Twins Trade for Carl Pavano to Bolster Rotation

The Minnesota Twins finally made a move to shore up their depleted pitching corps.

The Twins acquired right-hander Carl Pavano from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for a player to be named later.

Pavano, 33, went 9-8 with a 5.37 ERA in 21 starts for Cleveland this season.

He has given up 150 hits and 23 walks with 88 strikeouts in 125-plus innings.

The addition of Pavano should provide much-needed aid to a beleaguered rotation that has struggled with inconsistency and injuries.

Pavano also figures to offer relief to a Twins bullpen that has been overworked this season as a result of short outings from the club’s starters.

He is a solid innings-eater, who has pitched six or more innings in 14 of his 21 starts for the Indians this season.

Pavano, an All-Star in 2004 with Florida, has largely been derided for the four injury-plagued seasons he spent with the New York Yankees after signing a contract worth $39.95 million.

He signed with the Indians for $1.5 million last winter. The Twins will pay the $500k remaining on his contract.

The team will also be responsible for paying any bonuses for incentives. If Pavano makes 10 more starts and averages 6.0 IP per outing, he'll make another $1.75 in bonuses.

Pavano is expected to join the Twins tonight in Detroit for the start of a three-game series against the AL Central-leading Tigers, who currently hold a 4 1/2-game lead over the third-place Twins.

On the season, Pavano is 5-1 against the Tigers and Chicago White Sox, the two teams the Twins are currently chasing in the division.

He is 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA against Detroit, and may be available to pitch this weekend. Pavano last pitched on Sunday against Detroit, allowing just one run over eight innings.

To make room for Pavano, knuckleballing reliever R.A. Dickey was optioned to Triple-A and the recovering Boof Bonser was transferred to the 60-day disabled list.