Francisco Liriano may be one of Minnesota Twins’ considerations - MLB News
The Minnesota Twins want to add pitchers to their roster to bolster a faltering pitching unit. One of the serious options they have includes Francisco Liriano, who was traded by the Twins to the Chicago White Sox earlier during 2012 season.
The 29-year-old was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 2000 as an international free agent that went on to trade him to the Twins. The pitcher made his Major League debut in September of 2005. His best year in the Majors was undoubtedly 2006 when he
had a 12-3 winning record and posted a 2.19 ERA, which was the best in the Major League.
Injuries though have been a problem for Liriano and his form of late has been moving downwards. He posted a 6-12 losing record in 2012 with a 5.34 ERA.
The Dominican has four different pitches including the four-seam and two-seam fast ball, both of which average approximately 93 miles per hour. He also has a slider in the mid 80’s and a change up with a similar pace. He is one of the pitchers who primarily
target a strike-out and averages over one strike-out per inning in his career.
Terry Ryan, the general manager for the Twins when inquired about the possibility of Francisco rejoining the Twins, tactfully avoided the query. "I haven't spoken on the record about anyone we are interested in. Everyone knows we are looking for starting
pitching," Terry said.
There have been several names that have been considered as contenders for the opening rotation for the Twins in 2013 season. These include Brett Myers and Kyle Gibson, should the pitcher be fit in time for the start of the season.
Liriano is currently a free agent. His last salary with the Minnesota ball club was $5.5 million. It will be interesting to see what sort of terms the Twins will put forward, should they give him an offer to rejoin the team.
Francisco Liriano can be a good option for the team as he knows the work ethics of the team well and has been a part of the setup for many years now. The Winter Meetings are less than a week away and we can expect all sorts of deals being sealed in Nashville,
Tennessee.
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