No tears were shed Sunday after pitcher Mike Pelfrey, formerly with the Twins, signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers, agreeing to $16 million over two seasons.
I’m not going to go so far as to say good riddance, but he won’t be missed. Pelfrey struggled with the Twins the past three seasons, finishing 11-27 with an ERA of 4.94. He pitched 341 innings over that span.
Pelfrey was three seasons removed from winning 15 games with the New York Mets when he signed with the Twins in 2013. But he rarely showed that 15-game winning form with the Twins until last season. He won five games in 2013, was injured in 2014 and won six games in 2015.
Although he won only one more game last season than in his first with the Twins, it was by far his best season.
Phil Miller of the Strib has more:
He showed occasional flashes of effectiveness, but developed a nagging habit of letting good outings slip away in one-inning meltdowns, and the Twins decided to let him walk away after going 6-11 with a 4.26 ERA in 30 starts last season.
Pelfrey knew his time with the Twins was over, according to Miller’s blog post.
“They haven’t said anything, and I can count,” Pelfrey said. “I know they’ve got a lot of guys for the rotation.”
Amazingly, the Tigers agreed to $16 million for Pelfrey’s services. But so did the Twins, who backed up the truck to the tune of $15 million over three seasons, according to Baseball-Reference.com.