The Minnesota Twins have agreed to terms with free-agent pitcher Ricky Nolasco. The deal between the club and the right-hander was first reported by Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com on Wednesday afternoon:
Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press received confirmation from Nolasco:
Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports provides the financial details:
The Twins and Nolasco have been linked for a couple of weeks now, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Minnesota desperately needed some pitching help after finishing 2013 ranked 30th in MLB team ERA among starters (5.26). With a rotation that didn’t feature a single 10-game winner this past season, Nolasco could step right in and be the ace.
Nolasco started the 2013 season with the Miami Marlins but was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in July, serving as a major force in the rotation during the Dodgers’ playoff push.
He went 8-1 with a 2.07 ERA in his first dozen starts with Los Angeles, but posted a 12.75 ERA and .393 opponents’ batting average in the final three starts of the regular season. Still, he finished the year with a 13-11 mark, 3.70 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 7.4 K/9 rate, and now has an 89-75 record and 4.37 ERA during his eight-year MLB career.
No financial figures have emerged about the deal yet, but you have to assume the Twins paid a pretty penny to sign Nolasco, who was reportedly seeking a five-year, $80 million contract this offseason.
It’s hard to make a case that he’s worth $16 million annually, but the Twins needed an innings-eater and they got one in Nolasco, who has averaged 192 innings pitched in each of the past six seasons.
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