*Photo from the Los Angeles Times*
Needing a placeholder in the starting rotation and a potential high reward signing, the Minnesota Twins checked off two boxes at once. The Twins and RHP Dylan Bundy have agreed to a one year, $4 million deal with a $11 million team option that has a $1 million buyout, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman. The Twins have confirmed the deal.
The Twins have had very real interest in Bundy, dating back to when he was a top prospect in the Baltimore Orioles organization. They had tried to get him other times previously, but couldn't do it until now, his first season of free agency. The Twins are looking to get some untapped potential in Bundy, and get his four seam fastball back to the dominant form it was in for the 2020 season, when batters had a 50 percent whiff rate on that pitch.
Minnesota president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said of Bundy that "He’s a guy who we liked, a number of years ago tried to acquire via trade, and even back in his Baltimore days. We feel like, with a full offseason and a good plan going into Spring Training, this is a guy we think has real bounceback ability and a guy we’ve always liked."
After a strong 2020 campaign, Bundy regressed in 2021, his second season in an Angels uniform. He finished the season with a 2-9 record with an inflated 6.06 ERA and 1.35 WHIP, striking out 84 hitters while pitching 90 2/3 innings, starting 19 games and making 4 relief appearances at the end of the season after losing a rotation spot.
Over the course of his 7 big league seasons, 5 with Baltimore and two with the Angels, Bundy has a 46-57 record with a 4.72 ERA and 1.30 WHIP, striking out 758 batters while throwing 770 2/3 innings, making 133 starts and 28 relief appearances. He's allowed 139 home runs, which has always been a problem of Bundy's every year, particularly when he gave up 41 in 2018 with the Orioles.
Bundy will join a Twins rotation that has a lot of question marks attached to it. They ended the season with Joe Ryan, Randy Dobnak, Lewis Thorpe, Bailey Ober, and John Gant as starters, with Gant signing in Japan this offseason. Bundy by himself doesn't do enough to fix the massive issues in the rotation, as the group that ended last season is very young and very inexperienced, with Ryan in particular likely to start in Triple A in 2022.
Falvey said of possible further acquisitions after the lockout that "We need to remain focused on free-agent acquisitions, trade, and then really a lot of focus on internal development, too. Once you get to that Double-A, Triple-A level, we’re hopeful those guys become part of the equation here next year soon."
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