Ricky Nolasco has been a very busy man over the past year. Just six months ago he was playing for the last place Miami Marlins and in July was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He pitched in one playoff game, which he lost and allowed three runs over four innings. He is now packing up and moving cities once again. Nolasco signed a four-year, 49 million dollar contract with the Minnesota Twins. He is also moving leagues as he will become an American League pitcher for the first time in his eight year career.

This contract has a vesting option for the 2018 season to go with the 49 million dollars. For those of you unaware of what a vesting option is I will explain. This is used basically for old players who could potentially start playing at a lower level. It gives bonuses and milestone accomplishments for both the players fulfillment and the safety of the teams “investment”. So basically a vesting option is a clause within your contract that guarantees that you will get a certain amount of your contract if the milestones agreed upon are met.

Nolasco is coming off the best season in his career and will look to build on that in Minnesota. In 2013 he started 33 games with a 3.70 ERA over 199.1 innings pitched. He won 13 games, lost 11 games and struck out 165 men. Nolasco is what you would consider a “work horse”. In his eight year career he has pitched in 1,312.2 innings with a 4.37 ERA. That many innings over eight years is pretty crazy in this day and age of pitch counts.

The Twins are still in the rebuilding phases of their franchise coming off a 66-96 record. Nolasco will be one of a few different pieces that the Twins will look to acquire. Look for Nolasco to be towards the top if not the number one pitcher next year.