Twins sign veteran right-hander Jason Marquis to one-year, $3M deal
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The Minnesota Twins have added a starting pitcher.
The team announced on Thursday afternoon that veteran right-hander Jason Marquis has agreed to terms on a one-year, $3 million contract.
Marquis, 33, was 8-6 with a 4.43 earned-run average, 76 strikeouts and 43 walks in 132 innings over 23 starts last season with Washington and Arizona, which acquired him in a trade from the Nationals on July 30.
His season ended on Aug. 16, when he suffered a fractured fibula after being struck with a line drive.
"We're looking for pitching, and Jason fits that bill," Twins general manager Terry Ryan said in a conference call. "He's a groundball machine, and he throws the ball over the plate. ... Obviously we've got o support him defensively, but he's been a guy that's taken the ball.. He's got hundreds of starts and lots of veteran experience."
Marquis' groundball rate over the past three seasons is 55%, which ranks him near the top of the league.
Originally a sandwich pick by Atlanta in the 1996 draft, Marquis has played parts of 12 major-league seasons with the Braves (2000 to '03), St. Louis (2004 to '06), the Chicago Cubs (2007 and '08), Colorado (2009), Washington (2010 and '11) and Arizona (2011). He has a career record of 104-98 and a 4.55 ERA in 326 games (267 starts).
The Twins' payroll currently sits around $98 million, to which Ryan said, "We're closing in. We've got a little wiggle room still."
