The Twins had two new free agents Tuesday night, but only one of them was invited back to Minnesota. The club decided to non-tender relief pitcher Willie Eyre and infielder Luis Rodriguez before Tuesday's 11pm CT deadline, but resigned L-Rod the same day, to a much more affordable contract.
Eyre has decided to test the free-agent waters, which could be a good move for him, considering there are many teams looking for quality relief.
Neither player had three years on the club (the required amount for salary arbitration) so the move to non-tender Eyre came as puzzling. Eyre is still a fairly young ballplayer at 28, and spent the entire 2006 regular season in middle relief for the Twins. He went 1-0 with a 5.31 ERA in 59.1 innings, with obvious improved comfort.
On the other hand, even if the Twins lose Willie, it would open up a spot on their 40-man roster for future moves. It's clear they will be looking for someone to fill the hole in their starting rotation and may find luck in some pitchers not offered contracts this week. The Mets non-tendered righty Victor Zambrano for example, when healthy, can be a decent starter - holding a career 4.45 ERA in 6 seasons.
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