Twins sign Lance Lynn to 1-year deal

The Twins have signed free-agent starter Lance Lynn, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports first reported that the Twins were “closing in” on a contract with Lynn and that the deal was for one year. Jon Morosi of MLB Network first reported that the deal would be worth $12 million guaranteed and can go up to $14 if he “attains performance bonuses.”

Lynn has finally signed with a club after also having drawn interest from the Phillies, Nationals, Brewers, Angels, Rangers, Mets and Orioles. Like most top free agents this season, the 30-year-old Lynn was waiting for a big-time offer, but the only reported offers he had this season were a $17.4 million qualifying offer from the Cardinals and a two-year, $20 million offer from the Twins — both of which were not accepted.

Lynn had a decent season in 2017, as he went 11-8, posted a 3.43 ERA, recorded 153 strikeouts and had a 1.23 WHIP in 186 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched across 33 starts. However, his performance came after he missed all of 2016 because he had Tommy John surgery in November 2015.

By landing Lynn, the Twins picked up a frontline starter who they feel could help solidify their rotation and lead them to the postseason for the second straight year after earning the second wild card spot. The Twins also tried to go after Yu Darvish this offseason, but he signed a six-year, $126 million deal with the Cubs.

Lynn joins a rotation that includes newly acquired starter Jake Odorizzi, Jose Berrios, Kyle Gibson, Anibal Sanchez and Ervin Santana, the Twins’ All-Star ace who is recovering from a broken hand injury and will be back with the team around May. The Twins got Odorizzi through a trade with the Rays.

The Twins also signed Michael Pineda, reliever Addison Reed and first baseman Logan Morrison this offseason, making them one of the few teams to have made huge improvements going into 2018.