Twins Insider Defends Potential Free Agent Target

The Minnesota Twins have recently checked in on the availability of veteran right-hander Michael Wacha.

Wacha, 31, enjoyed a bounce-back season with the Boston Red Sox, winning 11 games and posting an ERA of 3.32 in 23 starts.

While injuries remained a concern, Wacha was the Red Sox’s most consistent starter when healthy.

Some Twins fans don’t exactly love the idea of Wacha being the next addition to their starting rotation.

But on Twitter, Twins insider Brandon Warne defended the organization for showing interest in the 31-year-old, citing that the current back-end starters the Twins have are question marks heading into the 2023 season and Wacha would be an improvement over them.

I get people not loving the idea of Michael Wacha with the Twins, but their Nos. 4-5 right now are Kenta Maeda (hasn’t pitched in a year), Bailey Ober (hasn’t thrown 100 innings since he was 18 in 2014), and a cast of kids who might be good but not right now.

— Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) January 3, 2023

Wacha broke into the big leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013.

He helped guide St. Louis to the World Series and earned NLCS MVP honors.

After seven years in a Cardinals uniform, Wacha made brief stops with the New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays.

The Red Sox took a flyer on him last offseason and seemed to be able to fix his issues.

Minnesota already has Sonny Gray and Joe Ryan at the top of its rotation.

Wacha could be a key addition for the Twins if they do decide to pursue him.

For his career, the right-hander owns a 4.05 ERA and has won a total of 74 games.

He currently is the best available starting pitcher on the free agent market.

If the Twins miss out on Wacha, they could potentially pivot to somebody like Zack Greinke or make an attempt to re-sign Dylan Bundy.