January 8, 2005

Millwood Signing

CIR has the story of the Indians signing of pitcher Kevin Millwood. G.M. Shapiro and agent Scott Boras got very creative with the signing bonus, given Millwood's recent history of arm trouble. I like this move even more now after learning that the team isn't committed to paying the guy the full $7 million if his elbow isn't healthy.

Having Millwood should give the club the chance to make or break Jason Davis as a possible future closer in the course of the 2005 season. Davis would have been forced into the rotation if Shapiro hadn't been able to sign a veteran starter. Now if one of the top five starters gets hurt, we should be able to reach down and get Stanford or Guthrie or Tallet or Kyle Denney to start a few games, without tampering with the Jason Davis Experiment.

Posted by dan at January 8, 2005 12:32 AM