Silva Stock on the Rise
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The stock in Carlos Silva has been on the rise. Silva has been pitching real well this year, and is turning a few heads. The Chicago Tribune reports that the Cubs are looking at the veteran right hander for an addition to either their bull pen or their starting rotation. The tribune also listed Arizona, the New York Mets, and Atlanta as teams who are interested in adding Carlos Silva to their team. All these teams are definitely in the playoff hunt, and are looking to add some solidarity to either their starting rotation or the bull pun. Either way, Carlos has turned many heads, and his ability to stay healthy is a huge draw.
Carlos Silva is the Twins "workhorse" and he has had a much improved season over last year. I find it unfortunate that people base his whole career on last years statistics, when it was the worst season of his career. Silva was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies where he was a reliever in 2003. The Twins acquired him in a trade getting Eric Milton, in in exchange for Carlos Silva, Nick Punto and pitcher Bobby Korecky. He was placed as a starter for the Twins in 2004 where he was 14-8 with a 4.21era, and in 2005, Carlos was 9-8 with a 3.44 era.
Carlos has been a proven pitcher for a few years, and has turned himself around from last year. Since the all star break, Carlos is 3-1, and is becoming more effective. I say the Twins need to sign Carlos for another one or two years, to give some stability to our rotation. With the recent unhappiness from Johan Santana, we must have at least one veteran in the line up by 2009, the season after Johan becomes a free agent. Carlos Silva gives our rotation stability and maturity with his experience,he and needs to stay on board. We also do not know how well Francisco Liriano will recover from his surgery. In keeping Carlos around, will assure us of a solid rotation, mixed with experience and youth. Here is a look at the possible rotation in 2008 for the Twins:
1. Johan Santana 2. Francisco Liriano 3. Carlos Silva or Boof Bonser 4. Carlos Silva or Boof Bonser 5. Matt Garza or Scott Baker
I would even look at mixing it up a little so not all the rookies are pitching right after each other, and maybe even alternate Santana and Silva at every 5th game until we see how well Liriano's arm will be. However, when the Twins went to the inter-league schedule, they used Silva more often because of how proficient he was, and also due to his consistency. Silva is definitely a great addition to almost any rotation in the league, and should remain a Twins for at least a couple more years.
With Silva in the rotation, it will give the Twins a more solid starting rotation, Liriano time to prove he can still pitch in the big leagues after his surgery, and the young guns Baker, Garza, Slowey more time to develop.
