FORT MYERS, Fla. — Chi Chi Gonzalez threw a three-inning showcase for scouts in Florida on Tuesday. By Friday, he was wearing a Twins uniform, having signed a minor-league contract.
Twins sign starter Chi Chi Gonzalez to minor league deal
The 30-year-old righthander had his promising career interrupted by Tommy John surgery.
March 18, 2022 at 4:25PM
"He demonstrated he can be a guy who adds depth and competition to our group," said Twins general manager Thad Levine, who was with the Rangers when Texas drafted the righthander in 2013.
"As we're preparing for April, with such a short runway to the season, we're looking at an aggregate number of innings we're going to need to consume in the first four to six weeks, and anyone who can bite off more than three outs at a clip is going to have real value."
Especially if that pitcher is willing, after three rough seasons in Colorado, to alter his pitch mix.
"My plan for this year is to be heavy on sinkers and sliders," said the 30-year-old Gonzalez, who made 44 starts for the Rockies, pitched 184 total innings, and watched his ERA balloon to 6.10 while he was in Denver. "In Colorado, I used a lot more four-seam [fastball], four-seam cutter," in part because of altitude and Colorado's dry climate.
Gonzalez made his big-league debut at age 23 with Texas, which drafted him in the first round (23rd overall) in 2013 out of Oral Roberts. After two seasons with the Rangers, he had Tommy John surgery and missed 2017 and 2018 while recovering, then signed with Colorado.
The eight Twins headed for arbitration are Royce Lewis, Joe Ryan, Jhoan Duran, Bailey Ober, Ryan Jeffers, Willi Castro, Griffin Jax and Trevor Larnach.
