Ricky Nolasco
Unfortunately, the window of opportunity to trade away Nolasco may have already passed as he is beginning the decent into the mediocrity that Twins fans have become all too familiar with.
After a hot start, the Twins thought they were finally getting the Nolasco they signed to, at the time, the Twins biggest free agent contract of all time.
And to Nolasco’s credit, he does finally look healthy but his ERA of 4.74 with only two quality starts through eight games just proves what a lot of fans and analysts have thought for the past few seasons.
Nolasco is an okay, not great, pitcher who was overpaid and overvalued by the Twins.
There’s not much need for a detailed reminder of Nolasco’s prior season failures as he had a 5.38 ERA in his first season with the Twins while posting an even higher 6.75 the next season.
His performance matched with his contract make Nolasco almost unmovable and the most likely scenario is the Twins biting the bullet – not to mention the financial hit – and releasing him at some point.
Next: Kevin Jepsen/Glen Perkins
That said, if Nolasco can turn things around coming up, a middle-to-bottom of the rotation arm may be enticing to a couple of teams including the Kansas City Royals who have fell on rough times with their rotation, the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers, who have a severe drop off following Jordan Zimmerman and Justin Verlander.