Minnesota Twins sign Minor Leaguer Rich Harden – MLB News
Minnesota Twins have added another pitcher to the Twins’ ever growing list of 2012 prospects as they signed right hander Rich Harden to a Minor League contract on Friday, reports a leading sports website.
The young pitcher has also been invited to the Major League Baseball training camp, the source further claimed. Harden is one of the most talked about prospects in the Minor League, although he missed the entire past season due to a surgery on his right
cuff.
Over the course of his Minor League career, Harden is 59-38 with an excellent 3.76 ERA in nine seasons for the Oakland Athletics. He is one of those players who have improved his game play considerably with each passing game. According to sources, he has
very effective fastball that can clock hit 95 mph. Several other MLB teams including the Chicago Cubs and the Texas Rangers were also interested in the right hander. However, the Twins once again showed they are willing to spend on their farm system more than
any other club in American Baseball.
"This one's worth trying," Twins Manager Terry Ryan said. "Harden's been a good pitcher in the major leagues. He's got good pitches, and if he gets back to health, it certainly will be good for us and good for him."
“Ryan said the Twins' medical personnel examined Harden on Thursday and pronounced him worthy of a look. Harden could start, pitch out of the bullpen or begin the season in the minors”, said Bruce Brothers of twincities.com
"There's no downside to this invitation," Ryan added. "We've had interest in him in the past."
Harden became the 38th big league pitcher to strike out three batters on nine pitches while playing for the A’s against the Los Angeles Angels in June 2008. Twins’ Manager Terry Ryan is very happy to have Harden in the Minor League. In an interview,
he stated that the medical team examined Harden on Thursday before the Twins made the official announcement. It will be interesting to see if they right hander can make the most of available opportunities in 2013 to win a big league roster spot.
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