On Monday, the Twins officially inked 33-year-old reliever Blake Parker to a 1-year deal with a base salary of $1.8 million. Parker can earn up to $3.2 million total based on days spent on the active roster. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic broke the news of the finalization.
Blake Parker deal with #Twins will become official today, sources tell The Athletic.— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 14, 2019
The 33-year-old reliever has bounced around the league since his debut in 2012, spending time with four different teams in six seasons. His most recent stint came with the Angels from 2017-2018. Last season, he logged 66.1 Innings for the Halos and posted a 3.26 ERA along with a 4.40 FIP. The right-hander will be a welcome addition to a Twins bullpen that ranked 22nd in MLB with a collective 4.45 ERA.
Parker will immediately become one of the best relievers for Minnesota. Along with Taylor Rogers and late-season standout Trevor May, Parker could help make this bullpen respectable after years of incompetence. The Twins have ranked in the bottom-third of the league in bullpen ERA in each of the past five seasons.
The addition of Parker is a great start to the Twins’ effort to upgrade the pitching staff. With plenty of in-house candidates for the starting rotation, they can focus their efforts on improving the bullpen through free-agency. It seems likely that Derek Falvey and Thad Levine will make at least one more addition to the pitching staff before the season starts.
(Side note – Go follow Parker on Instagram @blakepark20. His kid is seriously adorable. That is all.)
Featured Photo: Arturo Pardavila III/Flickr
