Eric Gagne has fallen so far, so fast, that it's easy to write him off completely. The Brewers took a shot on him last winter with a one-year, $10 million contract, and what did he do? Post a 5.44 ERA over 46 1/3 miserable innings, that's what. But even if he blew his last chance at signing another eight-figure contract, Gagne will certainly get another job offer, because as bad as he was last year, he did seem to show improvement with a surprisingly respectable 3.52 ERA after the All-Star break and a 3.09 ERA in the month of September. Assuming that's not merely a sample-size-induced mirage, he could end up being a serviceable option.
Enter the Twins, who came into the winter hoping to improve their bullpen but have been reluctant to enter the bidding for better -- and more expensive -- alternatives like Guillermo Mota and Takashi Saito. La Velle Neal III of the Star-Tribune cites a source who confirmed the Twins have at least inquired about Gagne.
Unless MLB reverses their stance on steroids, I'm going to go out on a (short) limb and say Gagne will never be the pitcher he once was -- he was striking out nearly 15 batters per nine back in the day. But that said, there's no reason he can't be the pitcher he looked like for a few months last season.
He's had excellent control for most of his career, and after posting a miserable 1.3 K/BB in the first half last year, he was practically back to his previous career norm with a solid 2.8 K/BB in the second half. That's the key stat he needs to worry about, not simply raw strikeout totals -- in fact, his strikeout rate actually dipped in the second half last year. So if the Twins follow through on their interest and sign him to a modest contract, don't laugh -- this is a gamble worth taking.
