Francisco Liriano underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday. He won't pitch again until the 2008 season. Meanwhile, the Twins are looking for a replacement:

The Twins were planning to bolster an already thin starting rotation before Liriano decided last week to have the surgery. The team's top priority in the offseason is to acquire a veteran starter. The Twins are believed to have some interest in Gil Meche, 28, a free-agent right-hander who is 55-44 with a 4.65 earned-run average in six seasons with Seattle.

Ryan usually isn't active on the free-agent market, and a trade would seem the more likely route for the team to try to meet its need.

Meche walks way too many for a Twins pitcher, but he did see a huge jump in his strikeout rate in 2006. He struck out 7.5 per 9 last season, after averaging, 6.0 during his five previous seasons.