This article is cold but unfortunately is it accurate. Let's cut our losses and trade Santiago for...?  Oh, I see the problem. Do we just send him to AAA? Do we just release him? Can we give him back for Nolasco, and let them keep Meyer? It is a dilemma.

?

This is a bad reflection on the new FO.  Santiago is no mystery and he is no salvation.  Getting him last year to get rid of Nolasco was smart.  Keeping him this year is not. 

They should of just DFA'd Nolasco. It was a bad trade. I never saw the point of it.

Even though Santiago's overall numbers look better than Nolasco the past couple of seasons, the trade was done, from the Twins perspective, to unload a poor performing player that didn't fit for a younger player, with better recent performance, who could help. The Angels made the move, primarily, to see if lightening would strike, in a good way, for Meyer. A return to previous form for Nolasco wouldn't stink either. In a lot of ways, it was about change of scenery for the guys involved to see what happens.

Santiago has, more or less, outperformed his peripherals. But even still, he does have a career 3.84 ERA and a 2-1 SO/BB ratio and has topped 180IP twice. He did finish last season looking much better than when he first arrived with the Twins. Frankly, while not good, he's not terrible either. All in all though, I hope his Twins tenure is short lived as it means we've found someone better to take his place.

And if you had told me someone like Vogelsong...even at 40...supposedly healthy and tread on the tires despite his age...would be brought jn, I may have stayed away from Santiago. But other than Santana and Gibson, the Twins entered ST with no-one else who's name you could write in the rotation with ink. Yes, absolutely yes, I want Berrios and May in the rotation and think it's time and they deserve the opportunity and I believe in both. But there are question marks with each, at least initially. And there remains huge questions regarding Hughes coming back, and when, and to what degree. So for now, Santiago is an OK option and a necessary one. Here's hoping he performs well and has trade value at some point.

Terry Ryan over-extended himself by spending on starting pitching that had almost no chance of paying off.

That is so very well said.

Santiago is a mystery. After going 6-0 in July with a 1.33 WHIP (too high) and 8.7 SO/9 (very good) he was traded to the Twins and the change in scenery was terrible for him. He bounced back with good numbers in September, but his peripherals are not encouraging. His peripherals have never been encouraging.

Difficult to measure a guy who has almost always outperformed his peripherals. No idea what we have until he takes the mound. I find that a little unsettling.

Tyler Duffey is also in the mix. And the topper is that the Red Wings rotation will be filled with guys that will probablyu never make the Twins (outside of Berrios) and how long will they block any advancement of guys from AA.

Of course, since Santiago was an arbitration salary, the Twins could still release him and just be on the bubble for 20%? Am I right, or wrong on that?

Combined with an uncertainity on Hughes, and Gibson needing to show something, the Twins rotation is still in shambles.

In some ways, I see the Twins trying to field a somewhat veteran team hoping for a fast start out of the gate and trading some of the vets either way and not fielding any prospects until they have convinced people to invest in various season ticket packages.

Rochester AND Chattanooga rosters are currently full, and there's still 15 guys to place somewhere on the 40-man roster!

The Twins have with Santiago a new way to distribute free souvenirs to the fans.

To answer the headline question: last year, only James Shields and Jared Weaver were lower-rated by fWAR among qualified pitchers. In 2015, he was third lowest, also. Those are the only years he threw enough innings to qualify. And his pitches aren't as good as they were in the years he was lucky.