JJ Hardy to Twins for Carlos Gomez

[Gobias Industries]

Yeah, I don't think Melvin is punting here either. I think he knows he doesn't have too long of a leash. If we don't finish over .500 I could easily see him getting canned.

 

This trade is obviously a buy low swap for both teams, but I definitely like it a whole lot better for the Twins given Hardy's ML success. Great 'get' for Minnesota.

 

Also, were we ever seriously considering offering Cameron arbitration? This definitely squashes that idea now, but it sucks losing one of the best CFers for nothing.

[bork]

I'm having flashbacks to the Vina situation. Everyone knew Taylor was going to trade Vina to make room for Belliard. So he goes out and trades Vina for garbage. At least Escobar is better than Belliard.

[WV Brew]

Age 20: Gomez 275/331/376/707

Cain 307/384/425/809

 

Age 21: Gomez 281/350/423/773

Cain 276/338/344/683

 

Age 22: Gomez 275/355/392/747

Cain 279/356/448/804

 

Probably a one year rental, if he even lasts all of next year. Doug should have kept looking.

[yoshii8]

Our GM is clearing salary so he can buy FA pitchers. FA pitchers, historically, are terrible investments. Doug Melvin will be unemployed by this time next year. This is the definitive move of his tenure here. Clearly the wrong direction. He has completed wasted everything that Jack Z created here.

Do you think this is maybe a bit of an overreaction? We still have a very solid lineup, and Gomez and Escobar will improve us defensively. Lets wait and see what Melvin does w/ the pitching staff before giving up on Melvin.

[MJLiverock]

Yuck, this does viturally nothing to improve the situation of the team. Taking a step back in a premium positon like CF to save money for pitching is fine if the team actually had a pitcher in the fold or a realistic target for spending that money on. I dont' believe they do. Melvin's track record for identifying pitching isn't great and overpaying for another Suppan type is just going to be a loadstone around the team again. I would have much rather traded Hardy for a package of minor leaguers with upside so if one flames out one may not versus tradiing for an all glove no hit CF'er which the Brewers may have in Cain anyway.

 

Now a line up with Gomez and Escobar has plenty of speed and stealing ability but will Macha utilize this? Or is it just wasted on him? The old adage of, "You can't steal first base," also comes to mind. I think Escobar will be a fine SS but realistically I don't expect an OBP much above .320 for him in the early years, Gomez may not even match that. If Kendall is in the lineup this team will have serious OBP issues. Who is going to hit leadoff? Does this mean Corey Hart will be back for sure? He hasn't exactly been an OBP machine either.

 

So with this trade the team downgraded the offense and did nothing to improve pitching. They can spin the savings of money anyway they want but until they actually sign an above average pitcher this could be Melvin's Waterloo.

[Teatoe993]

So for all the MLPS tweeners, who is the hottest Twin? Mauer or Hardy?

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Safe to say that JJ will get a better reception when he returns to Wisconsin than certain other former state heroes now on the wrong side of the Mississippi.

[Never Outhustled]

I could see a Twins fan saying that about Hardy, except he actually was in the minors last year. Lets not forget, we didnt trade Cal Ripken, Jr. here.

How quickly we forget Hardy was more WAR in 2008 than Braun or Fielder. Even in Hardy's off year he was worth 2 times more than Gomez.

[bklynbrewcrew]

As of now we have an average lineup that is garbage below the 5 hole and no pitching. I really think we have to worry about our offense as well now. Once we trade Gamel and McGehee regresses to his career norm we will really be a bad team.

[endaround]

Rather have kept Hardy up all of least year and gotten draft picks after 2010.

[yoshii8]

Does anybody know a good Twins forum? I'd like to hear their reaction, I'm guessing its the exact opposite of most people here.

[Gobias Industries]

Rather have kept Hardy up all of least year and gotten draft picks after 2010.

Agreed, or if this actually was the best offer for Hardy, I would of hung on to him and started him opening day and flipped him during the season.

[Bring Back the Stein]

Great move. Gomez has a ton of upside and genuinely has five tools. Hardy merely makes grown men behave like "Glee" watchers.

[Teatoe993]

From what I've read, they're gonna miss Gomez more than I thought they would. Sounds like he's a real high energy guy. And they're a bit cautious on Hardy. They're seeing him as a minor upgrade for now. At least that's what I've read so far.

[yoyomayoma]

Here's the Twins forum at KFAN (local AM sports radio station):

 

http://rubechat.kfan.com/viewforum.php?f=18

 

There's a few topics on it. The main trade topic seems to be pretty optimistic for the Twins on this one. They all agree that they got hosed in the Santana trade but did fine in this one.

[ELCABALLO45]

Rather have kept Hardy up all of least year and gotten draft picks after 2010.

Well it only took 4 pages to have a real bad over reaction but we finally have had one.

[brewmann04]

well i hope Melvin does not settle next year rotation with the Likes of Mulder and Harden two injury prone Pitchers.

I hope he also stays away from Washburn and Bedard.

[dragoon84]

I think this is a great great move. We got the same Defense we had in Cameron, plus more speed. Gomez is a young guy, probably hasn't figured it all out yet. With Rickie being healthy to start the beginning of next season, we have the potential to move Rickie down to 5 or 6, bump up Gomez to 2 or 1 if he figures out how to get on base more often.

 

The best part of this, is that we have much more money now to resign Fielder to a big extension, or, we can go out and throw some money around at pitching.

 

Now, if Melvin trades McGeehee, I'll be pissed, but not yet. There is also the possibility of Hart getting moved for pitching, Braun shifting over to RF, and Gamel being put in LF. Our D will probably be at the same place it was last year, possibility better with a full year of Escobar. I didn't think we would get much for Hardy, to be honest. I wasn't expecting a guy like Gomez though; this is a great move.

[Invader3K]

X ellence wrote:How quickly we forget Hardy was more WAR in 2008 than Braun or Fielder. Even in Hardy's off year he was worth 2 times more than Gomez.

I think trades like this prove that only people on the internet use WAR. Baseball GMs clearly don't.

 

I believe Melvin is going to let Kendall go and either promote Salome or trade for someone like Ryan Doumit. He's not dumb enough to put out a lineup with absolutely no pop below the five spot.

[Hate those Rodents]

There's more than a handful of us that think Hardy won't bounce back like some of you are thinking. That's probably the thought around the league...that they are uncertain his 2009 season is not a flash in the pan despite evidence to the contrary in previous seasons. Let's wait and see how he does the next two years or so in Minnesota before we decide we got fleeced. Because I think a lot of the league is simply not that high on JJ.

[olliegjw]

I like the move towards better defense. Escobar is a much better defender than Hardy. It sounds like Gomez is, at worst, a wash with Cameron defensively right now. However, Gomez is only about 24, while Cameron will be 37 next year.

 

Offensively, Hardy's .302 OBP won't be missed. Cameron is due for a fall off at his age. Escobar and Gomez have the potential to match those two offensively, while providing much better defense and under control for more years.

[bklynbrewcrew]

The people defending this trade need to factor in what this does to the lineup. Replacing Hardy and Cameron with Escobar and Gomez means we lose major power and OBP ability. As of now our lineup is awful past the 5 hole. I really question how we are gonna be even average offensively even with Braun and Fielder in the lineup.

[Invader3K]

Replace Corey Hart and Kendall with better hitters?

[Gobias Industries]

Pro: This means there is no way Kendall is coming back. Right!?!? A stretch of Escobar, Gomez, Kendall, and the P spot would be BRUTAL.

 

Edit: Also, we might get some more interviews like this. LOL. Read the guy's description. Two masters of the English language....

[olliegjw]

The people defending this trade need to factor in what this does to the lineup. Replacing Hardy and Cameron with Escobar and Gomez means we lose major power and OBP ability. As of now our lineup is awful past the 5 hole. I really question how we are gonna be even average offensively even with Braun and Fielder in the lineup.

Loss of power, yes. Loss of OBP, not as much. Kendall had an OBP 30 points higher than Hardy last year. Cameron will most likely have a decline at his age as well. Their combined OBP last year was about .640. That is hardly anything special.