OAKLAND -- With Mitch Garver not expected to catch again this season after suffering a concussion on a foul tip Sept. 12, the Twins purchased the contract of catcher Juan Graterol from Triple-A Rochester on Saturday.
Graterol was on vacation in Miami with his family when he got the news he'd be called up to join the Twins on Saturday and said he was excited about his change of plans.
"I was a little surprised, to be honest with you," Graterol said. "You never know what's going to happen in this game. I think my wife is even more excited than me. I'm really happy. It's a new chapter in my career, having fun with these guys."
Graterol, 29, has Major League experience, hitting .222/.225/.283 with six doubles and 13 RBIs in 58 games with the Angels from 2016-18. He was released by the Angels on June 24, only to sign with Minnesota four days later. Graterol hit .284/.317/.336 with six doubles and 10 RBIs in 34 games with Rochester.
He's not expected to see much action over the final week of the season, but the Twins are down to two healthy catchers in Willians Astudillo and Chris Gimenez and have a doubleheader Friday.
"It's just a bit of protection on the bench in terms of numbers more than anything," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "You hopefully don't have to get in that spot, but we're limited. Just having another body that could go out there if needed I thought was worthwhile. He's scheduled to go play in Venezuela this winter, so he's been doing some baseball things, and we got him here, so that's a good thing for us."
Graterol had actually planned to fly to his native Venezuela on Monday to get ready for the winter ball season, but will now push that back until after next week. For now, Graterol is happy to have an opportunity to be in the big leagues, even if it's only for the final nine games of the year.
"I'm just here to help the team and do my job," Graterol said. "I want to show these guys I can still play baseball. In the future, you never know what's going to happen. In this business, sometimes it's crazy, you know. You could be playing in Triple-A and then up in the big leagues the next day. After three years with the Angels, it's kind of different with all the new people and everything. But I'm just trying to get to know everybody."
Worth noting
• Miguel Sano underwent an MRI exam on his left knee Friday, but it revealed no structural damage. He suffered the injury on a slide Sept. 4 and returned to the lineup Tuesday, only to head back to Minnesota on Wednesday to get his knee checked out. There's a chance he could return this season but the Twins are still trying to find out more about the injury.
"We didn't learn anything new," Molitor said. "We tried to eliminate things that might be sources or causes of the aggravation that he continues to feel. A little bit of a puzzle that we haven't been able to solve yet in terms of the discomfort he continues to experience. We're hoping with treatment and maybe a little bit more rest, we'll be in a better place come Tuesday."
• Second baseman John Forsythe's sore left knee is improving, but he wasn't able to return to the lineup Saturday. He's likely to remain out of action until the Twins return home to Target Field on Tuesday.
"Improved today," Molitor said. "Obviously not to the level that he's in the lineup. But it was a good step forward compared to how he felt yesterday."