Less than a week before pitchers and catchers are due to report to Fort Myers, the Twins added a veteran presence to what was a very young rotation. Of the likely candidates for the 5-man rotation, Scott Baker was the oldest at about 26 1/2 years. The 33 year old Livan Hernandez will become the old man of the group after signing a 1-year $5 million contract.

Hernandez burst into the majors with the World Champion Florida Marlins in 1997. He joined the rotation mid-way through the season and was dominate through much of the playoffs. He’s best known as an innings eater, and you will surely hear facts of all the innings he’s pitched spewed by supporters of this signing.

It’s no lie that he’s pitched a lot of innings. Excluding his rookie year in 1997 and the minor taste of the big leagues he got in ‘96, he’s pitched no less than 199 2/3 innings a season. He actually went well above that mark in several seasons with 233, 255 and 245 innings from 2003 to 2005. That can be a valuable asset, especially for a team whose bullpen may be called on quite a bit with its young, inconsistent pitching.

However, the deal isn’t all great. Hernandez has been in steady decline the past few seasons. His K/9 have dropped from 6.6 in 2004 to 5.4 in 2005 to 5.3 in 2006 to just 4.0 in 2007. While he does carry the load with all the innings he can pitch, the fact is he’s been a below-average pitcher the past two years.

Another sign that this isn’t going to work out well is that he’s spent his entire career in the National league, facing pitchers instead of designated hitters. I’d say the best case scenario for Livan’s 2008 is 200+ innings with an ERA around 4 1/2 and a record of 13-13. A more likely scenario is that the decline of his career continues and he’s eventually replaced by one of the several young arms waiting in the wings. I wouldn’t compare this signing with the horrible decisions to sign Sidney Ponson and Ramon Ortiz last season, but I’m not going to suggest that this deal makes much of a difference in the Twins’ 2008 record.

The other day Ubelmann pointed out in the comments over at Nick & Nick’s that Humber was out of options, meaning the Twins have to keep him on the active roster, or release him. I hadn’t realized that before, and it makes the Johan trade even worse. The signing of Hernandez only reduces the chances of Humber making the rotation, so chances seem high that he’ll be working from the bullpen. Here’s how I picture the rotation shaping up at this point:

• Scott Baker
• Francisco Liriano
• Boof Bonser
• Livan Hernandez
• Kevin Slowey

Perkins or possibly Humber could slide in if Liriano isn’t ready to go at the start of the season. I certainly can’t say I ever pictured myself listing Scott Baker as the Twins’ opening day starter.