Report: Twins agree to 1-year, $2M deal with Shoemaker
The Minnesota Twins have added another arm to their rotation, agreeing to a one-year, $2-million contract with right-hander Matt Shoemaker, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Shoemaker's deal also includes $250,000 worth of performance bonuses, according to Passan.
Completion of the deal is pending a physical.
The 34-year-old joins the Twins after two injury-plagued seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays. He made just 11 regular-season starts over the last two campaigns due to a torn ACL in 2019 and shoulder inflammation last summer, although he did start during Toronto's wild-card series in 2020.
Shoemaker has displayed flashes of excellence when healthy. He owns a career 3.86 ERA and 1.18 WHIP while averaging 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings across eight big-league seasons. But Shoemaker's career has repeatedly been interrupted by injuries, including a fractured skull he suffered due to a comebacker in 2016.
He'll likely slot into the back of a solid Minnesota rotation behind Kenta Maeda and Jose Berrios while bumping Randy Dobnak into the bullpen. Shoemaker is the fourth free-agent pitcher signed by the team this winter, following fellow starter J.A. Happ, and relievers Hansel Robles and Alex Colome.