Starting pitching was widely cited as a primary need for the Twins entering this offseason, for obvious reasons, and much discussion here and elsewhere has been dedicated to evaluating possible options on the market.



But the team announced two moves on Tuesday that make you wonder how aggressively they plan to pursue additional pitching upgrades.

Image courtesy of Rick Osentoski, USA TODAY Sports

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The first was the Torii Hunter signing. Though it's a one-year deal, the team committed a whopping $10.5 million to the outfielder for 2015, making him the third-highest paid player on the roster. If previous comments from Jim Pohlad and Terry Ryan suggesting that their budget will essentially remain static are true, there's little room left for any kind of substantive addition.With all arbitration-eligible players other than Anthony Swarzak being tendered contracts, and with Hunter's salary factored in, the Twins now project for a payroll around $90 million in 2015. It would be their highest since 2012.Spending more might not be the hold-up, though. The Twins might simply be interested in trying to get some return on money they've already invested. That's why the decision to retain Tommy Milone, announced on Tuesday night, is another telling development.Milone figures to make around $2.5 million in his first turn at arbitration. That's not a huge number, relatively speaking, but it's five times the minimum, so it says something that the Twins ponied up.Say what you will about the upper-80s fastball; the lefty has a sustained track record of big-league success. He was flat-out terrible in his first audition for Minnesota last year, but he also wasn't healthy for most of that time.If a guy is hurt, he's hurt. It's hard to hold it against him. And that point applies to another pitcher who stands as a barrier for external additions to the rotation: Mike Pelfrey.The big right-hander is owed $5.5 million. His two-year deal was a bit of a head-scratcher at the time, and looks worse now that the first season was a total loss, but Pelfrey also was hurt. The Twins believed in him enough to re-sign him a year ago, so they'll surely give him a chance to make good on the contract. I think he'd make more sense in the bullpen , but who knows if the team sees it that way.Having $8 million tied up in those two -- with Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes and Kyle Gibson already entrenched -- complicates the idea of handing some free agent a guaranteed contract of any magnitude.I don't think the Twins are that interested in it, and really, I can't blame them. I'd just as soon let Milone and Pelfrey battle for a spot, and give the other to Trevor May or Alex Meyer, rather than throwing a bunch of money at someone like Edinson Volquez or Ryan Vogelsong With that being said, I do believe this team is in good position to bring aboard a big talent returning from injury and looking for a chance. There are many such names out there, ranging from Josh Johnson to Brett Anderson to Chad Billingsley to Kris Medlen to Brandon Beachy and beyond.When expectations are low, a club can afford to gamble on a player who might not (or even probably will not) pan out, and with the pitchers listed above, the upside is substantial. If a guy like Johnson or Medlen happens to be fully healthy and back in prime form, he's suddenly the team's ace and that's a legitimate game-changer.I'd expect Terry Ryan to pursue some names like that, but there's just not much reason to go after expensive, overpriced middle-tier options with limited ceilings. If they can't lure a rehab project on a deal that entails no assurances, the Twins are probably better off simply taking a long look at what they've got rather than going the free agent route.