An emerging cheating scandal in Major League Baseball has had plenty of tentacles touching the Twins along the way.
Now it figures to come front and center this week at Target Field.
At issue: Pitchers using foreign substances to improve performance — above and beyond a little here and there to help their grip on the ball and instead delving into true cheating territory with special materials designed to improve spin (and therefore velocity and movement).
The issue started to become more public a couple weeks ago when Cardinals pitcher Giovanny Gallegos was asked to change his cap by umpire Joe West under suspicion that he had a substance on it. Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson tweeted soon after that he has "an entire catalog" of pitchers cheating.
From there, the issue might have faded. But as Phil Miller and I talked about on Tuesday's Daily Delivery podcast, it only accelerated.
If you don't see the podcast player, tap here to listen.
MLB has decided to crack down on pitchers suspected of gaining an unfair edge. Four minor league pitchers were suspended, and some star pitchers in the majors have shown a noticeable drop in spin on their pitches in recent outings — including the Yankees' Gerrit Cole.
Donaldson broke with typical athlete code and named players, including Cole, by name in a recent session with reporters.
