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« Remaining Free Agent Starters | Main | Shawn Hill First To Arbitration »
Twins, Luis Ayala Reach Agreement
According to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins reached an agreement with reliever Luis Ayala today on a one-year, $1.3MM deal. He can earn another $575K in incentives. If met, he'd exceed his '08 salary of $1.7MM. Ayala was ranked as a Type B free agent after the season, but the Mets did not offer him arbitration.
Ayala, 31, posted a 5.71 ERA in 75.6 innings for the Nationals and Mets last year. He stuck out just 5.95 per nine innings, but showed good control with a 2.85 BB/9. He showed an elevated groundball rate in his short stint with the Mets. FanGraphs valued last year's performance at $100K.
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And with this signing the Twins are officially eliminated from playoff contention.
This guy was nicknamed The Opener, by the Nationals!
Posted by: estuartj | February 06, 2009 at 04:59 PM
Solid signing, he'll fit in good. Now they just have to move Bonser.
Posted by: Twins777 | February 06, 2009 at 04:59 PM
I'd rather have Bonser, honestly.
Posted by: Tim Dierkes | February 06, 2009 at 05:04 PM
Curious signing by the Twinkies...
He's not good, not good at all..
Posted by: Hyro | February 06, 2009 at 05:05 PM
I can't believe this guy closed for a playoff contender few months ago.
Posted by: viktor06 | February 06, 2009 at 05:08 PM
Terrible signing, Ayala sucks.
Posted by: Doody | February 06, 2009 at 05:09 PM
I'm not a huge Ayala fan, but we are talking about someone who had ERA's of 2.92, 2.69, 2.66, and 3.19 in the 4 seasons before last year. There is some upside there that makes it a worthwhile gamble IMO.
I would hope they don't plan on handing him that set-up job though, at least not until he proves himself.
Posted by: AdropOFvenom | February 06, 2009 at 05:27 PM
Damn, that is a waste of money. Maybe $500,000, if the base was $200 and he can have the rest if he has a kper9 rate of 12. But that will never happen.
Posted by: Tomahawk368 | February 06, 2009 at 05:31 PM
I can't believe this guy closed for a playoff contender few months ago.
Posted by: viktor06 | February 06, 2009 at 05:08 PM
********
He was a closer out of desperation with the Mets. Wagner went down in Aug., Heilman couldn't get an out, the rest of the BP couldn't get anyone out in the 6th inning let alone in the 9th. Ayala wasn't closer material but he really wasn't that bad in the earlier innings....
Posted by: Suse | February 06, 2009 at 05:32 PM
^200 dollars*
Posted by: Tomahawk368 | February 06, 2009 at 05:33 PM
Solid signing. I would have liked to bring Ayala back. He has always been nothing but a dependable reliever, albeit he wasn't good in 08. Other then that, he has been a solid innings eater out of the pen. He throws a hard sinker and doesn't walk guys. He will be solid for the Twins and their good defense. I would have much preferred the Mets brought him back. I would rank him above Duaner Sanchez, Conner Robertson or Brian Stokes or whoever. He would have been a solid 6th/7th inning guy.
Posted by: nrmax88 | February 06, 2009 at 06:25 PM
Yeah I think people are looking far too much into 2008. He was very solid from 2004-2007, and there is definitely some upside as a middle reliever.
I wouldn't get rid of Bonser in place of him, but Ayala is a decent, solid reliever at the least.
Posted by: scribbletone | February 06, 2009 at 07:13 PM
Now this is what I call a MAJOR signing! Looks like the twins are gonna be world series champs in 2009 and Luis Ayala is the reason why! =)
Posted by: OBPyeahyouknowme | February 06, 2009 at 07:15 PM
Yeah I think people are looking far too much into 2008. He was very solid from 2004-2007, and there is definitely some upside as a middle reliever.
I wouldn't get rid of Bonser in place of him, but Ayala is a decent, solid reliever at the least.
Posted by: scribbletone | February 06, 2009 at 07:13 PM
Well, I think you put too much into 2004-2007. Besides his ERA stats, all his other stats show that he was quite lucky during those years. A LOB percentage of 80% during those years while getting low K's with a FIP of 4+. His increasing WHIP (increasing BB/9 and decreasing K/BB ratio also bad signs) over the years is a concern and we saw what happened last year when luck doesn't go your way.(LOB percentage of 60%)
Can't say this is a terrible signing. (Only 1 year and there has been signings that are a lot worse) He's definately not going to be the setup that the Twins want but he's a quick answer until Nashek gets back.
Posted by: strikethree | February 06, 2009 at 07:33 PM
I bet they (as well as other teams) would have gone harder after Cruz instead of Ayala if they didn't have to give up an extra pick and instead the Free Agent's former team receives a sandwich pick anyway.
Ayala is ok, but he's not going to be anything special.
Posted by: GScott | February 07, 2009 at 09:15 PM
Considering the other options, I think this was the second best option to signing Brandon Lyon, and the Tigers blocked that from happening.
Ayala has some question marks, but I think he has great upside considering he had an average ERA of 2.70 over 275 innings from 2003 to 2007 (sat out 2006 recovering from Tommy Johns). If he is completely recovered from surgery as well as the groin issues from last season, there is no reason to think he can't post a sub-3.00 ERA over 70 innings for the Twins. 1.3M plus incentives is pretty steep, but could be a bargain compared to Eric Gagne.
Ideally, he pitches well enough to bring out some competition from the Twin's BP and guys like Crain, Guerrier and Mijares.
Posted by: NickL1538 | February 09, 2009 at 12:15 PM
probably gonna replace Nathan
Posted by: skrabbas | February 09, 2009 at 04:55 PM
stupid sign
Posted by: The Big Smooth | February 11, 2009 at 12:25 PM
i love this signing..he had no where near his 05-07 arm angle consistency..he wasn't fooling anybody..no real excuses either. also the AL has better lineups and yes his GB rate was up..but with a guy that can run descently that doesn't bode too well at the dome.. and after next year what are the twins gonna do..they need more power outdoors in that new park. MAur and Morneu they are studs though.. it's gonna be another battle anyways in the AL central this year..the west will get more interesting as well with pitching ?'s with the angel's. I will say i do Have confidence in the Sox..i really think all is going to pan out. a lot of positives to look forward to..and we have the backups at the positions in question too.
Posted by: chisoxrock | February 13, 2009 at 01:50 PM