Joel Zumaya looking to rediscover his pre-2010 form – MLB News
Joel Zumaya is one of the most bright and talented relievers in the baseball world right now. In his five big league season with Detroit Tigers, the guy displayed some high quality throwing skills, helping his side secure memorable wins.
However, in June 2010, he suffered from a severe elbow injury. The right handed closer looked in extreme pain and he needed assistance to get off the field. It was a testing time for Zumaya considering he had done reasonably well in the first few months of that season.
The injury-troubled closer missed the entire 2011 season to recover from his elbow injury. According to MLB.com, the closer has agreed to a one year $ 800,000 deal with Minnesota Twins. Although the Twins haven’t confirmed the deal to MLB.com, they say they have been in talks with the closer since December last year. The Twins may also pay Zumaya performances based incentives to boost his morale.
When fully fit and healthy, Zumaya has the ability to close out the inning effectively and he is capable of producing match winning performances for his team. Although he has a reputation for always getting injured, Zumaya is one of the strongest relievers in the game.
"The way people reacted last night toward my injury and the way they made me feel, especially my teammates, I was breathless," he said. "I cried in front of 40,000 people [which] was pretty weak. I was in a lot of pain and I felt like I had no one on my side."
"These people got up on their feet and started cheering about what was going on. Especially the team. I had the whole team in there comforting me. It meant a lot to me."
The Twins, on the other hand, will be looking to protect their new reliever in every possible way. Obviously, they will like him to train hard to get in good shape before the spring training season starts. If Zumaya can perform consistently, he will certainly give himself a great chance of earning another huge pay day at the end of this season.
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