The Twins nibbled on the free agent market once again. They signed Jhoulys Chacin to a minor league deal today. Chacin was one of the better free agents just a couple years ago before he latched on with the Milwaukee Brewers. Last season, he had a terrible showing, and his market was depressed.
This definitely qualifies as a good high ceiling move with little consequence for the Twins if it doesn’t pay off. Chacin is only 32, and has been an effective starter in some tough markets, not the least of which the one where his career started — Colorado. Curiously, he posted his highest HR/9 this past year, and it was a full HR/9 than his worst season in Colorado.
It seems like his season last year could have been an aberration, perhaps addled by injury, because of the dramatic spike in home runs. One fifth of the fly balls he allowed left the park, which is so far out of the ordinary, I can hardly believe it even happened. Other than that one category, though, Chacin’s numbers mostly lined up with his career totals.
Given his long track record of success leading up to last year’s season, and the fact that he is still in his early 30s, the expectation of a return to competence isn’t that far fetched. The Twins are going to be good this year, and we shouldn’t be surprised if they are a popular choice for bounce back candidates to latch on to as teams start reporting to Spring Training.
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