Joe Nathan's $12.5M club option has been declined by the Minnesota Twins, the team announced today. Instead, the Twins will exercise a $2M buyout of the contract and make him a free agent, according to Rhett Bollinger. This does not mean he can't re-sign with the Twins, of course, as Bollinger points out:
Minnesota, though, can still retain Nathan by signing him to a new deal, and general manager Bill Smith said the Twins are interesting in bringing back Nathan.
"I spoke with Joe and his agent this morning, and expressed our interest in re-signing Joe," Smith said. "We will remain in contact with them as we move forward into the free agent process"
The 37 year-old Nathan is the all-time saves leader for the Twins, with 260, and maintains a 4.84 career ERA.