The Twins are interested in free agent left-hander Chris Capuano, reports La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Twitter link). The Dodgers are the only other club known to be pursuing Capuano, whose desire for a two-year contract was the reason the Mets lost interest in re-signing him.
Capuano, 33, posted a 4.55 ERA in 33 games (31 of them starts) for the Mets last season, though as Ben Nicholson-Smith explained in a recent Free Agent Stock Watch post, Capuano's xFIP and SIERA were each almost a full run lower. Capuano didn't pitch in 2008 or 2009 due to Tommy John surgery and has spent all seven of his pro seasons in the National League. He would seem like a good fit in Minnesota, where the rotation is unsettled beyond Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker and Carl Pavano.
This is the most Twins move ever haha
God, the Twins used to be a respectable organization. This bum would fit right in with their rotation of has-beens and nobodies.
As a Twins fan I wish I could resent this comment, but unfortunately it was my first thought when I read the headline.
Marlins agree to 3-year $27M deal w Heath Bell, pending physical. Expected to take physical tomorrow.
This is definitely the kind of guy the Twins would go after, but Capuano is actually capable of striking hitters out. I wouldn’t mind if the Twins signed him. Sure beats acquiring the Sidney Ponsons of the world.
He didn’t want to do it for the Mets, but maybe a team could convince him to be relief pitcher after he was given a chance to start and didn’t deliver…his stats in the first 3 or 4 innings of his starts were Ace like.definitely could be a real nice utility bullpen peice as he strikes out righties and lefties at a nice clip.
So he’s sort of an older Brian Duensing with the ability to strike a guy out. Hmmm. It lets you put Duensing into the pen now and Capuano later on once some fresh young face claims a rotation spot. And they’ll need Duensing out there as a decent swing man given the propensity of some of these guys to be gone by the sixth inning.
You know, if he works out as well as Pavano has (which is to say, lots of meh innings that prevent another callup from the unready, untalented and uninteresting Rochester roster) it would free them to trade Liriano the moment he puts three starts together. That’s worth something.
The Mauer contract haunts
If he plays to his ability, I don’t think any Twins fans would be complaining.
They cant afford any complimentary pieces to Joe
They can afford Justin Morneau.
They have 10-15 mil to spend and they need everything
they are fine last year was a fluke season
I hope so.
I’m not saying they are gonna win the world series or anything, but they will be contenders to win the central again next year
What is his ability? It certainly isn’t worth 23M/season. He’s going into his 8th full season. He has hit above 13 HRs ONCE, has never had 200 hits in a season and has never had 100 RBI in a season. The only “fluke” season he ever had was right before he got paid. Obviously, the Twins hands were tied because he’s the hometown hero. But the Twins were able to win for years because of their conservative spending, which simply does not allow for this type of contract. The Contract is for 7 more years and he already has major durability problems. You move him to another position, and the outlook gets even bleaker.
I LIKE THE LOUD NOISES WHEN PEOPLE READ WHAT I SAY. THEIR FACES TURN RED HA HA HA. I AM SMART.
Why add a 33 y.o. player w/ marginal abilities to a team unlikely to compete this next season? Twins need a youth movement, I’m afraid as, amazingly, there are questions about every position and uncertainty up and down the pitching staff.
He doesn’t really block anyone. The Twins best high level pitching prospects are Hendriks, who needs at least half a season at AAA and Kyle Gibson (out for 2012 w/TJ). Assuming a rotation of Baker, Liriano, Pavano, Capuano, Blackburn lets Hendriks start at AAA until replacing someone due to injury and Duensing to the pen. Also, Liriano and Pavano are FA after the year and Capuano would be able to add another piece to the 2013 rotation.
Swell another multi year deal for a lefthaded Pavano.
Capuano actually strikes some hitters out. Career K/9 of 7.54, versus Pavano at 5.52. Also, Pavano has lived up to that contract and I am sure Capuano won’t need that much money. If the Twins could sign Capuano for 2 years, 8 million it would be a bargain.
This move would be a slight improvement over Brian Deunsing, but still doesnt fix any problems we have in our starting rotation. It may cost more money but singing someone else like Edwin Jackson would make a lot more sense.
Edwin Jackson… ugh
What is wrong with Edwin Jackson? He is still a young pitcher with very respectable statistics. He could be our number 2 or 3 starter for the time being.
Edwin Jackson doesn’t fit the Twins mold for a pitcher. Too erratic. They preach good control, with few walks.
Do it! Then Ned can’t get him! Go Twins, Go!
I don’t foresee any true potential in this move at all…Twins need to concentrate on getting younger as an organization. Any moves being made by the front office at all to acquire players should only be those adding youth to the team. A 33 yr-old on the comeback from TJ surgery who has performed only marginally well isn’t going to be much of an augment to the pathetic Twins BP or make any solid impact on the starting rotation. Other than Cuddyer the Twins shouldn’t be looking to sign anybody 30 yr-old or older.
The Twins shouldn’t even be looking to sign Cuddyer. He’s versatile, but you’re not going to get the production you want from him. We’re better off signing Willingham to a 3-year contract.
3-year contract is absurd. You don’t want to be stuck with Willingham that long when he already bad defensively.
And Cuddyer is good defensively?
The Twins obviously aren’t looking for great defense from him. At worst, he is still better than Delmon Young in Fld%, who trailed Willingham by 15%.
Don’t get me wrong, strikeouts are nice, but can he pitch to contact?
This could work for the Twins. Best case scenario he becomes a solid lefty pitcher who can pick up some strikeouts and benefits from having a big ballpark. Worst case scenario we pick up another left handed reliever.
Looks like yet more dumpster divin’ from The Cowardly Lion.
I think this move would fit along with the signings of Carroll and Doumit as solid additions for the Twins. Everyone is saying the Twins need so much this off season, but don’t have the money to fill those holes. The only way the Twins can return to being a competitive team is to get healthy. They could have signed CJ Wilson, Heath Bell and Jonathan Broxton, but that wouldn’t change much if Mauer, Morneau and Span can’t return from their injuries.
Signing Capuano, who doesn’t get destroyed by RH hitters, would bump Duensing to the Bullpen were he has done very well. This strengthens the bullpen and gives the Twins a potential innings-eater for the next couple years.
I kinda like a Campuano signing if A) He’s cheaper than Slowey. B) It’s short term. and C) They trade Slowey for some decent pre-arb player on the “usefull piece” scale of talent. That said, I also like Slowey.
thank god we did not get stuck wth this retread bum
More of a fly-ball bias compared to other starters, but his GB/FB ratio has floated right at around 1 for the past six years. He’s about as neutral as they come.
Little more groundball but roughly league avg, if I read b-r stat right.
42.7%GB rate last year. So a little more of a flyball pitcher, which is ok for Target Field. Bill James predicts him to be about .500 with 190 IP. I think the Twins would be alright with that.