MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Right-hander Jason Marquis has agreed to a one-year, $3 million deal with the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins announced the move Thursday.

The 33-year-old Marquis went 8-5 with a 3.95 ERA for the Washington Nationals last season before being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 30. Marquis went 0-1 with a 9.53 ERA in three starts for Arizona.

Marquis missed the last month and a half of the season with a broken right fibula after being hit by a line drive. He was an All-Star with the Colorado Rockies in 2009 and will likely be relied upon as a fourth or fifth starter in Minnesota.

The Twins were looking for a veteran arm after moving starter Brian Duensing to the bullpen and trading Kevin Slowey to the Rockies.

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP)—Right-hander Jason Marquis (mar-kee) has agreed to a
one-year, $3 million deal with the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins announced the move Thursday.

The 33-year-old Marquis went 8-5 with a 3.95 ERA for the Washington
Nationals last season before being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks on July
30. Marquis went 0-1 with a 9.53 ERA in three starts for Arizona.

Marquis missed the last month and a half of the season with a broken right
fibula after being hit by a line drive. He was an All-Star with the Colorado
Rockies in 2009 and will likely be relied upon as a fourth or fifth starter in
Minnesota.

The Twins were looking for a veteran arm after moving starter Brian Duensing
to the bullpen and trading Kevin Slowey to the Rockies.

Read More: Kevin Slowey (P – COL), Daniel Turpen (P – MIN), Drew Pomeranz (P – COL), Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants

According to the official Twitter account of the Colorado Rockies, the Minnesota Twins will receive minor league reliever Daniel Turpen in return for RHP Kevin Slowey. As such, Turpen becomes the player to be named later (PTBNL) in Tuesday’s Slowey trade.

Turpen pitched 59 and 2/3 innings with the Rockies’ Double-A affiliate, sporting a worse-than-average 4.98 ERA and 5.04 FIP. Turpen, who spent time in the minors for both the Boston Red Sox and the San Francisco Giants during the 2010 season, turned 25 this past August.

Slowey, a former second round draft pick in the 2005 amateur draft, has played his entire career with the Minnesota Twins. As Brandon Warne of Fangraphs noted, Slowey is a fly ball pitcher who seems unlikely to flourish in the Rockies’ high-elevation home grounds, partly explaining why the Rockies were able to acquire him so cheaply:

To me, the move would have made sense for Seattle, St. Louis, or maybe even San Diego to make. In parks that suppress home runs/offense — and Target Field also does its share — Slowey has a chance to be a palpable third or fourth starter. In Denver, Slowey shouldn’t be expected to do more than to hold Drew Pomeranz’ place for a little while.

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The Minnesota Twins were among the finalists for newly-signed Dodgers lefty Chris Capuano, and now general manager Terry Ryan must turn to other options as he attempts to upgrade his rotation.

One name on the Twins’ list: Jeff Francis.

The Twins have had initial talks with a representative for Francis, a source said, and the sides are likely to have further discussions at the winter meetings in Dallas next week. The Canadian left-hander went 6-16 with a 4.82 ERA for the Royals this season, his first as an American League pitcher.

The Twins also are interested in free-agent right-hander Edwin Jackson but are wary of his price tag, according to a major-league source. Jackson, represented by Scott Boras, is coming off a season in which he went 12-9 with a 3.79 ERA in 199-2/3 innings for the White Sox and Cardinals.

The starting rotation is one of many areas where the Twins must improve if they want to contend in 2012. At present, their rotation figures to include a combination of Carl Pavano, Scott Baker, Francisco Liriano, Brian Duensing, Nick Blackburn, and Kevin Slowey; Baker and Blackburn were sidelined by injuries at the end of the 2011 season.

– Jon Paul Morosi