The Twins rotation has become quite a joke again, and there is little help for next season and even in 2015, which is why regardless of if it's the right thing to do or not the Twins need to spend money on at least 2 starters this offseason or trade a few prospects to get a better staff.
Let's take a look at this rotation as of right now:
Deduno- Has been the best starting pitcher this season, he still doesn't strike out as many batters as most would like him too, but if he continues to pitch as well as he does and not allow solid contact consistently he very well could be a very good 4th or 5th starter.
Gibson- Hasn't really shown anything yet and struggled, but remember he is coming off Tommy John surgery and the 130 innings he's thrown between Rochester and Minnesota are the most since his first year in the organization in 2009. 2014 will be better to truly evaluate him.
Pelfrey- Has been better of late, but he should either be moved before the August 31st deadline or they should not bring him back. He just is not worth the 4 million dollars the Twins are paying him and isn't a long term option for this franchise.
Correia- Has been down right awful since the end of April. Still unsure of why the Twins signed him for 2 years. If they can get any kind of minor leaguer with any kind of upside before the deadline they should move him and his contract. He like Pelfrey should not be in this rotation to begin 2014.
Albers- He is making his first major league start tonight and has been fantastic at Rochester, but from everything I hear from scouts is he won't be much of anything in the majors. He projects to have the ceiling of a 5th starter. If he turns out to be better great.
The Twins should go into next season with only 2 of these guys in the rotation in Deduno and Gibson and make sure they are their back of the rotation guys. That would leave the front 3 spots in the rotation open to be filled and at least 2 if not all 3 should be filled via free agency or trade. If the Twins want to leave 1 of the 3 spots open and fill it with temporary fixes until prospects May or Meyer are ready to step into the rotation like they should be at some point in 2014. That would leave 2 spots open, while I'm not sure who the trade candidates are going to be this winter, I do know who will be available via free agency and there are 3 realistic candidates that the Twins could go after and would be huge upgrades to our rotation.
The first pitcher they should go after and who should be their number one target this offseason is Phil Hughes (pictured above) from the Yankees. He has a career average of 7.5 Ks per 9 innings which is way higher then anyone in our rotation right now and averages just over 2 walks per 9 innings as well. I think the amount of hits he has given up the past few years has been inflated due to the fact that he is a fly ball pitcher in a very hitter friendly ballpark. Target Field is set up perfectly for fly ball pitchers, especially with the future outfield he'll have playing behind him in Buxton and Hicks who can chase down just about anything. He is only 28 so you could give him a longer deal then other free agents since he still has so many good years ahead of him. I think they could give him a 4 or 5 year deal worth about 10 million a year and he would be a great fit here.
The next pitcher they should go after is Cleveland's Ubaldo Jimenez. While most people remember his disaster of a season last year, he quietly is back to being the Ubaldo of old. He isn't as dominant but still missing many more bats then last year. This season he is back to striking out just about a batter per inning and just under 9 per 9 innings. His ERA is just a tad over 4 this season, but looks to be back to being a very solid major league pitcher who can miss bats. He is 30 and a 3 year deal would probably be ideal.
The next pitcher is in the midst of his best season as a pro in Ervin Santana from the Kansas City Royals. He is striking out about 8 batters per 9 innings and only walking maybe 2 batters per 9 innings. He has a WHIP of just 1.07 and an ERA of 2.97. He does give up more home runs then you would like, but by pitching in Target Field for about half his starts that will cut those down quite a bit with it being such a big ballpark. He is 31 and coming off his best season thus far may be the most costly of the 3 I mentioned. The Twins probably wouldn't want to give him a 4 year deal but may have to and at this point they need to suck it up and pay for some pitchers.
Another couple of guys who may not be as realistic they could go after are Matt Garza of the Rangers, Josh Johnson of the Blue Jays, Ricky Nolasco of the Dodgers, or Tim Lincecum of the Giants.
No matter how the Twins add starting pitching this offseason, they need to add at least 2 very solid major league pitchers. Pelfrey, Correia, Diamond, Worley, Hendriks, and Albers won't cut it if the Twins want to get this ship in the right direction before our super prospects of Buxton and Sano come up.
In recent interviews both Twins President Dave St. Peter, and Twins GM Terry Ryan have said that the Pohlad's were ready to spend last offseason, so it's time to put their money where their mouth is literally and bring in some quality starting pitching, or else this team is going to be just as bad in 2014 and beyond.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987
Let's take a look at this rotation as of right now:
Deduno- Has been the best starting pitcher this season, he still doesn't strike out as many batters as most would like him too, but if he continues to pitch as well as he does and not allow solid contact consistently he very well could be a very good 4th or 5th starter.
Gibson- Hasn't really shown anything yet and struggled, but remember he is coming off Tommy John surgery and the 130 innings he's thrown between Rochester and Minnesota are the most since his first year in the organization in 2009. 2014 will be better to truly evaluate him.
Pelfrey- Has been better of late, but he should either be moved before the August 31st deadline or they should not bring him back. He just is not worth the 4 million dollars the Twins are paying him and isn't a long term option for this franchise.
Correia- Has been down right awful since the end of April. Still unsure of why the Twins signed him for 2 years. If they can get any kind of minor leaguer with any kind of upside before the deadline they should move him and his contract. He like Pelfrey should not be in this rotation to begin 2014.
Albers- He is making his first major league start tonight and has been fantastic at Rochester, but from everything I hear from scouts is he won't be much of anything in the majors. He projects to have the ceiling of a 5th starter. If he turns out to be better great.
The Twins should go into next season with only 2 of these guys in the rotation in Deduno and Gibson and make sure they are their back of the rotation guys. That would leave the front 3 spots in the rotation open to be filled and at least 2 if not all 3 should be filled via free agency or trade. If the Twins want to leave 1 of the 3 spots open and fill it with temporary fixes until prospects May or Meyer are ready to step into the rotation like they should be at some point in 2014. That would leave 2 spots open, while I'm not sure who the trade candidates are going to be this winter, I do know who will be available via free agency and there are 3 realistic candidates that the Twins could go after and would be huge upgrades to our rotation.
The first pitcher they should go after and who should be their number one target this offseason is Phil Hughes (pictured above) from the Yankees. He has a career average of 7.5 Ks per 9 innings which is way higher then anyone in our rotation right now and averages just over 2 walks per 9 innings as well. I think the amount of hits he has given up the past few years has been inflated due to the fact that he is a fly ball pitcher in a very hitter friendly ballpark. Target Field is set up perfectly for fly ball pitchers, especially with the future outfield he'll have playing behind him in Buxton and Hicks who can chase down just about anything. He is only 28 so you could give him a longer deal then other free agents since he still has so many good years ahead of him. I think they could give him a 4 or 5 year deal worth about 10 million a year and he would be a great fit here.
The next pitcher they should go after is Cleveland's Ubaldo Jimenez. While most people remember his disaster of a season last year, he quietly is back to being the Ubaldo of old. He isn't as dominant but still missing many more bats then last year. This season he is back to striking out just about a batter per inning and just under 9 per 9 innings. His ERA is just a tad over 4 this season, but looks to be back to being a very solid major league pitcher who can miss bats. He is 30 and a 3 year deal would probably be ideal.
The next pitcher is in the midst of his best season as a pro in Ervin Santana from the Kansas City Royals. He is striking out about 8 batters per 9 innings and only walking maybe 2 batters per 9 innings. He has a WHIP of just 1.07 and an ERA of 2.97. He does give up more home runs then you would like, but by pitching in Target Field for about half his starts that will cut those down quite a bit with it being such a big ballpark. He is 31 and coming off his best season thus far may be the most costly of the 3 I mentioned. The Twins probably wouldn't want to give him a 4 year deal but may have to and at this point they need to suck it up and pay for some pitchers.
Another couple of guys who may not be as realistic they could go after are Matt Garza of the Rangers, Josh Johnson of the Blue Jays, Ricky Nolasco of the Dodgers, or Tim Lincecum of the Giants.
No matter how the Twins add starting pitching this offseason, they need to add at least 2 very solid major league pitchers. Pelfrey, Correia, Diamond, Worley, Hendriks, and Albers won't cut it if the Twins want to get this ship in the right direction before our super prospects of Buxton and Sano come up.
In recent interviews both Twins President Dave St. Peter, and Twins GM Terry Ryan have said that the Pohlad's were ready to spend last offseason, so it's time to put their money where their mouth is literally and bring in some quality starting pitching, or else this team is going to be just as bad in 2014 and beyond.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987