"Francisco Liriano hasn't always been lights-out this season, which is why he carries the highest earned-run average of the Twins' starters right now, 4.98.

But the left-hander seems to be putting his erratic past behind him.

Since starting the season 1-4 with a 9.13 ERA, Liriano is 3-3 with a 3.02 ERA and a no-hitter May 3 against the Chicago White Sox. Coupled with last season's renaissance - he was 14-10 and led the starters with a 3.62 ERA and set a career high with 191-2/3 innings - it could indicate Liriano is finally becoming a pitcher the Twins can rely on.

"We've seen very good improvement, certainly over the last year and a half," general manager Bill Smith said. "I think he's shown us this year that on any given night, he can pitch a gem. He threw the no-hitter, and some people say his start a couple weeks ago was better.

"He can shut a team down, any team on any given night."

Liriano, 27, has one more year of arbitration before becoming a free agent at the end of 2012, and it appears the Twins will wait until season's end to decide whether they will sign him long term or for one more year.

"I want to stay here, to be honest," Liriano said. "I want to stay here my whole career. But I don't think about it. We haven't talked about (a contract), and I haven't asked about it. So we'll see."

With the team underachieving and the payroll up around $113 million, there will be a lot to comb through at season's end. Jason Kubel, Michael Cuddyer, Jim Thome and Matt Capps will be free agents; Liriano and Delmon Young lead a long list of arbitration-eligible players.

Some of those players will be trade bait if the Twins remain out of contention in the days leading to the July 31 trade deadline, so talking contract at midseason makes little sense.

"We just have a lot of pieces that we have to manage right now," Smith said. "We'll evaluate everybody at the end of this season." "