Free-agent second baseman Jonathan Schoop, who slumped badly in 2018 after a career season in 2017, has reached a one-year deal with the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, according to a report.
Terms were not released. The Athletic first reported the deal is for $7.5 million, plus incentives.
The Twins also bolstered their infield by signing free agent Ronald Torreyes to a one-year deal reportedly worth $800,000 if he makes the major league team.
Schoop, 27, spent his first five seasons with the Baltimore Orioles before being dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers at the trade deadline last season. After hitting just .202 with four home runs and 21 RBIs in 46 games for the Brewers, the team did not tender him a contract.
After putting up career-best numbers in 2017 — 32 homers and 105 RBIs to go with a .293 batting average — Schoop slumped badly in 2018. He hit just .233 with a combined 21 homers and 61 RBIs between Baltimore and Milwaukee.
Schoop was born in Curacao, which he represented in the 2003 and 2004 Little League World Series. On what he has called “the best day of my life”, Schoop was on the mound as Curacao beat California to win the LLWS championship in ’04.
He was signed as a 16-year-old amateur free agent by the Orioles in August 2008. He made $8.5 million last season and had been projected to earn $10 million in arbitration had the Brewers tendered him a deal.
Schoop is a career .258 hitter with 110 home runs and 333 RBIs in 681 games. His lone All-Star season was 2017, when he also finished 12th in AL MVP voting.
The 26-year-old Torreyes was designated for assignment by the New York Yankees last month. He was among the most popular players in New York’s clubhouse — a 5-foot-8 backup often hoisted into the air by teammates to high-five 6-foot-7 Aaron Judge.
Torreyes hit .292 with 36 RBI in 315 at-bats over 108 games in 2017, but spent much of this year at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and batted .280 with 7 RBIs in 100 at-bats over 41 games for the Yankees.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.