11:20am: Clippard will be guaranteed $2.75MM, ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweets.
11:13am: The Twins announced Friday that they’ve signed veteran reliever Tyler Clippard to a one-year contract. Minnesota also made its previously reported one-year deal (plus a club option) with Sergio Romo official. The Twins’ 40-man roster is now up to 38 players.
Clippard, an Excel Sports client, spent the 2019 season with the division-rival Indians. After missing the early portion of the year due to a pectoral strain, he debuted near the end of April and generally enjoyed a solid year with the Cleveland organization. In 62 innings — including 5 1/3 unsuccessful innings as an opener — Clippard pitched to a 2.90 ERA (3.89 FIP) with 9.3 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 1.16 HR/9 and a 31.6 percent ground-ball rate.
Beyond those surface-level numbers, Clippard, 35 in February, excelled in a number of areas. He ranked in the game’s 98th percentile in terms of average exit velocity allowed, at a paltry 85 mph, and his opponents’ hard-hit rate (28.8 percent) landed in the 95th percentile among MLB hurlers. The .260 weighted on-base average (wOBA) to which he held opponents was also among the game’s best and was a near match for the .264 expected wOBA projected by Statcast.
Clippard is an extreme fly-ball pitcher, which likely appealed to a Twins club that deploys a strong defensive outfield but carries a more questionable collection of infielders. He was also lights out against left-handed hitters in 2019 (.123/.210/.255) and has generally held lefties within check throughout his career thanks to his plus changeup. Given both the dearth of quality lefty relievers in free agency this winter and the upcoming implementation of a rule that forces relievers to face at least three hitters (or finish the inning), adding a seasoned arm who lacks notable platoon splits is plenty sensible.
Clippard and Romo will slot into a setup corps behind 2019 breakout closer Taylor Rogers. They’ll join righties Trevor May, Tyler Duffey and Zack Littell among the favorites to bridge the gap between the rotation and Rogers as the Twins look to defend their first AL Central crown in nearly a decade.
Minnesota, of course, still needs to add at least one more starting pitcher to its rotation and is reportedly one of the most aggressive teams in pursuit of top free agent third baseman Josh Donaldson. But even with Clippard on board, the team’s projected payroll checks in a bit north of $107MM. That’s $23MM shy of their franchise record — a mark that has seemed like it could edge north this winter anyhow. GM Thad Levine said early in the offseason that the team’s 101-win season could serve as a launching point to approach owner Jim Pohlad “about being a little more aggressive” in terms of payroll in 2020.
good get
You can have Mr Gopher Ball …. he’s a good hit in the gopher state
C’mon now, no sour grapes, I’d much rather have Clippard on my team than not. He was very good for the Tribe last year. If he gives the Twins what he gave us, he’ll definitely help them.
1.2 HR/9 last year is not bad especially with the juiced ball.
Bold move there cotton, lets see how it pays off for them.
I’m not a Clippers fan but that seems like a team friendly deal.
im a fan of globo gym.
The 5 D’s…..duck dodge dip dive …..and dodge
Yawn.
Oh.
whats wrong?
did the dia-beeetus set in?
Being a drunken sconnie you should be much more concerned about liver cirrhosis
fyi, I think he’s supporting the deal and Wilford kinda is not.
Solid veteran addition to a bullpen that is already sneakily good—albiet unproven. Clippard and Romo should stabilize the ‘pen and allow the team to get more out of the pitching staff.
5 years ago, Romo/Clippard would have made a heck of a bullpen. But who knows…worth a shot.
This is a good get, he has been an okay relief pitcher his entire career, so hopefully he can teach some young-lins along with romo and rogers.
CHeap move he’s been good over the years
interesting debate: who was the best non-closer of the decade? off the top of my head, Clippard gets my vote.
as in non-closing RP
Agreed
Was Kelvin Herrera a closer or was he behind Soria? Cause he had a stretch of like 5-6 years throughout the decade where he was lights out.
Dellin Betances?
Dellin only made a handfull of appearances outside of 2014-18. great years, but less longevity.
Much higher ceiling should count for alot. I’m a Clippard fan but he’s no Betances.
Interesting thought though, and I like it.
Tony Watson, pat neshek, Luke Gregorson, mike Adams all come to mind
And Darren Oday
Good call on O’day. Him and Watson had a lot of success throughout the decade.
Tony Watson and before him for a year or so was Mark Melancon, when Grilled Cheese was dominant. The Pirates always have good set up arms, unfortunately the closers spend too much time with orthopedic surgeons or middle schools.
Sean Burnett and Craig Breslow would have been good answers for the first few years of the decade, but if we’re talking the entirety of 2010-2019 I think it’s probably Clippard too
Joaquin Benoit. He had only one season as a closer to Clippards two and had some pretty dominant seasons.
Actually, Clippard topped 15 saves three times. It’s hard these days to find a relief pitcher that hasn’t closed that is good
I still think Kelvin Herrera, I mean through his 5 dominant season he had 15 saves total, and 12 of those came in one season. He also had his only two all star appearences in that time. along with a WS.
Joakim Soria?
Andrew Miller, was yankees closer for one season.
One of my favourite bullpen pieces when he was a National. He has put up decent to good numbers every year with the exception of 2017. Only drawback that he gives up a few long balls. I think a good signing at that price.
Here’s why I like Tyler Clippard. I was at a game in Philly were the Phillies blew a 9th inning lead. Clippard wasn’t pitching, but he was in the opposing bullpen. He stood up on a chair started pointing at Phillies fans and did a mock cry “boo hoo” motion. I thought it was pretty hilarious even though I’m a Phillies fan.
That xwOBA note is interesting. Kind of tries to avert one particular concern about Clippard. Which is that a lot of advanced stats do not like his profile.
ERA: 2.90, FIP says he’s lucky but still solid at 3.89, xFIP says he’s actually not good at all at 4.94 (he had a really low HR/FB%, which is either because of that exit velocity or just luck). BABIP suggests he was extremely lucky last year, sitting at an unsustainable .204.
His K/9 dropped to a career low. So did his BB/9. Mixed bag all around.
I watched him as an Indians fan and I’m still not sure what to make of him.
Nice analysis. For under $3M though… what can you get in today’s game for under 3M? Good pickup probably.
Yeah — Clippard is an interesting pitcher. The .204 BABIP does look ripe for regression, but probably not to the extent that a lot of people would think, as his career mark is .239.
Fly-ball pitchers — and Clippard is among the most extreme — tend to have lower BABIPs since fly-balls are so much easier to convert into outs. And he’s a particularly low BABIP guy because he’s so adept at inducing infield flies, where the BABIP is going to be like .00001.
I think there’s probably some regression in store all the same, just because I don’t believe he can maintain quite that level of soft-contact dominance, but his BABIP is less a red flag to me (and probably to the Twins) than it would be with most pitchers who were living at that level.
Hey Steve, higher in the comments we are discussing the best non-closer of the decade. I said Kelvin Herrera a few others said o’day, Clippard, and Neshek. Who do you think?
Solid signing imo.
Solid pitcher, even if he is ridiculously slow between pitches!
A lefty killer with over a K/inn. A flyball pitcher but still a groundball rate of 31%…for under 3M. But no way Jose, thats way too much money for the Cubs. The Cubs are literally going to just fill their holes with farm pieces, and a suspect farm at that. Pretty unreal.
A very underrated/under appreciated player, although I always got the impression he was walking a tightrope every time he entered a game… But he provides good results more often than not.
He did good in Cleveland.
Would have been a solid add for The Mets. Never heard his name mentioned in Mets land. BVW is dillusional in thinking that he has a good bullpen.
Twins approach their needs with solutions! Sign two relievers that make sense and probably effective. Phillies, on the other hand, watching the world go by. Whats up with Klentak? Does he have any authority to do anything? Clubs are aware that there is a three tier level of approval to hire even a bullpen catcher. Wow! Imagine trying to put together an important trade which Phillies desperately need i.e. frontline pitcher. Who do you talk to if you are the Cubs or the Indians? Interesting dilemma and no way to run an airline.
His 10th team! Low key gunning for Octavio Dotel and Edwin Jackson.
Another guy I was hoping the Phils would pick up…
His 2020 Steamer projections are not very good.
4.71 ERA/4.79 FIP/5.10 xFIP, 0.1 WAR over 55 innings
His 2019 K% was his lowest since 2015 and he had an unsustainable .204 BABIP, his lowest number since 2013. Clippard’s FB velocity of 90.2 for 2019 was his slowest average since 2008. He will be 35 on opening day, but it didn’t cost them much so not that big of a risk.
This could help the Twins and hurt the Tribe simultaneously inasmuch as the Tribe’s bullpen grew weaker at the exact same time Minnesota’s grew stronger.
Or vice versa
Nice signing. I know a lot of bullpen arms are pretty up and down, but Clippard seems to consistently be a plus arm out of the pen.
Yah sure you betcha! Don’tcha know!As long as it appears that they’re truly trying to improve our pitching, they’re off the hook…till tomorrow. A Starting Pitcher (one I’ve heard of) and Donaldson and it will be a decent off season… let’s go!
Certainly not a thrilling deal.. but a good signing by the Twins.
I’m really surprised the Indians didn’t re-sign him.
I’d want a relief pitcher like Clippard coming out of my favorite team’s bullpen for sure… the guy is consistently solid, his career ERA 3.14 is legit. And a totally reasonable contract with no long-term commitment, A+ signing.
Twins should win the AL Central this season.
Spot on
Ahem…as of today, Vegas odds to win the World Series: Cleveland 20-1, Minnesota 25-1,, White Sox 66-1.
The prevailing notion that the Twins are the favorite is just plain wrong.
We’ll recheck the Vegas expert numbers after all of the roster maneuvers are finished. Tribe w/o Lindor would change numbers quite a bit. Same goes for a Twins team that adds Ryu and/or Donaldson. Looks like a case of premature speculation.
I mean, yeah…until the Twins can show that they can at least win a playoff series, check that – playoff game, they should be longer odds. This from a Twins fan btw.
Granted – my bad, I was referencing the post about winning the central and mistakenly convoluted that with the Vegas odds on WS, sorry.
Sometimes I see red when Vegas is mentioned with regard to sports and think about all the rules put into place for the benefit of the oddsmakers (injury list reporting, having to announce your “bulk pitcher” when using an opener, etc), while Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe remain out of the HOF..
I imagine the Twins odds were a lot worse in ’87 and ’91 though. Vegas fortune tellers…bah.
Sign Keuchel and Donaldson; win World Series.
This is a great under the radar signing. Great value at under 3mil. What I like about Tyler Clippard: He’s a savvy veteran reliever that can pitch in ANY situation he’s asked to. He’s pitched in middle relief, he’s been a 7th inning guy, he’s been a set up man, he’s been a closer and even an opener. Love this signing by the Twins and I think he’s good for a sub 3.00 ERA and 50-60 solid innings, serving several roles out of the Twins ‘pen which will allow them to let other guys settle into more specific roles.
Surprised the Indians didnt end up re-signing him. Solid arm if he’s your #3 reliever/set-up man.
Think Trevor May is a late bloomer and could have a very good season out of the Twins ‘pen this year. He’s been getting better each year. The once hyped Phillies prospect, acquired by the Twins in the Ben Revere trade, could very well be one of the better set up guys in the AL Central.
It was either love him or hate him last year. Was tough to watch at times but overall season was good.
Clippard has quietly had a good career.
Like it, a value signing to add experience to the pen rather than going the “minor-leaguer-du-jour” route of last year. Twins infield defense is still suspect while the outfielders are all CF-capable types, so a fly ball pitcher isn’t a scary option.
Anybody old enough to remember Mark Eichhorn’s 1986 in Toronto? One of my favorite non-closing relief pitching seasons. Unhittable frisbee curve, 14 wins, 10 saves, and about 1 inning shy of qualifying for the ERA title. He passed on pitching it because he felt he didn’t deserve the title. Not a relief pitcher of the decade, but definitely a special season.
Still several good bullpen arms out there.
Good get indeed.