Minnesota Twins

[fleehaw]

I've heard second hand that sports radio in the cities has mentioned Hardy's name as a potential target this offseason. I'm not for trading Hardy this offseason, but if the package was right...

 

The Twins match up well with the Brewers, IMO.

 

The centerpiece I would want in a Hardy deal is Denard Span. He can leadoff and play CF, plus he bats lefty. This would allow the Brewers to decline Cameron's option and use that money elsewhere (to CC perhaps). The Twins do have an excess OFs and rumors have indicated that they're looking to deal one of them. Out of all of them, Span is the one that fits the Brewers the best.

 

IMO, Hardy>Span, meaning something else should be coming the Brewers way. The Twins also have excess pitching, and a back end of the rotation SP like Blackburn might be availble. I've heard that Liriano, Baker, and Slowey are off-limits, and Perkins is a local guy, hence Blackburn being the choice here. Blackburn & Span is worth more than Hardy, so most likely, a good prospect (Braddock, Periard, etc.) would be added to even it out. Not saying this would happen. This is just speculation on my part after I heard that Hardy is being discussed in the cities.

 

Other Twins players that may be of interest and a feasible target in a trade, Brendan Harris (possible stopgap for Escobar) & Brian Buschler (could be a very nice platoon-mate for Hall).

 

Lastly, if it was Hardy straight up for a SP, then the Twins also have some nice options, Baker etc.

 

Anyways, the Twins look like they could be a good trade partner as they have some pieces that would seem to fit Brewer needs.

[Hammer]

Oh the irony! I was speaking with a pal of mine from Minneapolis this morning and he mentioned that Hardy would look great in their infield. He thought that Baker or Slowey would be a good starting point with a prospect. I think that he overvalues Hardy (either that or I undervalue him)...

[craig712]

I have been speaking to a freind in the Twin Cities also about what the Brewers and Twins would matchup on. Could they use Fielder as their DH? Not sure how that would work for the Brewers as they would need to find a suitable replacement for Prince.

[nate82]

I have been speaking to a freind in the Twin Cities also about what the Brewers and Twins would matchup on. Could they use Fielder as their DH? Not sure how that would work for the Brewers as they would need to find a suitable replacement for Prince.

If the Twins felt as though Ortiz wasn't a fit I don't see how they would like Fielder as their DH.

[sbrylski]

That's a risky move, IMO, going for Span and Blackburn. Blackburn seems like a guy that is going to have some decent 4.10 ERA seasons and some really bad 5.00 ERA seasons. Span really came out of relative nowhere to have a great season at both AAA and the majors. His LD% was a stellar 25.7%, and his BB% basically doubled from the seasons prior. I could easily see him regressing into a .260 / .330 / .360 type player, which is obviously unattractive. But who knows, maybe something "clicked" and he'll be a consistent .370 OPBer over the next 6 years. Just saying its a risk.

[thevaccinator27]

Interestingly enough, the Strib just had an article about the Twins' surplus of OF. It basically states that OF is going to come down to whether they move Cuddyer to 3b or not. If so, they are looking for a 3b or a relief pitcher for their extra OF.

[MNBrew]

If the Twins felt as though Ortiz wasn't a fit I don't see how they would like Fielder as their DH.

It's not that Ortiz wasn't a fit up here. Ortiz' knees couldn't handle the turf enough to be a regular 1B and he also could never put it together enough here to become the full-time DH. It also got to the point where Ortiz was going to cost more in what he'd get in arbitration than his production alone would justify. Health issues may have factored in, too -- memory's a little fuzzy there. So they non-tendered him and the consensus was that he didn't give any indications his last couple years here that, all in all, made the non-tender decision look like a bad choice.

 

NO ONE in the Twin Cities or probably most of baseball saw him turning into a potential HOF caliber slugger no matter where he landed.

 

Anyway, the Twins have 5 starting OFs to play between the OF & DH. They've also been yearning for RH power for years. Fielder doesn't profile as the most logical fit for the Twins.

[dadofandrew]

MIN does not really know what to do with power hitters, they had Ortiz hitting to 2B to advance the runner. I'd like to say I had him breaking out, but really, I just had him continuing to produce like he had with the Twins. The rest was just a young player getting better.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

If we could get Baker or Slowey for Hardy, then sign me up. Both are #2 quality pitchers.

[MNBrew]

If we could get Baker or Slowey for Hardy, then sign me up. Both are #2 quality pitchers.

Not a bad idea, but those are guys the Twins are looking to build around, not ship off almost regardless of the return (think: Matt Garza & Jason Bartlett for Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, & Jason Pridie).

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

Well those are the only 2 guys that I see of value when it comes to giving up Hardy. You could maybe talk me into Blackburn, but there is better out there for J.J.

[jjfanec]

How about Denard Span? He is a lefty who can play CF. He had an OBP .90 points above his average. He had an OPS over .800. I would not like JJ for him straight up, but he would be an interesting guy in the deal with the surplus of OF'ers they have. It would be nice to move Hall there too.

[dadofandrew]

Span is cheap and was very good in '08, well above his career numbers. The Twins have little interest in dealing him anyway, they are supposedly looking to move Cuddyear or young.

[jjfanec]

Span is cheap and was very good in '08, well above his career numbers. The Twins have little interest in dealing him anyway, they are supposedly looking to move Cuddyear or young.

I doubt they will be able to move Cuddyear after his injury-plagued season. Young is trade bait, but his lack of power limits his return. I figured Span would not be available but if they really are hoping to get a quality SS, 3B, or DH , I think they would have to move other people.

[MNBrew]

Well those are the only 2 guys that I see of value when it comes to giving up Hardy. You could maybe talk me into Blackburn, but there is better out there for J.J.

Blackburn & Span for Hardy + something would be potentially reasonable. That'd be buying below-radar on Blackburn and buying high on Span. Still not sure that I'd put Hardy out there in any deals, though.

 

Blackburn & Span for Hall and an A- pitcher or pitching prospect? Not as likely but more Brewers-justifiable.

[ILuvDaBush]

What does it say if this former number one overall pick with a questionable makeup continually is moved in consecutive offseasons? Say what you will about Rickie Weeks, but he's not tossing bats at umps. Instead he's making lousy commercials in Milwaukee for cable companies. As for the compatibility between the two franchises, unless we're getting Liriano, no dice on Hardy.

[And That]

Blackburn & Span for Hardy + something would be potentially reasonable.

I would not trade Hardy for Blackburn and Span... Blackburn has good, not great, stuff, but he'll be 27 next year and has yet to pitch 200 innings in a season. Span had a really good season, but has he turned the corner, or was it just a good season? Betting on the corner means you're willing to overlook 4.5 years of mediocrity for 1 year of productivity. I wouldn't trade Hardy for that.

 

I'd trade Hardy for Slowey+, and trade Hardy, Hall and Iribarren for Slowey and Cuddyer, but the Twins wouldn't do either.

 

This is a case of teams matching up, but teams valuing different things.

[raven2479]

This showed back up again on MLBTradeRumors.com today saying the Twins are looking into Hardy as an option.

 

Edit:Add link

[trwi7]

I really don't see a match with the Twins. Yes, they have young pitching, but they're not going to trade Liriano, Baker or Slowey for Hardy and imo Hardy has more value than Blackburn and Perkins.

[yoshii8]

What I don't understand is why the Twins won't trade one of Liriano, Baker or Slowey for Hardy? They just traded a guy with just as much upside in Matt Garza last off-season for Delmon Young. IMO J.J. Hardy has more value than Delmon Young even w/ the contract situation.

[MNBrew]

What I don't understand is why the Twins won't trade one of Liriano, Baker or Slowey for Hardy? They just traded a guy with just as much upside in Matt Garza last off-season for Delmon Young. IMO J.J. Hardy has more value than Delmon Young even w/ the contract situation.

Just because the Twins traded Garza last off-season doesn't mean they will or should trade another starter this offseason. When Hunter left. they had only Cuddyer & Kubel as known entities and needed a CF and a LF (Kubel being OK in the OF but as logical a DH candidate as the Twins had). The Twins had SO many young pitchers and desperately needed more offense, esp. from the right side. Young, who had only turned 22 in September of '07, had a .288 BA, 38 2Bs, 13 HRs and 93 RBIs the year before -- just the sort of productive bat the Twins needed -- and only 1+ years in the majors. Garza was full of potential like the other starters but was deemed the one they felt they could most afford to deal to get someone good in return.

 

Hardy has more value than Young now given the year Young had last year. But to draw parallels to each as trade targets on consecutive years, you really need to compare Hardy after this year vs. Young after 2007. J.J. is also 3 years older than Delmon. Even with '08 being a bit of a drop for Delmon, he's done more at his age (just turned 23) than Hardy did at the same point.

 

The Twins also had the rotation as one of their larger question marks coming into '08. Now it's one of the team's strengths, but their bullpen has big holes and proved very unreliable in August & September. I could see the Twins considering moving one of their starters, but it's likely not Liriano and it's hardly foregone conclusion that they would.

 

However, SS & 3B are two positions that loom large in their offseason sights. Is a deal for Hardy possible? Yeah. My response was more based on how the logic came across. And they'd still have another hole to fill in their rotation because they don't have the stockpile of (relatively proven/experienced) McClungs, Villanuevas, Dillards, DiFelices, & possibly Capuanos quite lined up to fill a void.

[yoshii8]

IMO the main thing that gives Hardy more value is the fact that he is a good shortstop and Young is an average corner outfielder. Another thing is that Hardy is considered to be a great clubhouse presence, and from what I've read Delmon Young is considered to have a really bad attitude.

[MNBrew]

IMO the main thing that gives Hardy more value is the fact that he is a good shortstop and Young is an average corner outfielder. Another thing is that Hardy is considered to be a great clubhouse presence, and from what I've read Delmon Young is considered to have a really bad attitude.

Fair points. Young's attitude, I wouldn't say it's outright bad at all, but more that it's just intense and certainly different enough that some could easily construe it as bad. Probably sounds like either making excuses or putting lipstick on a pig, so to speak. I don't think anyone would mistake Young as a clubhouse leader at this point. But he's a younger player, and with many guys like him, realistically it may well be too early to label him outright as an attitude case and malcontent.

 

All that said, that doesn't change and also still does support your basic point that Hardy's a much stronger and more positive clubhouse presence than Young, which would also be in line with everything there's been to hear about it up here in "Twins Territory," as their marketing has called it for the last couple years.