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Francisco Liriano

Antony On Nishioka, Hardy, Pavano, Liriano, More

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Twins Assistant GM Rob Antony recently sat down for a chat with Jesse Lund from Twinkie Town to discuss a variety of topics. Let's recap the hot stove talk…

  • Tsuyoshi Nishioka first popped up on the team's radar after Antony mentioned to his agent that the team was looking to get more athletic on the infield. This was long before they decided to trade J.J. Hardy.
  • The Twins believe Nishioka is a good player, but they understand there might be a bit of a transition period. Not just for the move to MLB, but the move to the United States. They've hired an interpreter for Nishioka, and don't believe the additional Japanese media will be an issue in the clubhouse.
  • The three-year, $9MM contract Nishioka signed was "exactly what we pretty much anticipated and were willing to give." They were trying to add speed and athleticism to the lineup, but no one on the free agent market jumped out at them, hence the pursuit of Nishioka.
  • Hardy was expected to make $5MM+ in 2011 (he eventually signed for $5.85MM), and the team "just decided that we wanted to put that money into other areas." Carl Pavano, Jim Thome, and most of the bullpen were free agents, so they had to prioritize. "Trying to fit all those guys into a budget was going to be impossible."
  • The Twins had conversations with other teams about Hardy, but there were never any real offers. The trade with Baltimore was "by far [their] best opportunity to make a deal." It became apparent that Brendan Harris wasn't a fit anymore, hence his inclusion in the trade.
  • Antony says the Twins like Rule 5 Draft pick Scott Diamond in long relief, and Dusty Hughes' success against Minnesota last year played a role in claiming him off waivers.
  • Although they would have liked to retain Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, Jon Rauch, and Brian Fuentes, the Twins just "couldn't compete" with the multyear offers they were receiving as free agents.
  • Thome decided that Minnesota was where he wanted to be after talking with his family, and the money didn't appear to be much of an issue.
  • Antony expected Pavano to get two or three years at $10-11MM per season, and he knows the Brewers had some interest in the right-hander. Pavano's agent basically told the Twins he wanted to play there, and he wasn't a guy that was "chasing the last dollar."
  • Rumors of Francisco Liriano being available in a trade were just that, rumors. As far as a multiyear deal with the lefty, Antony said there "can be many reasons why you don't consummate a multiyear deal, and sometimes the player doesn't want to, sometimes the club doesn't want to, sometimes you just don't agree on numbers, or whatever. So we're not going to talk about any of our negotiations with that or anything else, but he was a big part of our rotation. We're not talking to anybody right now on Francisco Liriano."
  • The team is at the "far reaches" of where they can go with payroll, so they tried to maintain flexibility for 2012 by not doing any multiyears deals this offseason (aside from Pavano).
  • "If the right deal arises and we can improve our ballclub, we could look at it from that point of view," said Antony, regarding a potential trade involving one of the team's excess starting pitchers. "I don't think we'd trade away one of our starting pitchers for a middle reliever or something. It would have to be something that would make sense for us. And a trade isn't even the most likely scenario, it's a possible scenario."

Antony also talked about Justin Morneau's health, Delmon Young's breakout, injury concerns, minor league prospects, and much, much more. Make sure you give it a read.

Quick Hits: Liriano, Guerrero, Fielder, D’Antona

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On this date in 2009, the Mariners welcomed Ken Griffey Jr. back to Seattle, signing him to a one-year deal. The Kid hit 19 homers in his age-39 season and re-signed with Seattle for one last season before the 2010 campaign. Last year went poorly for Junior, but he's back in Seattle as a consultant this year. Here are today's links…

  • Francisco Liriano told La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he doesn't think his representatives had serious discussions with the Twins about a long-term deal during the offseason. (Twitter link).
  • Vladimir Guerrero says he hasn't thought about retirement, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli (on Twitter). The Orioles finalized their deal with Vlad today.
  • Brewers manager Ron Roenicke told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that he doesn't expect Prince Fielder's contract status to be "an issue" for the team this year (Twitter link). Prince hits free agency for the first time after the coming season.
  • The Marlins released Jamie D'Antona, according to MLB.com's transactions page. They signed the third baseman last month after he spent two seasons in Japan. The 2003 second rounder clubbed 36 homers for the Yakult Swallows last year.
  • Tim Dierkes ranks this year's crop of third basemen from a fantasy perspective at RotoAuthority.

Twins Open To Trading Liriano

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Twins officials are open to the idea of trading Francisco Liriano, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Liriano, who avoided arbitration with the Twins on the weekend, is on track to hit free agency after the 2012 season if Minnesota doesn't lock him up long-term.

The Twins don’t plan to sign Liriano to an extension, according to Christensen. Long-term talks “went nowhere” and Liriano hinted at a three-year, $39MM extension when the sides discussed a deal, according to Christensen. 

There would be demand for the left-hander if the Twins made him available. Liriano posted a 3.62 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 191 2/3 innings last year. He appears to have recovered completely from Tommy John surgery and makes just $4.3MM in 2011.

Twins, Liriano Avoid Arbitration

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The Twins have agreed to terms with pitcher Francisco Liriano on a one-year, $4.3MM deal, avoiding arbitration, according to a team press release.  The left-hander is represented by Legacy Sports.

This one-year deal marks a signficant raise for Liriano, who skirted arbitration with the Twins last year for $1.6MM.  The two sides met exactly in the middle this time as the pitcher asked for $5MM and the club countered with an offer of $3.6MM.  This offseason was Liriano's second go-round as an arb-eligible player.

Liriano, 27, turned in a 3.62 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 31 starts last season.  According to MLBTR's Arb Tracker, the Twins have just one more unsettled case to tackle in outfielder Delmon Young. 

Arbitration Rumors: Marcum, Weeks, Liriano, Young

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17 arbitration eligible players remain unsigned, according to MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker, and only four teams have more than one outstanding case. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and MLB.com's Kelly Thesier provide negotiation updates on two of those clubs with multiple cases, the Brewers and Twins….

  • Brewers negotiator Teddy Werner is optimistic that the team will reach agreements with both Shaun Marcum and Rickie Weeks without going to a hearing.
  • Both players are exclusively discussing one-year deals with the Brewers, though Werner conveyed the club's desire to work out a long-term extension with Weeks later this year.
  • Like the Brewers, the Twins appear to be focusing on one-year deals, rather than multiyear extensions, with their arbitration eligible players, Francisco Liriano and Delmon Young. "Right now, we're focused on trying to get them signed for 2011, and we'll go from there," Minnesota GM Bill Smith told Thesier.
  • Smith appears willing to go to a hearing with either player if they can't settle on a figure the Twins like: "We'll continue to work on these two guys, and if we can reach agreement, we will. If not, then there's an arbitration panel that will do it."

Ten Arbitration Cases To Watch

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There aren't many unsigned arbitration eligible players remaining at this point in the winter, but many of the most high-profile cases remain unresolved. As MLBTR's Arb Tracker shows, 26 arbitration eligible players have yet to agree on their 2011 salaries. Some of them will sign extensions, some will go to hearings and others will avoid arbitration with one-year deals. Here's a primer on ten of the most interesting arbitration eligible players out there:

10. Mike Napoli, Blue Jays - In case arbitration cases weren't complicated enough, the Blue Jays have to defend the Angels' number ($5.3MM) if they go to an arbitration hearing with Napoli, who filed at $6.1MM. The numbers stand, even though the Blue Jays acquired the catcher/first baseman after the Angels exchanged arbitration submissions with him.

9. R.A. Dickey, Mets – Dickey has said he's open to a multiyear deal. We'll soon know whether Mets GM Sandy Alderson wants to extend the knuckleballer or settle on a contract in the $3.35-4.7MM range.

8. Delmon Young, Twins - There's a $1.6MM difference between Young's asking price ($6.25MM) and the Twins' suggested salary ($4.65MM). 

7. Jeremy Guthrie, Orioles – As I explained yesterday, Guthrie's case could come down to his durability (175 innings in four consecutive seasons) vs. the fact that comparable starters (John Danks, Chad Billingsley, Matt Garza) have been harder to hit.

6. Rickie Weeks, Brewers – The Brewers are no longer discussing a multiyear deal with Weeks, who is asking for $7.2MM. The Brewers countered with $4.85MM.

5. Francisco Liriano, Twins - Liriano made $1.6MM last year and posted a 3.62 ERA with 9.4 K/9 in 191 2/3 innings. His representatives at Legacy Sports will argue that he has earned a raise to $5MM, while Bill Smith and the Twins say $3.6MM is more appropriate.

4. Wandy Rodriguez, Astros – Rodriguez's $10.25MM asking price seems high until you realize how few arbitration eligible pitchers have comparable big league experience (the Astros offered $8MM). Rodriguez is just 15 innings shy of 1,000 for his career and his ERA hasn't surpassed 3.60 in any of the past three seasons. The lefty's 985 innings are 246 more than Erik Bedard had after 2008, the season that set Bedard up for a $7.75MM payday. Few arbitration eligible pitchers earn eight-figure deals, but few have as much big league experience and success as Rodriguez.

3. Jered Weaver, Angels - Weaver requested $8.8MM, while the Angels countered with $7.465MM. Either way, the Scott Boras client will be earning substantially more than he did in 2010, when he made $4.625MM.

2. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays – I wrote last fall that Bautista's case comes down to his historic 2010 season vs. the forgettable campaigns he strung together before last year. Click here to read more.

1. Josh Hamilton, Rangers - The Rangers could bring up Hamilton’s injury history and past substance abuse, but they would have to do so subtly, says Michael Vlessides, a veteran arbitration consultant.  “It’s the fine line between how much do you pick on the guy who’s the MVP. If you do it too much, you can lose a lot of credibility” Vlessides said. Beating MVPs in arbitration hearings isn’t easy, but the Pirates beat Barry Bonds after he won his first MVP in 1990 and again the following offseason.

Arbitration Figures: Tuesday

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Today is the deadline for players and teams to submit arbitration figures. Let's keep track of those figures here, with the latest updates on top. You can track all of the players that avoided arbitration today here.

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Twins Notes: Pavano, Liriano, Crain, Punto

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Let's take a look at some Twins tidbits..

  • The Twins and Carl Pavano are still close to a deal but appear to be in a temporary holding pattern, writes Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune.  The sides still have some details to work out but they've agreed to put the talks on hold through Tuesday. 
  • Tabling the talks with Pavano should allow the Twins to focus on their potential arbitration cases.  Matt Capps, Francisco Liriano, Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins, and Delmon Young are all scheduled to swap figures with the Twins on Tuesday.  Christensen points out that the Twins settled all eight of their potential arbitration cases at the eleventh hour last year.
  • The Twins made some attempts to retain Jesse Crain but ultimately knew that relievers Brian Fuentes, Matt Guerrier, and Jon Rauch would sign elsewhere, according to Christensen.
  • Nick Punto is still on the open market but the Twins don't have any plans to bring the infielder back, writes Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune.  Punto, 33, has spent the last seven years with the Twins, hitting .248/.323/.324.

Twins Would Consider Trading Slowey

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The Twins would consider trading Kevin Slowey - especially if they re-sign Carl Pavano - reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Sherman says the Twins have actually received inquiries on ace Francisco Liriano from the Yankees and others, but a team official can't imagine moving the lefty.

Slowey, 26, posted a 4.45 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9, and 28.3% groundball rate in 155 2/3 innings this year for the Twins, missing time with elbow and triceps injuries.  He's a control artist who works around 90 mph, and with one of the highest flyball rates in the game Slowey would be best-suited in a big ballpark.  He's arbitration eligible for the first time this winter.

Extension Candidate: Francisco Liriano

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Francisco Liriano can be an inspiration to Stephen Strasburg, if the Nationals phenom has patience.  Liriano took the American League by storm for 121 innings in 2006, but went down for Tommy John surgery in November of that year.  In 2010, Liriano is again considered one of the best pitchers in the league. 

The Minnesota lefty was handled cautiously in '08, as Strasburg probably will be in 2012.  Three rough starts in April of '08 earned Liriano an extended stay in Triple A, long enough to prompt his agent Greg Genske to have the players union investigate potential service time manipulation.  Had Liriano spent all of '08 in the bigs, he'd have about 100 extra days of service time and would have been eligible for arbitration after that season and for free agency after the 2011 season.  An extra month or so in the Majors in '08 would've made Liriano eligible for arbitration for '09 as a Super Two.

Instead, 2011 will be Liriano's second arbitration year and he'll be eligible for free agency after '12.  Liriano will be 29 heading into the 2012-13 offseason, and could earn a massive free agent contract.  If there's any lingering bad blood from '08, you have to wonder if he'll continue going year-to-year.

On the other hand, Liriano could seek the security of an extension this winter in the Zack Greinke/Josh Johnson model. Greinke and Johnson were coming off low first-year arbitration salaries a touch below Liriano's current $1.6MM due to similar bumps in the road.  They signed for four years and $38-39MM.

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