Twins sign veteran Hernandez

Fox Sports.com announced just over 40 minutes ago that the Twins signed veteran pitcher Livan Hernandez today to a one year $5 million deal.

The move is a clear sign of the front office's desire to add a veteran arm that can eat some innings for our current rotation where every pitcher is under 26 years old. Hernandez, 33, pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season posting a record of 11-11 with a 4.93 ERA in 204 innings.

Hernandez is known for his durability and has pitched over 200 innings in seven of his last nine seasons. He has veteran leadership and pitched in two World Series: a 1997 victory with the Florida Marlins and a 2002 defeat with the San Francisco Giants.

Many critics will be upset about the cost of the Hernandez deal and comparisons to the Ponson/Ortiz signings of last offseason will certainly be made, but I personally like the deal. The current rotation is too young and with such little experience I believe too much pressure will be put on the bullpen. Young stud Francisco Liriano cannot be expected to pitch more than 150 innings coming back from Tommy John surgery and our two "experienced" starters Scott Baker and Boof Bonser each have a total of 48 career starts.

Hernandez will offer a strong durable arm to eat innings and will hopefully provide some leadership and guidance to the young starters. I think the Hernandez deal is different from the past flops of Ponson and Ortiz because those two were trying to revitalize their career whereas Hernandez has been consistent. You know what you get with Livan Hernandez. Plus, he ends up being essentially Carlos Silva at 60% the cost.

Here is the initial story leaked by Fox Sports.

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