Minnesota Twins: Ervin Santana has surgery, now what?!
Sign multiple lesser free agent targets
If Darvish is not going to end up in the Twin Cities, rather than going after the “next” free agent option, the Minnesota Twins would be wise to target Lance Lynn as one arm that could give them consistent innings and then pursue one or more lesser free agent arms still available.
Lynn returned in 2017 from a year off from Tommy John surgery, and he simply did what he does, leading the National League in starts, throwing 186 1/3 innings, and putting up a 3.43 ERA and 1.23 WHIP while striking out 153. Lynn did walk 78, a much higher rate than usual for him, but it is common for TJS survivors to get their velocity back in their first year and then to get their control/command back in the second year back from the surgery.
Signing Lynn would give the Twins an option akin to Santana – a guy who could toss 30 starts, give 6 innings most times out, and be more of a consistent workhorse more than an elite performing ace. It would give an additional arm when Santana returns this year and allow for Santana to walk after 2018 without hurting the Twins too bad.
However, the Twins wanted to sign one more arm before Santana was injured, so Lynn won’t be quite enough to accomplish what the team wanted. However, pursuing another of the “top 4” would be unwise as Jake Arrieta and Alex Cobb would be poor fits unless on a very cheap or short-term deal.
News came out yesterday from Minnesota Twins beat writer Mike Berardino that the Twins were interested in lefty Jaime Garcia. The Twins had Garcia for a short time last summer before flipping him to the Yankees, and he would be the type of pitcher that would make sense to pair with Lynn on a short-term deal to eat up some innings at a quality level.
Other arms that could make sense on a short term deal would include Trevor Cahill, Andrew Cashner, Jeremy Hellickson, Wade Miley, or Chris Tillman. The Twins could also make a move for a short term deal with veterans that could have one more solid season in the tank, like John Lackey, old friend Matt Garza, or Edinson Volquez.
While Lynn would be solid, that second list of names isn’t exactly encouraging or inspiring. What other options could the Twins pursue?
Next: Trade for a reliable arm