On opening day this year, the Twins rotation was Pavano (going to be a free agent), Liriano (traded), Hendricks (back from minors for 2013?), Blackburn (set to grab $5.5M next year, though unlikely to be worth a cent of it), and Marquis (strapped to a rocket and sent to San Diego… where he found his form of yesteryear). Baker has been out all year, but he’s also a FA.

If they don’t make a splash in the FA signings (I was laughing while typing that), who are their options? They have some guys to be optimistic about like DeVries, Deduno, Hendricks, Walters, or, hey, maybe Kyle Gibson will be good to go. Dare I say Duensing and Swarzak are the backup plan again? Scott Diamond seems the only sure thing at this point.

I’m sure they’ll identify a value signing to go after, but hopefully they find Willingham or even Doumit-like success with that rather than something on par with Burroughs, Marquis, or Zumaya. Pavano might be a safe bet for a middle ground there if his off-season rehab progresses and he’s willing to work for walleye-on-a-stick.