Twins to pay Duke up to $3.6M in 2018

Not Duke in the pic
By Gary Is
January 20 2018

Left-handed pitcher Zach Duke will earn a minimum of $2.15 million with the Minnesota Twins in 2018 with bonuses of up to $1.5million up for grabs.

The Twins signed the 34-year-old on a one year contract during the postseason after 27 relief appearances for the St Louis Cardinals last year going 1-1 with a 3.93 ERA. Duke only appeared for half the season following surgery in 2016 for collateral ligament damage. He struck out 12 and walked six in 18 1/3 innings, and three of the 13 hits he allowed were home runs.

Duke can earn $200,000 each for 40 and 50 games as a pitcher under the new deal. He could earn a further $300,000 apiece for 55 and 60, and $500,000 for 65.

Throughout his long Major League career Duke is 61-85 with a 4.30 ERA in 169 starts and 299 relief appearances over 13 major league seasons. He began his major career with Pittsburgh (2005-10), followed by Arizona (2011), Washington (2012-13), Cincinnati (2013), Milwaukee (2014), the Chicago White Sox (2015-16) and the Cardinals (2016-17).