Twins confirm interest in retaining Scott Baker

The Twins are likely to decline Scott Baker's 2013 option but confirm interest in retaining the injured pitcher.

By R.J. White

Oct 23, 2012 at 2:24 pm ET • 1 min read

Minnesota Twins general manager Terry Ryan confirmed the team "would like to keep" pitcher Scott Baker, according to Phil Mackey of 1500ESPN.com.

According to a previous report, the Twins are not expected to exercise Baker's $9.5 million option this offseason. However, they could bring him back on an incentive-laden deal at a reduced price.

Baker underwent Tommy John surgery in mid-April and resumed throwing in early October.

The Twins are thin in the rotation, with Scott Diamond as the only pitcher left on the team to have started more than 20 games or pitch at least 100 innings in 2012.

Baker is 63-48 in 163 games (159 starts) with the Twins spanning seven seasons. He has a 4.15 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 770 strikeouts in 958 innings over his career.

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