The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Joe Crede has agreed to a deal with the Twins.

I’ve  been told by a good source that the deal could be done as soon as today.

Either way, you might want to  start to ordering No. 24 Twins jerseys.

Expect Crede to sign for less than the $7 million base that has been reported in recent weeks. It will be interesting to see which Twin is affected the most by his arrival - but Twins manager Ron Gardenhire surprisingly spoke on Friday about carrying 11 pitchers on Opening Day. That would allow space for Crede without sending someone like Brian Buscher down.

Check the paper for more details in the morning.

Also heard tonight that the Twins have made an offer to free agent reliever Juan Cruz as part of a sign-and-trade deal with Arizona. If the offer is accepted, the Twins and D-Backs would have 48 hours to work out a trade, or the contract would be null and void.

Busy night…Busy night.

 While I was starting to think things were slowing down in their pursuit of free agent third baseman Joe Crede, the communication between Twins GM Bill Smith and agent Scott Boras continued.

There has been more communication today - as well as indications that the sides might be nearing a deal.

It appears that Crede is willing to sign for less than the $7 million base that we believed he was seeking. That would help the Twins, who don’t want to take on too much risk in signing someone who has had two back surgeries.

John Heyman of Si.com is reporting that a deal is close. 

Boras, when reached about an hour ago, said he expected to be on the phone tonight with Smith.

“We are in discussions,” Boras said. “Nothing has been finalized.”

John Heyman of si.com is reporting that a deal is close.

I spoke with one other person with knowledge of the talks tonight. The sense I got was that Smith and Boras could be one call from wrapping things up. But given the several weeks that talks have gone on - and with full-squad workouts set to begin - the Twins could decide to stick with what they have and move on.

Chad Cordero throws 

Chad Cordero was considered one of baseball’s best closers before a torn labrum led to surgery in July. Now a free agent, Cordero on Wednesday climbed on a mound for the first time since the surgery and threw for several teams, including the Twins. He wasn’t throwing at 100  percent, as his recovery will be a slow process. But the Twins will keep an eye on him to see if he can become an option for the bullpen.

In fact, Cordero was supposed to throw at 11:15 a.m. Arizona time today -and the Twins planned to be there.

The Crede report 

No update on Joe Crede. Sounds like the Twins and Scott Boras are at a stalemate. The Twins consider it a risk to pay Crede what’s believed to be a base salary of $7 million when he’s had his back operated on twice. 

Full squad tomorrow 

The Twins are gearing up for the first full-squad workout on Saturday. Hitters will face, and be embarassed by, live pitching for the first time in camp. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire will address the team at 7:45 a.m. Twin Cities time. There’s no doubt he will bring up how important it is for every game, every play to count after they lost a one-game playoff to the White Sox.

Etc.

Gardenhire said he was told by hitting coach Joe Vavra that Delmon Young has made a couple adjustments to his swing that look promising.

Other than Joe Mauer and Boof Bonser, the team is healthy heading into the full-squad workout.

I reported earlier today that Luis Ayala’s contract was non-guaranteed and the Twins could cut their losses if he doesn’t pitch well this spring.

That. apparently, is not true. Ayala’s contract is guaranteed.

I’m licking my wounds a little bit because I got incorrect information. I could go into all the details about how I got the information, but instead of bringing others into it I’ll just take the bullets.

But….one good thing out of this is that I ended up with more details in Ayala’s contract.

His base salary is $1.3 million, but he could earn $250,000 in appearance bonuses - $50,000 for 50 appearances then $50K for every five games after that, at 55, 60, 65, and 70 games.

He also would receive bonuses for games finished which, obviously, would become a factor if injuries affect closer Joe Nathan and perhaps other relievers.

$25K if he finishes 35 games

$50K if he finishes 40 games

$50K if he finishes 45 games

$50K if he finishes 50 games

$75K if he finishes 55 games

$75K if he finishes 60 games

There are also bonuses for making the All-Star Game and being named MVP of the ALCS or World Series - and if he finishes in first, second or third place in the Rolaids Relief Man standings.

Once again, I apologize for the mix up. I hope I didn’t upset Luis Ayala, his friends, family or agent too much.

Found out something very interesting last night about Luis Ayala’s contract. It’s not guaranteed.

The Twins can cut Ayala up until 16 days before Opening Day and be on the hook for just 1/6th of his $1.3 million salary. If they cut him 15 days from the first pitch on in, they are on the hook for about 1/4th of the salary. The Twins have a little protection if Ayala doesn’t have a good spring.

More on Juan Cruz. If Cruz is moved as part of a sign and trade deal, Arizona is out a first-round pick and sandwhich round pick as compensation. That should influence the types of players the D-Backs would want in return for Cruz. It also stands to reason that several teams, and not just the Twins, would be in on Cruz if draft picks aren’t a factor.

But there are indications that Arizona can’t just sit back and demand a lot for Cruz. Cruz is making noises about sitting out until after the June draft, so Arizona would get nothing for compensation once Cruz signs with a club. So there’s motivation on their part to get something in return for him. The Twins have made a call to the league office to check on the change in the sign-and-trade rules. If they haven’t already been informed of the changes they should know today.

Boof Bonser is expected to throw today as he tries to work through tendonitis in his shoulder.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said he wouldn’t mind bringing back lefthander Dennys Reyes, who has found the free agent market a little rougher than expected. When we asked GM Bill Smith about the possibility of Reyes’ price falling into their wheelhouse. Smith would only say that there have been no talks with Reyes’ agent.

Almost forgot: Reliever Chad Cordero worked out for a bunch of scouts yesterday, But one of Cordero’s handlers told me that he didn’t see any Twins scouts in attendance. That’s not to say they weren’t there, but there has been no confirmation of it.Â