FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — The unusually slow free-agent market took Lance Lynn's wait to find a team through the winter and well into spring training.The offer he settled on from the Minnesota Twins also came with the expectation of pennant race and perhaps postseason pitching."I wanted to go somewhere where they had a chance to win no matter what," Lynn said on Tuesday at his introductory news conference. "It seemed like the perfect fit, and I look forward to doing what I have to do, which is take the ball when it is my turn."Lynn agreed to a $12 million, one-year contract that includes bonuses of $1 million each for 170 and 180 innings. He was given a turn right away and struck out five batters in three hitless innings of an exhibition against Baltimore. He walked one."Other than that, everything went about as smooth as it possibly could," Lynn said. "Get ready for the next and kind of keep the buildup for opening day."Twins manager Paul Molitor said Lynn will make another start on Sunday."We're... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — The unusually slow free-agent market took Lance Lynn's wait to find a team through the winter and well into spring training.The offer he settled on from the Minnesota Twins also came with the expectation of pennant race and perhaps postseason pitching."I wanted to go somewhere where they had a chance to win no matter what," Lynn said on Tuesday at his introductory news conference. "It seemed like the perfect fit, and I look forward to doing what I have to do, which is take the ball when it is my turn."Lynn agreed to a $12 million, one-year contract that includes bonuses of $1 million each for 170 and 180 innings. He was given a turn right away and struck out five batters in three hitless innings of an exhibition against Baltimore. He walked just one.The Twins are banking on more performances like that when the wins and losses actually count, stretched out over a full game."When you talk about a competitor and the makeup every time he takes the mound, this is somebody... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — On the first day of spring training for the Minnesota Twins, it was difficult to watch the drills on the field without thinking about the potential starting pitchers who weren't there.Twins pitchers and catchers held their first official workout on Wednesday, but there's room for more."It's not hard to see, even if you're not trying, that we have a need, rotation-wise, where we will have to fill some spots," manager Paul Molitor said.The Twins in 2017 became the first team in major league history to reach the postseason after losing 100 or more games the year before. Molitor is the AL Manager of the Year award holder, entering his fourth season. There's a strong nucleus of drafted-and-developed players who are entering their peak years.The glaring omission, however, is a front-line starting pitcher or two to lead a rotation that was improved last season but still ranked just 19th in MLB with a collective 4.73 ERA. The tenuous depth was thinned further when Ervin... [More]