Report: Joel Zumaya signs with Minnesota

By REED NELSONFOXSportsDetroit.com The Joel Zumaya saga is over in Detroit. MLB.coms Jason Beck is reporting the hard-throwing but oft-injured reliever has reached an agreement with the Minnesota Twins. "That's where I'm gonna be," Zumaya told Beck. "I'm going to be seeing Detroit a lot." According to the report, the deal could pay Zumaya anywhere from 800,000 to 1.7 million, depending where he clocks in on appearance-based incentives. Zumaya showed promise during his rookie season, helping pitch the Tigers to the 2006 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. He appeared in 62 games in 06, posting a 1.94 ERA and a 6-3 record. He also struck out 97 batters in 83 13 innings. But injuries took their toll on Zumaya after his rookie season, and he made 30 appearances in a season only once, in 2010, after that. He seemed to regain some of his dominant form that season -- .58 ERA, 34 strikeouts in 31 appearances -- before fracturing his pitching elbow against the Twins on June 28. He didnt throw for the Tigers at all in 2011. Zumaya, 27, is now slated to come out of the bullpen in the same stadium where that injury took place, Target Field. The Tigers finally have a clean break with the pitcher who might have caused them more headaches than the near 4 million they paid him from 2006-11. Zumaya will be back in Detroit for a four game set on July 2-5.