September 18, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Josh Roenicke (30) pitches the ball against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at AT

Midnight EST on Friday, November 2 was the MLB deadline for teams to make qualifying offers to their own free agents. Teams that made qualifying offers to their free agents before the deadline will be given a compensation draft pick if the player signs with another team. At this point, there is no indication the Minnesota Twins made a qualifying offer to Scott Baker before the deadline, although they are rumored to have interest in re-signing him. (Note: A “qualifying offer” this offseason is a 1-year deal in the $13.3 million range.)

The Twins were far from inactive on this deadline day.

In fact, the Twins were involved in several waiver moves on Friday. The team claimed two players off of waivers from the Colorado Rockies: right-handed pitcher Josh Roenicke and infielder Tommy Field. Roenicke’s 2012 season wrapped up with a 3.25 ERA in 63 relief appearances over 88 2/3 innings. His talent was well-liked in Colorado:

Hearing that Twins have claimed #Rockies releiver Josh Roenicke on waivers. … Would be a big loss.

— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) November 2, 2012

Field is a young player who has only played in 18 games at the major league level in the last two years. He has primarily played at shortstop in his major league games, and a middle-infielder is a convenient pick-up for the Twins since they had a player of their own claimed on waivers today. Alexi Casilla ended his tenure as a Twin on Friday, as the Baltimore Orioles claimed the infielder off of waivers. Many fans, and presumably many in the organization, found him exasperating. He would show flashes of brilliance, which were followed by maddening moments that made one question whether he should be in the majors.  Casilla’s departure was not a surprise, as Darren Wolfson of 1500espn.com tweeted:

Casilla contact says the #MNTwins had been trying to trade Casilla for weeks. Today was the result of nobody willing to give anything up.

— Darren Wolfson (@DarrenWolfson) November 2, 2012

The most intriguing thing about the Orioles plucking Casilla from the Twins roster is who gets the last laugh.  It seems as though the Twins were practically begging for a team to take Casilla off their hands, but a Twins fan would be justified in skepticism over the Orioles being the one to do so.  (See J.J. Hardy.)

A few other items of note for the Twins as of Friday:

• RHP Samuel Deduno was assigned outright to Triple-A Rochester and was taken off the 40-man roster (source: @RhettBollinger)
• The Twins have begun multi-year deal talks with reliever Jared Burton – (source: @DarrenWolfson)
• The Dan Haren deal between the Cubs and the Angels goes sour.  Will the Twins renew their interest? (source:  www.mlbtraderumors.com)

Jesse Johnson-US PRESSWIRE

The Minnesota Twins officially declined RHP Scott Baker‘s club option.  The deadline for option decisions is three days after the World Series, and no one is surprised the move was made relatively quickly.  Baker and Twins GM Terry Ryan have expressed mutual interest in Baker returning to the Twins, so it seems that terms will be the biggest question.  Baker was set to undergo tendon surgery in early April, and woke up to find out the surgery was season-ending Tommy John surgery.  While his injury history means the Twins are unlikely to offer Baker big money up front, a more modest salary with significant bonuses and incentives for performance is a more realistic offer.  Drafted by the Twins in 2003, it’s the only organization the pitcher has known, and he may appreciate the comfort of the familiar as he tests out his post-surgery arm.

Recently, the news broke that RHP P.J. Walters elected free agency after the Twins outrighted him to the Rochester Redwings last week.  In a late breaking report, the Twins and Walters have agreed to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to spring training in 2013:

The #MNTwins agreed to terms with P.J. Walters on a minor league deal with a major league invite.

— Dustin Morse (@Twins_morsecode) October 29, 2012

With only Scott Diamond a lock in the 2013 rotation, Walters has another shot at joining the big club next year.  The 27-year-old posted a 5.69 ERA in 61.2 IP in 12 games last year.  He has 37 major league appearances in his career, and he has played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays in since his debut in 2009.

Nick Blackburn, who is signed with the Twins through 2013, struggled this year.  He ended the season with a 7.39 ERA and a 4-9 record.  He is certainly hoping that some bone chips contributed to his struggles.

Also, #MNTwins RH Nick Blackburn had arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow last Thursday. Team expects him 100% by spring training.

— JoeChristensen (@JoeCStrib) October 29, 2012

The RH pitcher has never ended a season with an ERA below 4.0 or a won more games than he lost.  Blackburn is not currently on the Twins 40-man Roster, but will certainly be pitching for a chance to return as a starter, if his recovery proceeds as expected.  Whether the Twins should add him to the roster as 2013 rolls around is certainly a debatable point.  If Baker, Blackburn, or Walters end up in the rotation, fans might legitimately question whether the Twins are making changes that will have an impact in 2013 or if the team is simply rearranging the furniture.

Slowey signed out of Winthrop University in the 2nd round of the 2005 Amateur Player Draft.  Slowey debuted for the Twins in 2007 and went 4-1 with a 4.73 ERA in 11 starts.  Since then he has been a regular fixture in the Twins starting rotation, but has only managed 27 or more starts twice, including just 16 starts in 2009 and only 8 starts in 2011 to go along with an 0-8 record and a 6.67 ERA.

Slowey’s best year was arguably 2008 when we was 12-11 with a sub-4 ERA including two shutouts.  Slowey had a career high in innings pitched and strike outs that year, and recorded three complete games (the only three in his career).

In 2011 Kevin Slowey fell out of favor with the Twins Front Office after being asked to pitch out of the bullpen.  Slowey sulked, and never adjusted to life in the bullpen, unable to warm up quickly or pitch on back to back days.  Eventually Slowey found himself on the disabled list and pitched a couple of games in Triple-A Rochester before returning to the Minnesota Twins.  He had a couple of late season starts but pitched poorly and failed to pick up a victory.

His trade to the Colorado Rockies will likely bring trouble for Kevin Slowey as the thin air in Denver and Slowey’s high fly ball rate will likely result in a spike in the number of home runs he gives up.  For the Twins, Slowey’s trade clears a space on the 40-man roster and gives them an extra $3 million to work with.  Slowey’s departure signals that the Twins are actively seeking an outside arm to help solidify their starting rotation.

In other hot stove news, Jon Heyman tweeted earlier this morning that the Twins had offered Michael Cuddyer a 3 year $25 million dollar deal, that has not been accepted.  If the Twins are unable to sign Cuddyer they will likely shift their efforts to free agent outfielder Josh Willingham.

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