Yankees Sign Millwood To Minor League Deal
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) -- The Yankees just added one more arm to the mix.
New York signed starter Kevin Millwood on Friday to an incentive-laden minor league deal.
Millwood would get a $1.5 million, one-year contract if added to the 40-man roster, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
He would have the chance to earn $3.5 million more in performance bonuses: $500,000 each for five, 10, 15, 20 and 25 starts. He would get an additional $1 million for 30 starts.
If Millwood is not added to the major league roster by May 1, he can opt out of the deal.
According to WFAN and SI's Jon Heyman, Millwood will begin the year in the minors, meaning the Yankees would begin 2011 with either Bartolo Colon or Freddy Garcia as their fifth starter.
Millwood had been holding out for a guaranteed major league roster spot. The Yankees engaged in off-and-on talks with Millwood throughout the offseason, waiting for the hurler to drop his asking price.
The Yankees have also been waiting patiently for Colon or Garcia to run away with the No. 5 starter job, with Ivan Nova effectively, but not officially, wrapping up No. 4. Millwood provides added insurance in case the back end fizzles out.
In 31 games for the Orioles last season, Millwood went 4-16 with a 5.10 ERA in 190 2/3 innings.
Statement from the Yankees:
The New York Yankees today signed right-handed pitcher Kevin Millwood to a minor league contract. The contract is contingent upon Millwood passing a physical.
Millwood, 36, owns a 159-137 career record with a 4.11 ERA in 414 combined games (406 starts) over 14 Major League seasons with Atlanta (1997-2002), Philadelphia (2003-04), Cleveland (2005), Texas (2006-09) and Baltimore (2010).
Among active pitchers currently signed with a Major League organization, Millwood ranks third in strikeouts (1,940) and fifth in wins, starts and innings pitched (2505.0). He has made at least 30 starts in five of the last six seasons and has surpassed 190.0 IP eight times in his career, including each of the last two seasons (198.2 IP w/ Texas in 2009 and 190.2 IP w/ Baltimore in 2010).
He made 31 starts with the Orioles in 2010, going 4-16 with a 5.10 ERA (190.2 IP, 108 ER) and 132 strikeouts. The Orioles' Opening Day starter, Millwood finished with the second-worst run support in the American League in 2010 (3.26 runs/game), trailing only Seattle's Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez (3.10).
Millwood limited opponents to three runs or less in nearly half of his outings in 2010 (14 of 31) and tossed at least 6.0 innings 19 times. Over his final 10 starts of the season, he went 2-5 with a 3.29 ERA (65.2IP, 24ER).
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