The Twins were among the finalists for Chris Capuano before the left-hander signed with the Dodgers, and now they're turning their attention to Jeff Francis and Edwin Jackson according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. They've had preliminary discussions with Francis' agent and are likely to continue talks at the winter meetings next week.
Jackson, a Scott Boras client, would not a cost draft to sign as a Type-B free agent, but Minnesota is wary of his price tag according to Morosi. At the moment, the Twinkies have Carl Pavano, Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Francisco Liriano, Kevin Slowey, and Brian Duensing as potential starters, but Baker, Liriano, and Blackburn have injury concerns and Slowey is a non-tender candidate.
hallwagner
twinkies….lol
twins33
I’d be okay with Jackson, but for the right price. No to Francis please.
stl_cards16
Jackson seems like a good fit for the Twins. I highly doubt they will fork out what it takes to land him though.
YankeePhan1234
Jackson definitely isn’t a Twins type of a pitcher, he is a power pitcher with command issues that will demand a fairly large contract.
Brock Besler
I don’t know if I would really consider Jackson a power pitcher. He has only struck out 6.68/9 innings in his career.
MNTwins12
It is a good thing that Jackson isn’t a Twins type pitcher. The Twins need a pitcher who can throw in the mid 90’s and strike some batters out. His control issues aren’t really that bad, especially when you compare him to Francisco Liriano. His ERA is above average and he’s still young with room for improvement. The Twins will be better off paying a lot more for a pitcher like Jackson instead of embarrassing themselves and signing someone like Jeff Francis. SIGN JACKSON- get this done Twins!
Brock Besler
I agree with you. Jackson could be a great for the Twins and who cares if a pitcher walks a couple batters, it keeps the hitters somewhat off balance. Also, Jackson has a pretty good FIP and xFIP for his career, not ace quality but good nonetheless.
First L
love to see edwin here, but I’ll take both of them – send duensing and blackburned to bullpen
cards2WS
Jackson is likely to be over paid where ever he goes…
StanleyPujols
I’ve got Francis going to Minnesota in the predictions contest. Go Twinkies!
Twinkilling61
No thank you to either of them. I would take Jackson, but he’s going to be too expensive for his production.
JerisG24
I’d take Jackson for the right price, but Jeff Francis? C’Mon Man.
Dan C
I highly doubt Jeff Francis is actually being considered. I mean, seriously. We’ve played against him and I’m pretty sure we’ve demolished him when he’s pitched against us, EVEN AT TARGET FIELD.
Ivy Lisko
I’d take Jackson if the price was right.
Eddie Millhauser
I think Jackson would be a great fit for the Twins, he just seems like a guy who would excel there. But then again he’s been on what 35 teams in the past 2 years? So if the Twins are a bust at the trade deadline you could always send him to his 36th team…
Yankees420
Wouldn’t the Twins be the 36th team?
Eddie Millhauser
I think Jackson would be a great fit for the Twins, he just seems like a guy who would excel there. But then again he’s been on what 35 teams in the past 2 years? So if the Twins are a bust at the trade deadline you could always send him to his 36th team…
Howard
I don’t get why Francis hasn’t come back to Canada yet… like sign him to a 2 year 14million deal and let the Rogers Center fill up so we can make more money in attendance to go after better players. Jeff needs more guidance now and could fit in with Farrell and the Jays pitching staff. Better option than trading your farm system away.
Twins GM
2-14M are you nuts!!!! 2-3M he would be jumping up and down for.