The Twins’ made their first roster addition of the offseason on Wednesday, signing right-handed reliever Josh Staumont to a one-year contract.
Staumont, a second-round draft pick of the Royals in 2015, is a five-year major-league veteran who was not offered a contract for next season by Kansas City. The right-hander’s 2023 season was cut short by surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome, and Staumont did not pitch after June 5.
The injury was blamed for Staumont’s sudden lack of success after a strong start to the season last spring. Staumont allowed just two runs over his first 10 appearances, and his ERA on May 23, after 16 outings, stood at 2.93. But his fastball velocity dropped — he averaged 95.6 mph for the season, down 2.5 mph from his career-best in 2020 — and Staumont allowed seven runs over his final 4⅔ innings before being shut down and placed on the 60-day injured list.
When healthy, Staumont has been a reasonably effective setup reliever, though walks have been a persistent problem. In 168⅓ career innings for the Royals, the 30-year-old Staumont has walked 95 hitters while striking out 191. But he owns a career 0.90 ERA in 19 innings against the Twins, and has never allowed a run, in 10⅓ career innings, at Target Field.
The right-hander has been particularly effective outside Kansas City, posting a 4.92 ERA at Kauffman Stadium but a 2.97 mark on the road. Right-handers have hit only .203 against him during his career.
Terms of Staumont’s contract were not immediately released.