9:43pm: The deal may be coming up against some friction, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The issue relates to Hanwha failing to follow MLB protocol by not notifying MLB of its intentions before negotiating with Albers.
As Berardino notes, the pitcher has reached a tentative agreement with his would-be new club on contract terms at this point.
6:31pm: Albers' agent, Blake Corosky, indicates that Albers is increasingly likely to land in Korea this year, reports Kevin Mitchell of Canadian outlet The StarPhoenix. At this point, Albers is waiting for the two clubs to reach agreement on the terms of their arrangement.
Albers would reportedly stand to earn a salary in the "high six figures," and would become a free agent following the season. If he stays in Minnesota, the 28-year-old would not be eligible for free agency until 2020, as he still has only 58 days of MLB service time. "The worst-case scenario," Corosky said semi-jokingly, "is he goes to spring training with the Twins — sort of what we expected five days ago."
12:50pm: The Twins and Eagles are negotiating a buyout of Albers, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Should the two teams finalize that agreement, Albers would likely head to KBO on a one-year deal worth roughly $1MM deal with the Eagles.
12:09pm: The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization have shown interest in Twins lefty Andrew Albers, but the two sides have yet to come to an agreement, MLBTR has learned. While a deal is possible, an agreement would be a ways off, if one comes to fruition at all.
The 28-year-old Albers made 10 starts for the Twins in 2013 — his first taste of Major League action. The soft-tosser posted a solid 4.05 ERA with 3.8 K/9, 1.1 BB/9 and a 43.5 percent ground-ball rate in an even 60 innings for Minnesota. The Twins plucked the Canadian southpaw out of the independent Canadian-American Association following the 2010 season, and he rose through the ranks to become the organization's Minor League Pitcher of the Year this past season. Albers posted a stellar 2.86 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 132 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level prior to his big league debut.
Should he remain with the Twins, Albers will be in the mix for the fifth spot in the rotation alongside Vance Worley, Sam Deduno, Scott Diamond and Kyle Gibson. Minnesota will have a front four of Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes, Kevin Correia and Mike Pelfrey, each of whom is guaranteed at least $5.5MM in 2014.
