When the Twins traded for Jake Odorizzi, indications were that Minnesota wasn’t done searching for another starting pitcher. As of Saturday morning, Falvey and Levine are like an eleven-person family, grocery shopping. They’re still exploring the market.

Since the steal-of-a-deal Odorizzi transaction, the options for our most plausible new hurler have remained the same. Despite being considered the top free agent starting arm still available, mentions of Minnesota’s interest in Jake Arrieta have been few and far between. When it comes to talks of signing a rotation-ready arm, Lance Lynn and Alex Cobb have dominated that conversation.

However, the total combined mentions of those two free agents still doesn’t seem to get near the amount of discussion surrounding a potential trade for Chris Archer.

So, with those three horses (Lynn, Cobb, and Archer) leading the race, which is the best option?

If all things were equal, for multiple reasons, the answer to that question is Chris Archer. Unfortunately, someone who considers trading away, let’s just say… Max Kepler, Nick Gordon, and a/an additional prospect(s) is equivalent to the Pohlad’s signing a check, is embarrassingly bad at math.

yeah, not even close on that one. you’d likely have to start with Kepler, Gordon and then go from there.

— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) February 21, 2018

In the above Tweet, Rhett Bollinger (Twins beat reporter for MLB.com) was replying to a fan who was inquiring about a hypothetical trade for Archer.

Let that sink in for a second. Going and getting the 29 year-old sounds terrific until you realize how much juice it would take to get the job done.

With that being said, trading for Chris Archer means acquiring his franchise friendly contract (2020 & 2021 (in red) represent club option years):

In regards to the perspective dollars per year Lynn and Cobb will command, that’s up in the air. It won’t be as expensive as the $20 million a year we offered Yu Darvish, but not as cheap as Archer’s deal.

Since we took a stab at Darvish, we’ve added $9 million to our 2018 payroll (Odorizzi and Anibal Sanchez). If they had 20 fat ones set aside for Yu and spent 9 of those smackers on the two mentioned pitchers, there has to be 11 still sitting somewhere (there’s SO MUCH f*cken more than that).

On top of that, a reminder that after this season, Joe Mauer and Ervin Santana’s contracts will be off the books.

Joe Mauer $ value per @fangraphs:

Pre-2011
$182m

Post-2011
$116.8m

Career earnings:
Pre-2011
$34.025m

Post-2011
$161m

Total worth- $298.8m
Total paid- $195.025m#MNTwins

— Ted Schwerzler (@tlschwerz) February 23, 2018

The way I see it, rather than trading away the farm to acquire the highly coveted Archer, signing Lynn or Cobb is a much better option. In regards to which I think they should get, I don’t give a shit (reports indicate Minnesota prefers Lynn). Their career ERA’s are basically the same (3.38 for Lynn, 3.50 for Cobb). Additionally, each is 30 years-old with one Tommy John surgery under their belt.

As you can see from the comparison below, both the former St. Louis Cardinal (3.38 career ERA) and Cobb (3.50 career ERA) had better ERAs in 2017 than Chris Archer:

2017 Stat Comparison

• Lance Lynn – Record: 11-8, ERA: 3.43, IP: 186.1, WHIP: 1.229
• Alex Cobb – Record: 12-10, ERA: 3.66, IP: 179.1, WHIP: 1.221
• Chris Archer – Record: 10-12, ERA: 4.07, IP: 201.0, WHIP: 1.259

To close, keep in mind that there is a good chance none of these proverbial ponies reach the end destination that is a Minnesota Twins uniform.

In the event that occurs, the Paul Molitor managed ball-club may acquire a more off the radar option, or just begin the season with their current options. Like an actual day at the track, anything can happen.

Johnny Minnesota @TheJohnnyMN
Minnesota Sports Fan MinnesotaSportsFan.com

Chris Gimenez to the Cubs… Is Darvish next? #MNTwins

?: @TheJohnnyMN https://t.co/vNpsDUoCni

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) January 23, 2018

Yes.

After a marathon battle of cat and mouse, the back-and-forth between Yu Darvish and the MLB free agency market finally came to an end on Saturday. The 31-year-old pitcher agreed to a six-year, $126 million deal with the Chicago Cubs.

Breaking: Yu Darvish has agreed to a six-year, $126 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. (first reported by The Athletic, confirmed by ESPN) pic.twitter.com/XvZ0UMAkFh

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 10, 2018

Well, so much for the whole Mike Napoli recruiting Yu Darvish to sign with Minnesota thing. That whole story was as epic a reach as that one Michael Jordan dunk in Space Jam? Twins fans were supposed to be encouraged that a player, who’s not EVEN on our team, would help land one of the two most sought after free agent pitchers? As much as I wanted it to, that one didn’t pull the wool over my eyes.

Anywho, it’s on to the next one. F*ck it. The initial domino has FINALLY fallen. Yu Darvish, like the recently engaged Carson Wentz, is off of the market.

Carson Wentz is now engaged, 9 years after nearly suffering a dating career ending injury #Eagles pic.twitter.com/kcqoP27TS1

— Old Player Tweets (@OldPlayerTweets) February 6, 2018

Per Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press, a rival club official said he still expected the Twins to land a starting pitcher but was “not sure which level they go to.”

As for other free agent pitchers available, Jake Arrieta is now, hands-down, the most coveted starting hurler available. Financially, the former Cy Young Award winner has the potential to top Darvish’s deal. Here are the 31 year-old’s numbers from the last few seasons:

In the event Arrieta is anywhere near his 2015 self, someone out there is getting a bonafide ace. Personally, considering his age and his downward-trending numbers, I’m good without Jake the Snake. Plus, he shaved his patented beard:

Jake Arrieta looks completely unrecognizable after shaving beard pic.twitter.com/Mg3eBBALJL

— Bush Leaguer (@BushLeague101) October 22, 2017

After Arrieta, there’s a drop-off to the next tier of talent, which includes Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn. Cobb (30 years-old) is coming of a 2017 campaign with the Rays, where he finished with 12-10 record (29 starts) and a 3.66 ERA. As for Lynn (30 years-old), the longtime St. Louis Cardinal, posted an 11-8 record (33 starts) with an ERA of 3.43 last season. Those numbers are right there with what Arrieta posted in 2017. As for how much Cobb and Lynn will get paid, that won’t be right there with the former Chicago Cub.

Berardino also reported that the Twins are continuing to explore starting pitchers such as Chris Archer and Jake Odorizzi.

The way I see it, outside of avoiding Arrieta and his fat price tag, I don’t give a shit who they bring in at this point. Just bring in someone decent, please. With Ervin Santana set to miss the start of the season with a finger injury, this potential rotation sounds rough…

Twins opening day rotation

José Berríos
Adalberto Mejia
Kyle Gibson
Trevor May
Aaron Slegers pic.twitter.com/g1WfrSedPC

— Jared Rubado (@JaredRubado) February 10, 2018

Johnny Minnesota @TheJohnnyMN
Minnesota Sports Fan MinnesotaSportsFan.com