Minnesota Twins take a gamble by signing Homer Bailey and Rich Hill

The Minnesota Twins announced they signed veteran starting pitchers Homer Bailey and Rich Hill each to 1-year deals.

The Minnesota Twins are taking a gamble by signing both veteran pitchers albeit to 1-year deals.  Homer Bailey, whose deal is worth $7 million, has had a hard time keeping his ERA down and Rich Hill, whose deal is worth $3 million, is injury-prone.

Bailey is coming to Minnesota after spending time with the Oakland Athletics and the Kansas City Royals.  He enjoyed a bounce-back season going 13-9 with a 4.57 ERA in 31 starts.  It was the first time since 2014 where his ERA was below 5.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

For his career, Bailey is 80-86 with a 4.57 ERA in 243 starts with 1,150 strikeouts.  He also sports a career 1.370 WHIP and a 5.9 WAR in 13 seasons.

Injuries played a factor in some of those seasons as he only made 26 appearances from 2015 to 2017.  That being the case he does bring a good veteran presence into the clubhouse for the Twins.

Hill is a different story as he will not be available until some time in June.  He is recovering from surgery on his pitching elbow he underwent in October.  When he was healthy last year he was very effective for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He went 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 13 starts last year.  He also had 72 strikeouts and a 1.125 WHIP.  For his career, he is 65-42 with a 3.82 ERA with 1,004 strikeouts in 15 seasons.  He also has a career 1.225 WHIP and 13.6 WAR.

The problem for the Twins is with Hill and another starter, Michael Pineda having to finish serving a 60-game suspension, their opening day rotation is still in limbo.  They still have Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi, but beyond those two and Bailey, they are very thin.

It would seem they are preparing for a mid-season run and hoping by then they aren’t too far out of the divisional race when Hill and Pineda return.  Hopefully, this gamble by the Twins front office will pay dividends this season in what is shaping up to be a wide-open AL Central division.