The Minnesota Twins have come to terms on a one-year deal with catcher Kurt Suzuki, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The deal is worth $2.75 million plus incentives.
Twins sign Kurt Suzuki
The Twins have addressed their need at catcher after trading Ryan Doumit.
Greg Fiume
Suzuki saw time with the Nationals and Athletics last season, putting up a combined batting line of .232/.290/.337 in 316 plate appearances. Originally drafted by the A's in the second round of the 2004 amateur draft, Suzuki played his first 703 major league games with Oakland before being traded to the Nationals for minor leaguer David Freitas in 2012. Just over a year later, the Nats traded the 30-year-old back to the A's for righty Dakota Bacus.
Throughout his seven-year career, Suzuki has been a terrific defensive catcher. Since reaching the majors in 2007, he’s posted 16 defensive runs saved (DRS) and a .993 fielding percentage behind the plate. Despite a career 86 OPS+, Suzuki has been worth 12 wins above replacement in 840 games, per FanGraphs’ calculations. He could continue to be valuable in a part time role for the Twins.
Minnesota has announced they will use Joe Mauer at first base on a full-time basis in 2014. After trading Ryan Doumit to the Braves for left-hander Sean Gilmartin, the club appears to be ready to rely on 24-year-old backstop Josmil Pinto. Suzuki will give the Twins the ability to ease Pinto into an everyday role. He was fantastic in limited action last season, batting .342/.398/.566 in 83 plate appearances for the Twins.
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