Twins: Grading the Dylan Bundy signing
The Minnesota Twins finally made a move this offseason, signing Dylan Bundy to a one-year/$4 million deal, with an $11 million club option in 2023. Starting pitching was our biggest need this winter, so how did we do on this acquisition?
Bundy is guaranteed $5 million because of a $1 million buyout. Unless he exceeds expectations, this will likely stay a one-year deal.
Minnesota locked in Bundy’s deal just hours before the MLB lockout. Essentially what this means is there will be no transactions or Winter Meetings until a new deal is agreed upon. If you want to know more, you can check out an article I wrote here.
Bundy, a 29-year-old right-handed pitcher went 2-9, with an ERA of 6.06. He also finished with a wins above replacement of -0.3. In 23 games, he only logged 90.2 innings because there were many outings in which he pitched one-to-two innings.
The Twins love pitchers who use a slider as their secondary pitch. Bundy used his slider 21 percent of the time, with an average velocity rate of 80 MPH. The pitching staff could potentially refine some of his mechanics, with the hopes of turning his career around.
Remind you, before the 2021 season, he was a decent starting pitcher.
- 2016: 10-6, 4.02 ERA
- 2017: 13-9, 4.24 ERA
- 2018: 8-16, 5.45 ERA
- 2019: 7-14, 4.79 ERA
- 2020: 6-3, 3.29 ERA
Bundy joined the Los Angeles Angels in 2020 and found success during the shortened season. The potential is there, but this could be another J.A. Happ/Matt Shoemaker shit-show.
According to Baseball Savant, he had an above-average fastball spin rate in 2021 (89). However, he was average in: Hard-Hit% (52), Chase Rate (47), BB% (46), Curve Spin (48).
To be honest, Minnesota’s pitching staff has a lot of work to do.
Bundy isn’t a strikeout-heavy pitcher, and he never really has been. His highest strikeout rate was in 2020 (27.0 percent), but that was in a shortened season. In 2021, he posted a strikeout rate of 21.2 percent.
Minnesota needed to address the starting pitching this offseason, but there are still two holes to fill. At 29, the Twins pitching staff could refine his mechanics and make him a decent pitcher again, but on the surface, this isn’t the best acquisition.
