Baseball - Option Exercised On Silva

The Minnesota Twins announced that they pick up their option for the next season on right-hander Carlos Silva. The Twins decide to exercise the option worth $4.325 million expecting that the player would not repeat his 2006 season.

Silva, 27, was 11-15 with an outstanding 5.94 ERA. The player also posted 32 walks and 70 strikeouts in 180 1-3 innings and 36 games this year. He was fourth on the club in wins and second in starts and innings. In the case that the Twins would have declined the option, the team would have to pay a $100,000 buyout to Silva to complete his contract. Besides the player would have been able to fill for free agency and become eligible for salary arbitration. General Manager Terry Ryan explained that the team expects that the pitcher, who has a 42-32 career record in 92 starts, will repeat his performance during the 2004 and 2005 season when he helped stabilizing the rotation not the last season during which he struggled through while failing to find his trusty sinker. The Twins are deeply hoping that the 2006 season was only an aberration and that the next season Silva will find his playing style.

During the previous season, Silva was pitching through a torn meniscus in his knee. This can explain partly why Silva strangely removed himself from three different starts this year for various reasons. This three missing games raised questions about his toughness and playing skills. However General Manager Terry Ryan insisted that the Twins were satisfied with the mindset of the player and do not doubt about his potential performance.

The Twins previously considered buying him out and attempting to bring him back at a lower salary. But if the Twins followed this strategy, they would not have made tremendous savings. With Brad Radke set to retire and a handful of young, promising pitchers yet to prove themselves over an entire year, the Twins desperately need a veteran to shore up the rotation.