The Twins will offer contracts to Anthony Swarzak, Brian Duensing and Trevor Plouffe by Monday night's deadline, the team confirmed, making them eligible for arbitration and keeping them on the roster for 2014.
Had the Twins chosen not to tender contracts to that arbitration-eligible trio by Monday's 11 p.m. CT deadline, they could have become free agents. Instead, the three will negotiate raises on their salaries for next season, or file to have an independent arbiter decide how much they'll earn, a process the Twins have avoided for nearly a decade.
Duensing, who earned $1.3 million in 2013, his fourth season with the Twins, and Swarzak, who made $502,500 in his third year, are eligible for arbitration because they have more than three seasons of service time. Plouffe, paid $520,000 last season, is among the top 22 percent of two-year players in terms of service time, making him eligible as a so-called "super-two" players.
It's likely that Duensing, who posted a 3.98 ERA in 61 innings, and Plouffe, who batted .254 with 14 home runs, will earn $2 million or more when their contracts are settled, while Swarzak can expect to roughly double his salary. Salaries are normally agreed to without a hearing; no major-league player had his case heard by an arbitrator last winter. The Twins have not been taken to a hearing by a player since Kyle Lohse, who won his case against the Twins in both 2005 and 2006.
The Twins also announced they will hold a press conference at Target Field at 2 p.m. Tuesday. A source with knowledge of the topic said the Twins will announce the signing of right-handed pitcher Ricky Nolasco.
