Report: Twins agree to 1-year, $12M deal with Lance Lynn
Another free agent appears to be coming off the board, as the Minnesota Twins have reportedly agreed to a one-year, $12-million deal with right-hander Lance Lynn, a source told Jon Morosi of MLB.com on Saturday.
The deal also contains $2 million worth of incentives based on performance, reports Morosi.
Because Lynn rejected a qualifying offer from his now former team, the St. Louis Cardinals, in November, the Twins will send the 95th overall pick in this year's MLB Draft to St. Louis as compensation for the signing.
The Twins will actually lose their fourth pick instead of their third for signing Lance Lynn because their third pick is in Comp Round B, and it's protected. So they lose the No. 95 overall selection instead of No. 75.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) March 10, 2018
News of Lynn's one-year agreement to join Minnesota comes just a few days after it was reported that the 30-year-old had rejected a two-year, $20-million offer from the Twins.
According to Morosi, Lynn left other offers for more guaranteed money on the table in favor of the Twins' contract because he apparently likes the fit and believes in their chances to win this season.
After missing all of 2016 while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, Lynn put up a solid 2017 season for the Cardinals, posting a 3.43 ERA (124 ERA+), 1.229 WHIP, and 153 strikeouts over an NL-leading 33 starts. Save for the year of his surgery, Lynn has made at least 30 appearances in each of the last five seasons.
Lynn, an All-Star in 2012 and World Series champion in 2011, will join a revamped Twins rotation that includes new acquisition Jake Odorizzi, who was came over in a trade with Tampa Bay at the beginning of spring training. The two newcomers will form a solid pair of veterans atop a young Twins staff that could also include 23-year-old right-hander Jose Berrios and 24-year-old southpaw Adalberto Mejia.
After shockingly making the playoffs in 2017 just one year removed from posting the worst record in baseball, Minnesota has spent the winter revamping its roster with an eye towards another October run. Besides the Lynn and Odorizzi acquisitions, the team has also inked six other free agents to major-league contracts, including first baseman/designated hitter Logan Morrison, relievers Zach Duke and Fernando Rodney, and potential swingman Anibal Sanchez.