Kenny Rogers finally found a home for the 2003 season this week. The free agent passed his physical and signed a one-year, $2M contract with the Twins on Thursday. He'll reportedly have an opportunity to earn an additional $500,000 in incentives. Rogers will replace Eric Milton in the rotation and push Johan Santana back to the bullpen.

While I felt the Twins needed to acquire a swingman to replace Johan Santana in the bullpen, I was pleased that Santana appeared set to spend the majority of the season in the rotation. Rogers' superior control and ground ball tendencies will likely compensate for the fact that Santana's strikeout rate will be double that of the veteran. Nevertheless, the 38-year-old is unlikely to perform significantly better than Santana would have in his position and could easily perform worse. Given the likely similarities in their probable effectiveness, Minnesota should have given the 24-year-old the development opportunity instead of paying for a pitcher so veteran there are numerous risks with no obvious upside.

Making Santana wait for a natural opening in the rotation rather than trading or bumping an established starter to the bullpen was a sensible course of action for the Twins. However, he now has every right to feel snubbed after they've brought in someone else to fill the position he was essentially promised, completing the signing on his birthday. While it is understandable a team would welcome a new addition, the overwhelming push by the coaching staff for Rogers acquisition coupled with Twins' player representative Denny Hocking independently calling Rogers to encourage him to consider Minnesota before the front office contacted Rogers has to have left Santana feeling unappreciated and insecure. Santana may still spend significant time in the Minnesota rotation, as their starters remain injury risks, but the Twins have unnecessarily estranged a player who they should want to play a substantial role in their future. I understand the Twins were concerned with the way moving Santana to the rotation weakened the bullpen, however that problem could have been solved with the acquisition of a reliever or a swingman if they wanted to provide for the possibility of additional rotation injuries.

Rogers is behind his normal spring timetable after missing the majority of Spring Training. He was maintaining a throwing schedule and working out independently, so he's expected to be ready for the start of the season. However, he's likely to have a slow April and the accelerated program leaves him at risk for injury.