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Torii’s Back, Now What For The Twins?

By Ted Schwerzler |

Torii Hunter has been the only free agent acquisition for the Minnesota Twins thus far during the offseason. While he helps to provide another body that can roam the outfield, the Twins have plenty of other concerns. As the winter meetings commence, it will be on Minnesota to start addressing them.

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While the bat of Torii Hunter should be a good addition to an already good Twins lineup, the bigger issue still remains in the pitching department. Currently the Twins have an abundance of arms, but they lack quality as a whole. With only Phil Hughes penciled in as a must in the starting rotation, upgrades could be more than beneficial.

As Jon Lester, Max Scherzer, and James Shields all presumably come closer to their next contracts, the rest of the pitching market waits to find out what their bargaining value will look like. For the Twins, there’s a handful of starters that could make a lot of sense.

Francisco Liriano, Edinson Volquez, Brandon McCarthy, and Justin Masterson all are names that would likely provide an immediate boost to the starting rotation. Of those mentioned, the Twins have been linked to the former Pirates, Liriano and Volquez. McCarthy still seems to be a strong option, while Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN is reporting that the Twins aren’t yet in on Masterson.

With plenty of representatives expected to be present for the winter meetings, expect the market to quickly pick up and the landscape to shift. Minnesota will not be looking at a front line starter, but someone who could slot into the middle of the rotation is a must.

Looking at the internal options, Tommy Milone, Trevor May, Ricky Nolasco, and Kyle Gibson are all capable starters, but none of them project as more than middle of the road options. Alex Meyer still may turn out to be an ace if and when the Twins bring him into the picture, but free agency needs to focus on quality.

Should the Twins be able to land a solid number two starter to pair with Hughes, a back end combination involving any of the three aforementioned options would make for a respectable pitching rotation.

Expect the Twins to make a couple more splashes yet this offseason.

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