Report: Twins have talked with Pirates, Rays about Cole, Odorizzi

The Minnesota Twins are serious about plugging their biggest hole from 2017: the starting rotation.

The team has reportedly spoken with the Pittsburgh Pirates about Gerrit Cole and the Tampa Bay Rays about Jake Odorizzi, according to Mike Berardino of TwinCities.com.

Both pitchers are 27-years-old and will remain under team control until after the 2019 season.

Cole had mixed results in 2017, posting a 12-12 record with a 4.26 ERA across 33 starts. He did toss 203 innings in the process, which is an encouraging sign after making only 21 starts the year prior.

The former first overall pick had his best season as a pro back in 2015 when he went 19-8 with a 2.60 ERA and finishing fourth in NL Cy Young voting.

Odorizzi took a bit of a step back as well, though much of that could be chalked up to injuries. He went 10-8 with a 4.14 ERA in 143 1/3 innings, his smallest workload since becoming a rotation mainstay with the Rays in 2014.

Despite making the postseason as a Wild Card team, the Twins posted a 4.60 ERA. Veteran righty Ervin Santana was the only hurler to reach the 200-inning plateau, though Jose Berrios rebounded nicely after an ugly debut in 2016.

With the AL Central wide open behind the Cleveland Indians, the Twins may be looking to take advantage of soft competition to make back-to-back postseason appearances.