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Twins, reliever Reed agree to 2-year deal

The Minnesota Twins and free-agent reliever Addison Reed agreed to a two-year, $17 million contract, according to multiple reports Saturday.

Reed had a 2.84 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 19 saves and 76 strikeouts in 76 innings between the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox last season.

The right-hander will be one of the leading candidates to be the Twins' closer next season, along with fellow recent signee Fernando Rodney. Rodney said at the time of his signing with the team last month that he was told he was going to be the guy in the ninth inning, but his numbers last year (4.23 ERA, 1.19 WHIP) are worse than Reed's.

Rodney, 41, converted 39 of his 45 save chances for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2017.

Reed, 29, received a good deal of time as the Mets' closer last season with Jeurys Familia suspended to start the year and injured in May. Reed converted 19 of his 21 save chances for New York before being dealt to the Red Sox prior to the trade deadline. In Boston, he primarily served as a setup man for All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel.

The Twins opened the 2017 season with Brandon Kintzler as their closer before trading him to the Washington Nationals midsummer. Matt Belisle took over from there, converting nine of his 13 save chances down the stretch.

Belisle is still a free agent, while Kintzler re-signed with the Nationals on a two-year contract worth at least $10 million.

--Field Level Media