FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Miguel Sanó pulled out the flag with the white cross, blue and red rectangles and coat of arms. He waved it proudly in the Twins’ clubhouse at the CenturyLink Sports Complex on Friday morning.

“Dominicana!” Sanó yelled with a smile.

Sanó was headed home to the Dominican Republic, the island that birthed him. And he had a horde of Twins teammates along with him for a whirlwind of a ride that will briefly disrupt camp Saturday in order to serve a higher purpose. The remaining members of the Twins, temporarily managed by coach Bill Evers, beat the Rays, 5-3, on Matt Wallner's three-run walk-off homer.

To a man, the Twins -- and not just those born in the Dominican Republic -- understand what Saturday’s exhibition against the Tigers in Santo Domingo represents to the people there. The D.R. has had outsize importance on this sport, developing a pipeline of prominent players over the decades, and it has been 20 long years since MLB last staged an exhibition on the island.

But does uprooting roughly half a roster for a 1,000-mile day trip in the middle of Spring Training come with some logistical challenges? Sure, it does.

The 20 position players, 10 pitchers and nine staff members dispatched to the D.R. departed camp late Friday morning will play an 11:35 a.m. local time game Saturday and then be right back in Florida by Saturday evening.

That’s a head-spinning itinerary. And any time MLB teams participate in these international events -- such as past season-opening series in Japan or Australia -- there is always the nagging concern that the disrupted schedule will have consequences on the early outcomes.

The Twins, though, aren’t overly concerned about the Dominican trip from that perspective.

“This is essentially a 24-hour day trip to go play the game in Santo Domingo, so not even close to every player will be there and we’re going to try to take care of the guys that are going the best way possible,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I’m not worried about the demands of the trip except that it is going to be a quick trip.”

And as evidenced by Sanó’s display of patriotism, what it means to the people of the Dominican makes it worth the extra effort.

Celestino shining bright
The Twins brought Gilberto Celestino with them to his native Dominican Republic to start Saturday’s game in center field. It was a natural choice, given that Celestino grew up mere minutes from Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal, where the game will be played.

But Celestino has flashed some leather this spring that might serve the Twins’ regular season lineup well one day. Though he is still a long way from the big leagues (he spent most of last season at Class A Cedar Rapids), the 21-year-old Celestino has played confident defense here in the Grapefruit League, showing excellent range and reads.

“He’s presented himself very well,” Baldelli said. “He’s a very, very young guy, but you would not notice it by watching him go about his business.”

Chacín continues rotation bid
Jhoulys Chacín is trying to reclaim a rotation role in the big leagues after posting a 6.01 ERA with Milwaukee and Boston last season. This winter, the Twins approached him with some ideas for how to better deliver and choose his pitches and signed him to a Minor League deal with an invite to compete for their No. 5 spot.

So far, the results have not really cooperated. Chacín gave up a pair of runs on three hits, including a Joey Wendle home run, in three innings against the Rays on Friday. His spring ERA stands at 6.75. But he’s hopeful that the work being done between starts will encourage the Twins to give him the spot on the Opening Day roster.

“I feel I’m doing better,” he said after Friday’s outing. “I was getting ground balls today, and that’s something I really want to do. I’m getting where I want to go. Just keep working to get better and hopefully everything will be back to normal.”

Chacín has an opt-out in his contract near the end of spring camp.

Up next
Sanó and Nelson Cruz will have their happy homecoming for Saturday’s 10:35 a.m. CT exhibition against the Tigers at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal. Left-hander Devin Smeltzer will make the start opposite right-hander Iván Nova. The game can be streamed on Gameday Audio.