Christmas Day is usually a quiet day for baseball transactions, but the Twins broke protocol by signing Zach Duke to a major-league deal on Monday. The terms of the deal are not yet known.
Duke returns to the AL Central after a dramatic two years. He worked hard in 2016, pitching in 81 games for the White Sox and then the Cardinals after a midseason trade for Charlie Tilson. The workload came with a cost, as Duke underwent Tommy John surgery that October. Yet somehow he returned to St.