Right-hander Mike Pelfrey earned a $100K bonus last night by crossing the 150-inning threshold, as pointed out by Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Pelfrey told MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger that Monday was his final start of 2013 and expressed interest in returning to Minnesota for a second season (Twitter link).
Pelfrey sits 7 1/3 innings shy of earning another $150K of incentives, but as Miller points out, he's yet to last that long in a start all season, so he would have been unlikely to reach that plateau anyway. As it stands, it seems that Pelfrey will earn just $100K of the $1.5MM worth of incentives that were built into the one-year, $4MM contract he signed with the Twins this offseason.
Pelfrey spent his entire career with the Mets prior to 2013, but his New York tenure came to an end when he was non-tendered last offseason. He made a remarkably quick recovery from Tommy John surgery in May 2012 in order to be ready for Opening Day for the Twins. He'll turn 30 years old in January and could likely be had on another one-year deal after posting a 5.19 ERA with 6.0 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a career-low 43.2 percent ground-ball rate in 152 2/3 innings this season. Pelfrey's FIP (3.99) and xFIP (4.54) both suggest that his ERA could have been lower were it not for a .337 BABIP and 67.2 percent strand rate.
The Twins will undoubtedly be on the lookout for pitching this offseason, as owner Jim Pohlad recently lamented the team's "embarrassing" play and said that he would provide GM Terry Ryan with the financial resources to be active on the free agent market. Pohlad said he wouldn't shy away from three- and four-year free agent deals, which the Twins have typically avoided in the past. Josh Willingham's three-year, $21MM contract is the largest free agent signing in Twins' franchise history.
