A few weeks ago, it was rumored that the Minnesota Twins were willing to listen to offers on left handed starting pitcher Francisco Liriano. It's curious, though, considering the Twins should be in the AL Central hunt this year and Liriano is their best pitcher. That said, the Twins apparently have been willing to listen to offers and both the Rangers and Yankees have been linked to him.
↵It does appear, though, that the Yankees have more of an interest in Liriano than the Rangers do. According to Bob Nightengale, the Yankees are keeping a "close eye" on Liriano. Though, does that really mean anything? The important part of that tweet is that the Twins are keeping tabs on New York's prospects.
↵After missing out on Cliff Lee this offseason and having Andy Pettitte retire, there's certainly more urgency in New York to acquire a starting pitcher. New York currently has a better farm system too, with Baseball America ranking it fifth in the MLB compared to Texas' 15th ranked farm system.
↵Still, with a few question marks in the rotation, Texas should be in contact with Minnesota. If New York is going to offer somebody like Jesus Montero - which is extremely doubtful - then there's nothing Jon Daniels and co. are going to be able to do to keep Liriano from going to New York. If they're not going to offer a Montero, Dellin Betances or Manuel Banuelos, though, then Texas can likely make a competitive offer. And they should, if that's the case, if for no other reason than to block New York from acquiring a lefty ace in consecutive years.
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