Free agent pitchers retrospective

Brandon McCarthy signed a two-year, $18 million
contract with Arizona last winter.

The Twins entered the offseason with an obvious need to rebuild their starting rotation, and I suggested on this blog three specific free agent pitchers to target.

I don't know if the Twins seriously pursued any of them. They certainly didn't land any of the three.

And that may have been for the best.

Brandon McCarthy signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks, for whom he is 0-3, 5.68 in eight starts. In 48 innings, he has allowed 68 hits, the most in the National League.

At least he's pitching. John Lannan, working on a one-year, $2.5 million deal, made three starts for the Phillies, pitching just 14.2 innings, before hitting the disabled list with a knee injury. He's 0-1, 6.14.

Shaun Marcum, who signed with the Mets for one year, $4 million — a comparable contract to the one Mike Pelfrey signed with the Twins — opened the season on the disabled list. He has returned to make three starts (and a relief appearance in a long extra-inning tilt): 0-3, 8.59.

I rather expect McCarthy to turn things around — he's striking out more than five men for every walk issued so far — but but the injuries make me less optimistic about Lannan and Marcum, who were riskier targets to begin with.

It certainly appears in mid-May that Terry Ryan and Co. did a better job of selecting their targets than I did. Pelfrey and Vance Worley aren't having spectacular starts to their season, but they are pitching, and Kevin Correia has gotten better results than could have been reasonably expected.

Losing out on John Lannan

John Lannan went 42-52, 4.01, over six seasons with
the Washington Nationals.

John Lannan, the No. 2 guy on my list of free-agent pitchers who might be in the Twins price range, has agreed to pitch for the Phillies: One year, $2.5 million guarantee, up to $2.5 million in bonuses, all pending the proverbial physical.

That's the kind of contract that would have made the Kevin Correia signing palatable.

Lannan's not a great pitcher either, but he's left-handed, gets ground balls and is more durable than Correia.

Plus he appears to be cheaper.

That last point, however, may be an illusion.

Lannan may figure that he can achieve those bonuses -- which makes 2013 a $5 million deal, followed by a return to free agency. Plus he stays in the easier National League, in the division he's familiar with. And he'll be with a team that still sees itself as a contender.

Yes, he got $7.5 million less in guaranteed money, but he may figure he'll make that difference up. Earn the bonuses and he's even with Correia, and he's free to hit the market again.

If that's his thinking, the Twins weren't going to land him for Correia's deal.