3 left-handed starting pitchers Twins can still sign in free agency

The Minnesota Twins need a left-handed starter. Badly. In the entirety of the 2024 season, Minnesota had a grand total of one start made by a left-handed pitcher, and that was reliever Steven Okert.

In a perfect world, the Twins would have opened the checkbook and made a push for Max Fried or Sean Manaea. Unfortunately the Twins are not willing to escalate the payroll next year. Here are three lefty starters on the market that can fill innings and provide depth in the back end of the rotation without adding significantly to the payroll next season.

Wade Miley

Although he may slide under the radar, Wade Miley has a far better career than you might remember. The 38-year-old lefty has racked up 18 wins above replacement while pitching to a 4.07 ERA and a winning record of 108-99. Not sexy by any means, but a reliable back end starter. 

Coming off Tommy John surgery last year, Miley is on record saying he prefers to return to the Brewers. But that requires two sides agreeing and the Twins could emerge as a fit for Miley if the Brewers don’t feel the same way.

When healthy, Miley has been above average in recent years, putting up ERA’s of 3.14, 3.16, and 3.37 from 2021-2023. He also has a strong familiarity with the Midwest, having spent time in Milwaukee, Chicago, and Cincinnati. 

Patrick Corbin

How badly do you want innings? Patrick Corbin will provide them. The ERA is high and the WAR is low, but if you need left-handed innings, Corbin is your guy. 

Corbin has been a beacon of health over the last decade, making 30 or more starts in every full season (except for the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign) since 2016. He will cost next to nothing, and if he crashes and burns it would be fairly easy to pull the plug. 

While the numbers are not good, he was a driving force in the Nationals’ 2019 World Series run and is still above average at inducing ground balls. If Pete Maki can tap into whatever’s left in that arm and get him down to even a mid-fours ERA, he could provide depth for an entirely right-handed rotation. 

John Means

I’ll remain a believer in John Means. There’s no questioning the quality of his performance when he’s on the mound. The problem with Means lies in his health, where he’s had two Tommy John surgeries in his career.

Arm issues have limited him to just 10 games in the last three seasons, but that sample includes a 2021 no-hitter. An all-star and Rookie of the Year finalist before being hit with the injury bug, means has the highest upside of this group. 

While the $8 million FanGraphs projection may feel a bit expensive for the 2025 Twins, he still lands as a cheaper option than the likes of a Clayton Kershaw or Jose Quintana. If Means returns to form, Minnesota can find themselves with an extension candidate or trade deadline bait.