Source: Twins give Matt Capps new deal

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The Minnesota Twins have reached agreement with free agent closer Matt Capps on a one-year contract with an option for 2013, a baseball source told ESPN.com. The deal is pending completion of a physical exam.

The deal is worth $4.75 million, according to The Associated Press. Capps gets $4.5 million this year, and the contract includes a $6 million option with a $250,000 buyout.

Capps, 28, went 4-7 with a 4.25 ERA and 15 saves in 24 opportunities this season. The Twins chose to bring him back as their closer after failing to retain Joe Nathan, who signed a two-year deal with Texas.

"In our organization, we believe Matt Capps will bounce back," Twins general manager Terry Ryan said in a chat with season ticket holders last week.

Capps is a career 28-29 with a 3.51 ERA and 124 saves in seven seasons with Pittsburgh, Washington and Minnesota. The Twins continue to look for late-inning relief help to complement Capps and lefty setup man Glen Perkins, who posted a 2.48 ERA and struck out 65 batters in 61 2/3 innings last season season.

Jerry Crasnick is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

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Jerry Crasnick | email

ESPN.com MLB Sr. Writer

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• ESPN.com senior writer
• Author of "License to Deal"
• Former Denver Post national baseball writer