It appears that all the speculation that swirled around free agent Carl Pavano leaving the Minnesota Twins for another team will be coming to an end very soon.
FOXSports.com senior baseball writer Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Twins are nearing a deal that will keep Pavano in a Twins uniform through the 2012 season.
Fans will be happy to hear this news, as Pavano became a favorite in Minnesota during his first year and a half with the team—because of both his consistently effective outings and that moustache that has given Twins fans the urge to apply phony facial hair before making their way to Target Field.
In December, I actually found myself writing that Pavano wasn’t the right fit for the Twins. I’m glad I can say at this point that I was wrong.
Archive: MLB Free Agency: Why Carl Pavano Doesn’t Fit With The 2011 Minnesota Twins
In reality, it wasn’t that I didn’t think that Pavano would be a beneficial part of the Twins rotation. After all, since joining the Twins in late 2009 Pavano has a combined 22-15 record with a 3.97 ERA.
Pavano was given type-A status as a free agent after the season, and was the most talented starter on the free-agent market after Cliff Lee signed with the Phillies.
My only concern with Pavano was his age. Pavano turns 35 on Saturday, and a three or four-year deal would be out of the question for the right-hander as his performance would likely decline as he nears 40.
The terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed for the two-year deal, but expect it to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 million per year.
Pavano will anchor a rotation that now will likely appear something like this:
No. 1 Starter: Carl Pavano
No. 2 Starter: Francisco Liriano
No. 3 Starter: Scott Baker
No. 4 Starter: Brian Duensing
No. 5 Starter: Kevin Slowey/Nick Blackburn
It’ll be interesting to see how both the front end and back end of the rotation play out as spring training gets under way in a little over a month. Many have been hoping that Liriano would emerge as a clear-cut ace and lead the staff, but his performance has shown that he may not be ready for such an undertaking.
In the back end of the rotation both Slowey and Blackburn have had significant highs and lows over the last couple of seasons.
Combine that with the fast tracking of prospect Kyle Gibson (who some are pegging as a possible contender for AL Rookie of the Year once given a shot with the club), and manager Ron Gardenhire will have some tough decisions to make before the Twins open the 2011 season.
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