"Twins like prospect of late-inning hard stuff

The Twins believe they have the back end of their bullpen set after signing Joel Zumaya to a one-year, $850,000 deal plus incentives.

"We were looking for a power right-hander who can pitch in the seventh and eighth innings," general manager Terry Ryan said Thursday.

The Twins see Zumaya, once a dominant setup man who could hit 100 mph on radar guns, as part of a tandem with left-hander Glen Perkins.

If Zumaya indeed is recovered from elbow injuries that cost him the past year and a half, it could be a potent combination. Both he and Perkins can pitch consistently between 94-96 mph, giving the Twins something they've been lacking - good, hard-throwing relief at the back end.

They would set up games for closer Matt Capps.

"We think (Zumaya) and Perkins will be pretty good," Ryan said. "That's what we were looking for."

Zumaya, 27, shattered his elbow on June 28, 2010, while pitching at Target Field and has had two virtually identical surgeries to repair it. A titanium screw was inserted on May 10.

While pitching for approximately 50 scouts Dec. 14 in Houston, Zumaya threw fastballs and curveballs and hit 96 mph on the guns. At the time, he told scouts he was "roughly 70 to 80 percent," he said. "