Chicago Cubs sign Minnesota Twins’ free agent pitcher Scott Baker to one-year deal – MLB News
Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, November 13, signed Scott Baker to a one-year contract worth $5.5 million. The contract also has $1.5 million performance bonuses.
The deal comes in the wake of the pitcher undergoing Tommy John surgery earlier this year. The Cubs were in pursuit of the pitchers for the rotation. In Baker, they apparently found a reliable and experienced starter.
Baker was previously part of the Minnesota Twins – representing them in seven seasons from 2005 to 2011. However, since surgery had its complications and will take the pitcher a while to put things in working order, the Cubs were weighing their options before making the move.
Now that the club has signed the player, Chicago Cubs' president of baseball operations has already formulated the plans for Baker in the upcoming season.
"He's put the work in to get himself on an excellent timetable so he's got pretty much every day plotted out from here through Spring Training," said Epstein. "If things go perfectly, he'll be stretched out to five or six innings for that first week of the season."
It was not only the Cubs who had expressed their interest to sign the player. There were reports that the Twins were also looking into a possible deal. Be that as it may, it was eventually the Cubs who won the bid.
The news came as something favourable for Baker considering the injury he recently had. Speaking to reporters, he said he wanted to help the team be productive.
"It's a big season for me personally coming off an injury," Baker said. "I wanted somewhere where my family could enjoy and we could have a lot of fun and I could help the team be productive."
The right elbow injury had rendered the pitcher unable to throw regularly in 2011. He could only appear in 23 games. The injury which culminated with Tommy John surgery has, nonetheless, done nothing unfavourable with the materialisation of this contract, enabling him to exhibit his experience and class as a quality pitcher.
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