Minnesota Twins Reportedly Sign Pitcher Kevin Correia to Two-Year Deal

The Minnesota Twins have reportedly signed starting pitcher Kevin Correia.

Jon Heyman of CBS broke the news, tweeting this:

"

kevin correia is headed for the #twins, sources confirm. @jcrasnick says it'll be 2-yr deal.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 11, 2012"

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick is reporting what may be the length of the deal. He tweeted this:

"

Correia's deal is for 2 years and $10 million. source says. #twins

— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) December 11, 2012"

Last year, Correia finished 12-11 with a 4.21 ERA. He's been slightly improving over the last three years, with his ERA dropping from 5.40 in 2010 to 4.79 in 2011.

After starting his career as a reliever, it's only been in the last five years that the 32-year-old Correia has been a starter.

The free-agent crop, in terms of the starting pitcher position, is very weak this offseason.

CBS ranked him as the 43rd-best pitcher available. Correia isn't the kind of pitcher who will put the Twins on pace for the World Series, but he is an improvement over what they had last year.

The rotation was a major thorn in the Twins' side in 2012. Minnesota finished 28th in the league in terms of ERA. It was a mishmash of players, with the Twins using 12 different starters during the season.

Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reported in October that pitching would be the biggest target for Minnesota, and it's clear that that's what the plan indeed is.

They have already acquired Vance Worley in a trade involving outfielder Ben Revere.

The American League Central is one of the more competitive divisions in baseball, so one or two key moves can turn a team from pretender to contender.

It's unlikely that Correia will be the last upgrade Minnesota makes to its starting rotation.