Twins Sign Jake Petricka To Minor League Deal

The Twins have signed veteran right-hander Jake Petricka to a minor league deal, tweets Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. It’ll be a homecoming for the Northfield, Minn. native and Fairbault High School grad.

Petricka, 33, appeared in seven games with the Angels last season but yielded 10 runs on six hits and seven walks with eight strikeouts through six innings of relief. It was a brief stay in his return to the big leagues, as he was designated for assignment about three weeks after being selected to the Major League roster.

Last year’s rough showing notwithstanding, Petricka has a decent big league track record. From 2013-17 with the White Sox, he logged 178 innings of 3.84 ERA ball while serving as a regular member of their middle- and late-inning relief corps. He underwent an ulnar nerve transposition procedure and a debridement of the flexor tendon in his right forearm and elbow following the 2017 campaign, however, and he’s bounced around the league a fair bit since.

The Twins will be Petricka’s fifth organization since that 2017 surgery, as he’s also spent time with the Blue Jays, Brewers, Rangers and Angels. He has just 59 2/3 innings under his belt since the 2018 season kicked off, during which time he’s been tagged for a 5.43 ERA. Petricka did post decent numbers in Triple-A last season, however, and he sports a career 59% ground-ball rate in 237 2/3 Major League frames. He’ll give the Twins some experienced bullpen depth to stash in Triple-A St. Paul to begin the season.