Yu don't say

The Twins traded this year for veteran starter Jack Odorizzi ($6.3 million this year, arbitation eligible next year, free agent after that) and signed, during spring training, veteran starter Lance Lynn ($12 million, traded last month the the Yankees).

These moves didn't work as well as the Twins expected and hoped. It could have been worse.

The Twins wanted to spend that money on Yu Darvish. He signed instead with the Chicago Cubs -- six years, $126 million.

In year one of that contract, Darvish went 1-3, 4.95 in eight starts, and those numbers won't change. The Cubs announced Tuesday that he has a stress reaction in his elbow and is done for the season.

Odorizzi and Lynn at least were able to take the ball and make their starts.

Yu don't say: Thoughts on missing out on Darvish

First, a short explaination for my relative silence the past four days: I've been playing rope-a-dope with the influenza bug, and as Bert Blyleven might put it, it's been kicking my butt-TOCKS.

Somewhere in all that it registered with me that Yu Darvish had agreed to sign with the Chicago Cubs. Count me as disappointed but not surprised. The longer it went, the less likely he was to sign with a non-major market team. I suspect a large part of the delay was waiting/hoping for the Dodgers and/or Yankees to climb into the bidding.

The Darvish deal, as reported, contains items that could justifiably been deal-breakers for the Twins. First the sheer length (six years), and second the opt-out clause, in which Darvish can declare free agency after the 2019 season. That's sort of a "heads I win, tails you lose" provision for the player, and the Twins have made no secret of their dislike for that kind of provision.

I am not privy to what the Twins offered Darvish, of course. They are said to have been among the suitors offering in excess of $100 million. I suggested some weeks ago that a higher annual average value over a shorter time span -- say four years for $100 million -- was preferable the same money in  a longer duration. It's a reasonable guess that the Cubs came up the winners by agreeing to a sixth year.

So ... what next for the Twins? Their need/desire for a head-of-the rotation starter has only grown in the past week with Ervin Santana's finger surgery.

The immediate speculation has focused more on a trade with Tampa Bay for either Chris Archer (expensive) or Jake Odorozzi (less talented and less pricy) than on the Jake Arrieta/Lance Lynn/Alex Cobb trio of remaining free agents.

Arrieta is the one of the five with the most impressive track record, and he is also the riskiest. (Note that the Cubs, who know him quite well and aren't run by dummies, made no apparent effort to retain him.) And he and agent Scott Boras probably think Darvish's deal is too small. Scratch him.

Lynn or Cobb would cost the Twins their first-round pick in June. That's an acceptable price for either, but neither is a particularly good bet to contend for a Cy Young Award. They're on the level of an Ervin Santana, not the Johan Santana of memory. Odorozzi is step or so below that.

So the best chance to land a "true ace" is a trade for Archer, whose results have not yet matched his talent. That trade, should it come to pass, will probably be quite the blow to a farm system that is a bit short of major-league ready talent.

Notes, quotes and comment

Yu don't say

I really thought Friday that Yu Darvish was going to get his no-hitter against the Twins. Through six innings, Darvish appeared literally unhittable — it's truly astounding to see a major league hitter like Trevor Plouffe miss a pitch by that much.

And then, in the seventh, a walk and boom, boom — Chris Herrmann and Justin Morneau go deep, and the unhittable is hit.

Waiver followups

Former Twin Jason Kubel, designated for assignment earlier in the week by Arizona, wound up with the Cleveland Indians. And Josh Willingham remains with the Twins.

I didn't really see the Twins claiming Kubel; their outfield shortage, even with Wilkin Ramirez out the rest of the way after fracturing his tibia, is center-field specific. At no point in his career was Kubel ever a center field option.

And I never viewed the Twins as a motivated seller on Willingham. The Orioles, who are reported to have won the claim on the Hammer, instead swung a deal for Mike Morse, another right-handed slugger with defensive issues. Unlike Willingham, Morse is a free agent after the season, so the O's aren't financially committed past next month.

Miguel Sano crushes a double in the seventh inning Friday.
This image was tweeted by Scott Blanchette, the
RockCats' team photographer.

Miguel Sano

I caught part of a Terry Ryan radio interview late Friday morning. One of the topics was why mega prospect Miguel Sano won't get a September callup.

Ryan talked a little about the 40-man roster implications of such a move, then said something curious: Sano, he claimed, is struggling in Double A.

If only the Twins hitters were as deeply mired in woe as Sano and his .890 OPS with New Britain.

I don't want to be too sarcastic here. I accept Ryan's belief that Sano isn't ready for the majors right now, and I understand why Ryan wishes to avoid unnecessarily tying up a 40-man roster spot this winter. Sano's batting average with New Britain is under .240. The OPS is driven by his extra-base hits (33 of 'em, including 17 homers, in 260 plate appearances) and his walks (35). The stat line shows a lot of errors and a lot of strikeouts.

For the record, Sano on Friday hit a pair of home runs and a double. He'll get to the majors soon enough.