SAN DIEGO – The Twins have a decision to make, if they haven't made it already.
The hot stove flared up on Monday once reports that the Nationals had an agreement to keep Stephen Strasburg for seven years and $245 million — a record for a starting pitcher — hit the lobby of the Manchester Grand Hyatt.
Wow. Gerrit Cole was supposed to get the record contract, not Strasburg. And since Strasburg has agreed to that deal, Cole's deal undoubtedly will be even bigger.
The fallout from all of this is that the rising tide lifts all boats.
There are now reports that Madison Bumgarner wants a deal of five years and $100 million, which reflects how the market for starting pitching has exploded. That happens to be the deal the Twins offered Zack Wheeler before he went to Philadelphia for $118 million. But the Twins also had Wheeler ranked higher than Bumgarner on their list of targets.
And there's the decision. Do they offer Bumgarner the deal they offered Wheeler?
Bumgarner also is sliding into a nice spot in free agency. With Strasburg going back to Washington, that leaves Cole for the Yankees, Dodgers and Angels to fight over. Whoever loses out on Cole could turn to a cheaper alternative, to them, and lock up Bumgarner.
The way free agents are signing during this particular offseason, we could know the answers to these questions sooner than later.
