Minnesota has filled the final spot in its rotation with Jason Marquis, signing the veteran right-hander to a one-year deal worth $3 million.
By replacing Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel with Josh Willingham and Ryan Doumit the Twins saved a ton of money for 2012 and beyond, but they also sliced their payroll from $115 million to a projected $100 million.
That and dumping Kevin Slowey on the Rockies left them shopping in the bargain bin for rotation help and Marquis is more or less what you get for $3 million, although it’s worth noting that Slowey will make just $2.7 million in Colorado.
Marquis can’t really be called an innings-eater because he’s missed so much time with injuries over the past few seasons, but he’s had an ERA between 4.00 and 4.60 in four of the past five years and fits the Twins’ pitch-to-contact mold as a ground-ball guy with meager strikeout rates.
