of his surgery.

"I expect that x-ray to show that the bone is fully healed," he said. "And if we keep progressing the way we have, I should be able to get out of here in a week and a half and get down to Fort Myers to start working toward getting back. There's still some swelling in the back, but it's come a long way. I'm way ahead of schedule."

• Ryan said he was prepared to call up a catcher from Class AAA Rochester, but Ryan Doumit reported he was pain-free after catching a bullpen session with rookie Kyle Gibson.

"He said he's good to go, no problems," Ryan said. "That's good. We couldn't go on with one catcher." Doumit wasn't in the lineup Thursday but was available to pinch hit, manager Ron Gardenhire said.

• Outfielder Wilkin Ramirez, who suffered a relapse of concussion symptoms after diving for a ball during his rehab stint last week in Fort Myers.

• New Britain righthander Alex Meyer, out since June 1 because of shoulder soreness, was in Minnesota to have Twins doctors examine his shoulder. Meyer, acquired from Washington for Denard Span last November, said doctors were pleased with his progress, and he will travel to Fort Myers this weekend to begin rehab work.