The Minnesota Twins have agreed to a one-year, major-league contract with right-handed pitcher Anibal Sanchez worth $2.5 million, plus another $2.5 million in additional incentives, according to a report from Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.
Sanchez, entering his age-34 season, is coming off a campaign with the Detroit Tigers in which he began out of the bullpen before converting back to starting.
The Twins have factored prominently into the rumor mill in their hunt for starting pitching this winter, reportedly being linked to Yu Darvish before he agreed to terms with the Chicago Cubs. Minnesota was also reportedly showing interest in Jaime Garcia after it was announced Ervin Santana was likely to miss the first month of the season after undergoing finger surgery. Garcia agreed to terms with the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.
In 21 innings out of the bullpen in April and May, Sanchez pitched to a 9.00 ERA while hitters posted a .351/.406/.701 slash line against the right-hander. In the middle of June, Sanchez was slotted back into the Tigers rotation, making 17 starts over the balance of the season with a 5.76 ERA.
Over five-and-a-half seasons in Detroit, Sanchez managed a 4.43 ERA and finished fourth in Cy Young voting during the 2013 campaign. Over the past three years, Sanchez has struggled to a 5.67 ERA over 415 2/3 innings.
Sanchez will likely join a rotation led by Santana and breakout star Jose Berrios that ranked 22nd last year by FanGraphs' WAR.
