Lest anybody get overexcited, a hedge fund has not in fact come up with a complex convergence trade involving Twins season ticket deposits and long positions on shares in Sunglass Hut equity (ticker symbol RAYS). The Twins actually cut a deal with the Devil Rays, finally moving some of their stockpile of pitchers for somebody who can swing a bat now and again, and I thought the network of Twins fans amongst my vast readership should be informed. Much like Gaul, the trade can be divided into three parts: three swaps of shortstops, starters, and prospects:
1.. Shortstops
The shortstops are Jason Bartlett of the Twins, insanely quick with a lot of range on defense but really not hitting well at all, swapped with Brendan Harris, a utility infielder for the Rays who can at least add some more skill as a hitter to middle infield... the Twins already have an insanely quick second baseman who can't hit in Casilla, and utility infielder Nick Punto was officially the worst hitter in baseball last year. So that's hopefully a little better in a line-up that really desperately needs power. Or just OBA. Or basically anything... somebody who could lay down a bunt would be an improvement. Rumor has it Bartlett's moodiness and insecurity are what put him on the next train out of town (where he'll switch to the Capitol Limited and the Silver Meteor to get down to Tampa.. actually he'll probably just fly). There is also the frightening possibility that Casilla, Punto, and Harris will play 2B, SS, and 3B, which would really be no upgrade at all.
2. Starters
This is the core of the trade, straight hitting for pitching, as the Twins shipped out a starting pitcher, Matt Garza, something they may not be able to afford. Pitching is hard to come by, and the Twins looked loaded, but if the terrifying change-up of Johan Santana finds its way to New York City (the town so nice they knocked us out of the playoffs twice), the slippery curve ball of Carlos Silva is boarding the Hope Train to Clark and Addison, and Francisco "Franchise" Liriano's wreck of an arm isn't healed, Matt Garza's going to be sorely missed. Given the Twins general aversion to trading pitching, what justifies dumping Garza? Last year Delmon Young finished second in rookie of the year voting, and next year he'll be the Twins left fielder. Young is potentially a great hitter, the Twins outfield was pretty thin last year... they could have put a traffic cone out in left field and I wouldn't have noticed half the time. The big needs going into the off-season were a third baseman who could hit, a left fielder who could hit, and a designated hitter, or just anybody who when so designated could actually hit the ball, and now that Torii Hunter has gone to be with the angels (technically he's with the Angels, but he's still dead to me) they need somebody to start in center field as well. Young and Cuddyer at the corners are a good start, with the Jasons (Kubel and Tyner) and Craig Monroe for depth with somebody hopefully showing the range to play center field, if not in the style of Kirby Puckett and Torii Hunter.
3. Prospects
So far it's all roses for the Twins, risky but probably good moves, but one more swap had to be made to complete the deal. The Twins tried to throw in relief pitcher Juan Rincon, whose production declined rapidly once Major League Baseball started asking questions about steroids and Rincon had to clear a lot of creams and syringes out of his locker (allegedly), but the Rays were having none of it. Instead, the Twins shipped out Eduardo Morlan, a reliever from the minors they were grooming to be a closer. This is a problem because conventional wisdom has it the Twins closer, Joe Nathan, is likely to be traded and replaced by Pat Neshek's funky side-arm delivery, leaving the bullpen a little thinner. On the other hand, local baseball aficionados speculate Morlan is a pitch short of the majors, so it may not be a big loss. In return the Twins get AAA outfielder Jason Pridie, presumably so we can play an outfield of all guys named Jason as part of some kind of wacky promotional event. Pridie isn't likely to start, but I'm all for picking up outfielders who can use a bat for something other than firewood, and in the absence of a credible DH, there's room for a lot of outfielders.
This still leaves some gaping holes, and with the uncertainty of the Twins pitching staff, the rotation looks like (in no particular order):
Kevin Slowey
BOOF
(some guy)
Scott Baker
(some other guy)
This is driving speculation that should Santana be traded (since he hasn't accepted a $20m a year contract extension) the Twins will demand a swap of starting pitchers as part of the deal. Personally I hope he and Silva stick around and Liriano comes back to be a Venezuelan Three Musketeers and confuse the crap out of opposing batters. If Santana's gone, it has to be for hitters, hopefully one to play third base or center field, and for god's sake somebody with some power to DH instead of using Jason Kubel or the back-up catcher (which led to the first time I've seen a pitcher hit in an American League game last year when Mike Redmond took a ball in the face and DH Joe Mauer had to put on his gear and move to catcher, and the pitchers had to hit the rest of the game... the Twins still won). After losing Hometown Hero Torii Hunter for nothing, I assume the Twins will be trading Nathan and Santana this winter, and I will be there to rant about it.
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