Cleveland has signed free-agent reliever Matt Capps to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training, the club announced Thursday.
Capps, 29, opened the season as the Twins' closer but only threw 29 1/3 innings as shoulder problems hampered him in late-June. Capps missed 79 games over two DL stints due to shoulder inflammation and a rotator-cuff injury.
Still, Capps managed 14 saves for Minnesota with a 3.68 ERA (111 ERA+) and 18 strikeouts against four walks. Home runs have been an issue for Capps the past two seasons with 15 in his last 95 innings, or 1.4 per nine innings.
Capps' success (or even chances at making the major-league roster) in Cleveland will likely depend on if he can rediscover his velocity. Capps has averaged about 93.0 mph on his fastball over the past two seasons, but after he came off the disabled list for the first time in July last year he struggled to break 92, settling around 90 on average (see chart here). Although his control is excellent, his home-run problems will only worsen if he comes to Cleveland with a soft fastball in the spring.
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