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CHICAGO - The agent for Carl Pavano scheduled a meeting with Twins General Manager Bill Smith today, to give the Twins first crack at the righthander's services before Pavano hits the free agent market.
"I want to sit down with the Twins and see which direction they want to go," agent Tom O'Connell said Monday at the O'Hare Hilton, site of this year's general managers meetings. "[Pavano] really enjoyed his time there and finished great. He wants to see if it's a fit moving forward."
After arriving in Chicago, Smith sidestepped all questions about specific free agents. The Twins like Pavano and could push to re-sign him, but the chances are slim that they will overwhelm him with an offer before he hits the open market Nov. 20.
Pavano, 33, likely wants to test the market again after bouncing back from four injury-riddled seasons with the Yankees to go 14-12 with a 5.10 ERA over 199 1/3 innings combined for the Indians and Twins this season.
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After making nearly $40 million but only 26 starts with the Yankees, Pavano signed an incentive-laden deal with Cleveland on Jan. 6. He made $1.5 million in base salary and wound up getting $4.35 million, including incentives.
With the Twins rotation in shambles, Smith acquired Pavano on Aug. 7 for Class AAA pitcher Yohan Pino. The move helped lift the Twins to the AL Central title.
Pavano went 5-4 with a 4.64 ERA in 12 starts for the Twins, spanning 73 2/3 innings, then held the Yankees to two runs over seven innings in Game 3 of the Division Series, getting stuck with a hard-luck loss.
"I don't think [the trade] could have worked out better for us," Smith said last month.