Ex-Twin: Scott Baker Signs With Yankees

The Minnesota Twins were out looking for starting rotation help this season, but one person they didn’t call upon was former pitcher Scott Baker. After suffering significant injury issues recently in his career, Baker has been working to get back on the mound consistently. It appears he now will have that chance.

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Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN is reporting that the New york Yankees have agreed to a deal with Scott Baker. It will be a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. Going to a team that needed rotation help is something that Baker was said to be seeking.

The Yankees went through two full rotations last season as they saw injuries and poor pitching plague their starters. Baker should be immediately able to work towards a rotation spot, but he is going to have a couple of factors working against himself.

As we saw first hand with Phil Hughes excelling at Target Field last season, Yankee Stadium is where pitchers go to die. Giving up fly balls inside of a Cracker Jack box is not going to bode well for your ERA, and opposing hitters will welcome the opportunity to face lackluster pitching in the park.

Baker pitched seven season for the Twins, with his last coming in 2011. Since then, he has pitched in just 28 games and owns a 5.17 ERA across 11 starts. He has a 5.7 K/9 ratio but a strong 1.7 BB/9 number. Baker does give up 1.7 HR/9 and that number should be expected to increase in New York.

Here’s to hoping that Baker can find his way into the rotation and get his career back on track. At 33 years old, if the injuries are truly behind him, he should have some solid ability left.

Next: Projecting The Twins 2015 Rotation

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