The Twins have agreed to a deal with former Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya, pending a physical, a major league official confirmed today.
The agreement was first reported by MLB.com.
Zumaya, 27, is expected to take his physical sometime late this week, perhaps Thursday or Friday, and the Twins plan to be careful not to comment publicly until after everything checks out OK.
The physical will be key because Zumaya has had a history of arm issues. In 2010, he posted a 2.58 ERA in 31 appearances before breaking his right arm on a pitch at Target Field.
But the Twins had scouts on hand for his workout in Dallas recently when he was throwing 92-95 mph, easily, on every fastball.
One key note is that Zumaya has agreed to a non-guaranteed major league deal. This means he'll be given a spot on the 40-man roster, but the Twins would be able to cut him in spring training and not be on the hook for all of the guaranteed money if something doesn't look right.
The contract would pay Zumaya about $800,000, with up to about $900,000 in additional incentives, which are usually based on games pitched.
On the surface, this appears to be a nice low-risk, high-reward deal for the Twins. If Zumaya is throwing anywhere near as well as he was before the injury in 2010, the Twins are getting a steal.
