Indians sign Shaun Marcum

The Indians have signed right-handed starting pitcher Shaun Marcum to a minor league deal. Marcum is thus not guaranteed a spot, but he can opt out of the deal of he's not on the 25-man roster come Opening Day. If he does make the team, his salary bumps to $1 million, with an additional $3 million in incentives.

Marcum pitched very well for Toronto in 2008, but his season ended early due to an elbow injury which required Tommy John surgery and kept him out all of 2009. He returned in 2010 and pitched well for 2.5 years, split between the Blue Jays and the Brewers, before missing 60 games with a strained elbow. He signed a 1-year, $4 million deal with the Mets last offseason, hoping to rebuild some value, but instead started only 12 games due to injuries to his neck and shoulder, and also on account of ineffectiveness, as he struggled through his worst season in MLB.

If he can get back to his 2010-2012 form, he'd be a solid #3 starter, but his pitches have each lost ~3 MPH from his peak seasons, and he's not seen as a good bet to get back to his previous form. Still, given that the Tribe's other options for the #5 spot in the rotation right now are Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, and Josh Tomlin (appealing), it's worth signing him to this risk-free deal and putting him into the mix come Spring Training. Who knows, maybe he'll work out as well as Scott Kazmir did.

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