*Photo from Jays Journal*
The Minnesota Twins have added yet another piece to their starting rotation depth. The Twins have signed RHP Matt Shoemaker to a one year, $2 million deal, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. There is an additional $250,000 in bonuses that Shoemaker could earn. The Twins have confirmed the deal.
Shoemaker was limited by injury in the Toronto Blue Jays rotation in 2020, posting a 0-1 record with a 4.71 ERA, striking out 26 hitters in 28 2/3 innings pitched across 6 starts for the Blue Jays. In his 8 major league seasons, Shoemaker has a 43-33 record with a 3.86 ERA, throwing 602 1/3 innings in 112 appearances, with all but 8 of them being starts.
Shoemaker has been injury prone throughout his 8 seasons in the major leagues. He underwent surgery to repair the radial nerve in his right forearm in the 2017 season, which allowed him to make only 14 starts. In 2018, he missed a large chunk of that season due to lingering issues with that same forearm. In 2019, he was only able to make 5 starts before a torn ACL ended his season. In 2020, it was shoulder inflammation that did him in. That's not even mentioning the emergency surgery he had in 2016 when when he was hit in the head with a line drive, causing a fractured skull.
Despite Shoemaker's challenging injury history, he is fully healthy entering Twins spring training in Fort Myers, Florida, and will likely have the inside track at one of the last rotation spots in the Twins rotation, and will likely remain there as long as he can stay healthy, especially since his fastball velocity has increased.
The Twins rotation figures to have Shoemaker, Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, JA Happ, and Michael Pineda as the 5 opening day starters. They also have reliable depth in case of injury, with Randy Dobnak, Lewis Thorpe, and Devin Smeltzer likely to be the first options to take the places of any injured players.
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