Twins Interested In Orlando Cabrera

Lugo! Lugo! Lugo!

No thank you. An aging middle infielder for 10 mil a year? That's absurd!

The Twins chance at getting Furcal is about .00000000001 if you ask me.

Trading for a Dan Uggla or David Wright would be great... maybe Perkins, and Cuddyer package would draw the Mets or Marlins to give us a righty slugger.

**.00000000001%

there's about a.00000000001% of that happening too.

Take him. I want a 1st round draft pick.

I got news for you. David Wright would take Francisco Liriano.

Twinsfan: So you think Perkins and Cuddyer could get you David Wright??

Please, give me some of that pot your smoking...

"Trading for a Dan Uggla or David Wright would be great"

Uggla would be a butcher in the field.

As for Wright, it'd take Liriano, Nathan, and Mauer.

Actually in terms of trade value, I'd argue Mauer has one of the highest values in baseball. Fairly cheap, very young, first AL catcher to win a batting title (I think) not to mention he's won it twice and might be adding an MVP to his resume, great defender... basically one of if not the best catcher in baseball, a position of scarcity.

I don't know about MVP. I still say that's Dustin Pedroia. The Sox lost Ortiz, Drew, and Lowell, all for substantial periods of time. Take away Pedroia and that team doesn't make the Playoffs.

Agree - Mauer straight up is more valuable than Wright. That's as long as he stays catching.

Why would the Twins go for O-Cab. Couldn't Lugo perform at a similar level? Wouldn't cost you your first round pick (O-Cab is type A). Further, he could be had for nothing with Boston possibly kicking in for a chunk of his salary.

Jack Wilson would be a good fit for Minnesota also cheap by cheap I mean prospect wise.

Mauer plays a more premium position and his OPS is just .005 less than Pedroia.

Sure the Sox lost all those guys but did anyone expect the Twins to even compete? M&M carried that club way beyond expectations.

I'd take Youk over Pedroia. The guy had a monster year offensively and plays stellar defense.

Wright for Nathan, Mauer, and Liriano.

Wow that is not worth it for the Twins The best closer in baseball, a top 3 Catcher and a Starter with a ceiling so high it is unbelievable.

icedrake's proposal would make the Babe Ruth for 4$ trade seem like a logical move.

"Actually in terms of trade value, I'd argue Mauer has one of the highest values in baseball. "

I disagree. He's a great player. However, he does not have much power. Also, he's going to need to move to 3B or become a full time DH in the future. Therefore his value is going to fall faster than Wright's.

"Wow that is not worth it for the Twins The best closer in baseball, a top 3 Catcher and a Starter with a ceiling so high it is unbelievable."

Since when did Mariano Rivera change his name to Joe Nathan and go to the Twins?

uggla is a average fielder, and the sterotype that he is a "butcher on the field" . but, he isnt a player that will fit twins' system. he strikeout too much, average fielder, no speed, .250 hitter.
Also, the marlins only willing to trade uggla if there blew away by the offer. furthermore, there no real replacement for uggla yet, because coghlan need another year in AA

"I don't know about MVP. I still say that's Dustin Pedroia."

I agree, but I'm biased. It really is going to be a complete toss up for the two and, I wouldn't be shocked if the difference in voting is only a few points. Funny how everyone thought Hamilton or Quentin were locks.

"Therefore his value is going to fall faster than Wright's"

That doesn't change his value today. Add to it even if he has to move to 3B or DH that's 5-8 years down the line, he's still only 25.

I know it wont happen but lemme see what the twin fans think

Wright, Maine, Fernando Martinez, Jon Niese

Mauer, Nathan, Liriano

id do that in a heartbeat...

Young stud 3B offsets your loss of young stud catcher...

We get a 3 starter who could be an ace along with an ace closer

You get a Solid 2 or 3 in maine a young lefty pitcher with high upside and a 19 year old OF with crazy upside but whose had some injuries.... Let the roast begin...

Orlando Cabrera is a convenience fit. For a team in the Twins position, they're probably better off trading one of their young pitchers for a young shortstop who they can retain.

Nick Blackburn for Yunel Escobar comes to mind. They both have about an equal amount of service time, the Braves get a young pitcher they can retain and the Twins use one of their obvious strengths to obtain a solution for one of their obvious weaknesses.

Lugo is a no go. They like their defense in Minn. Probably Renteria before Lugo.

OCab would be a worthy add, but they still have a hole at 3rd.

Might be better to try to fill 3rd with a solid stick and go w/Harris/Punto at SS.

Minn's actually got a great set of players top to bottom. It'll be interesting to see what they could do with a full year of Cuddyer and Casilla (and a good stick at 3rd).

BJ is dead-on about Mauer; he should be MVP. Just like 2006, everyone seemed to argue Morneau vs. Jeter and not even discuss Mauer. But Mauer had almost identical offense to Jeter, AND is at a more premium position that he plays BETTER than Jeter (much better). It's the same here with Pedroia, though Pedroia is a very good 2b.

As for Cabrera, please no. Man, that would be a terrible move for the Twins. I think their best option is to trade one of their starters (like Perkins; Slowey, Baker, and Liriano should be virtually off-limits) or trade one of Cuddyer/Young (even with Young's upside) for a 3b like either Beltre or Zimmerman. Then go sign Mark Ellis to play 2b. He's from the area, fits the great defensive mold, and would be a major upgrade offensively in the MI with a little luck on his side in 2009, as he was incredibly unlucky this past season. Then you move Casilla to SS.

Really, with Neshek/Cuddyer returning, Mijares in the pen for a full year next year, and Gomez/Casilla/Young all young and improving, plus their starting rotation, the Twins only have 2 holes. Those are one MI spot (depending on if Casilla plays 2b or SS) and 3b. If they solve those 2, and they have a lot of ammo to do so, they have a pretty damn complete team heading into 2009 and the future. And that new ballpark in 2010 is still really going to help as well.

Why Beltre and Zimmerman ? I'd perfer Young for Gordon.

both not living up to there hype anyways, and a change should do them both good

Mets arent trading Wright, Twins arent trading Mauer.

LOL. Young for Gordon? That's not going to happen.

1) The teams aren't going to trade within the division, if anything for fear that they wouldn't want the player they traded to become a superstar with the other team.

2) Gordon > Young. With the bat (or more specifically, with the eyes) and in the field.

firestick i know they are in the same division but why would clubs keep players that is not gonna pan out with them.

at this point it makes sense because both could fill holes for there respective clubs both has upsides to be stars in the major

"Trading for a Dan Uggla or David Wright would be great"

Uggla would be a butcher in the field.

As for Wright, it'd take Liriano, Nathan, and Mauer"

Lets not get crazy here. Trading Wright for Mauer 1 for 1 is not even that crazy. But Young, Casilla, and Nathan may tempt me.

Wow so do you think the Twins should throw in Morneau too? I don't think Nathan,Mauer, Liriano is far enough for the god that is David Wright

Joe Mauer deserves the 2008 AL MVP award. I realize he has no shot of winning it because the Twins didn't make the playoffs, but you'd have a very hard time convincing that another player provided more value to his team than Mauer did. What really ticks me off is people comparing Morneau's RBI totals to Mauer's, and then saying if a Twin were to win it should be Morneau. It's a shame people don't realize the reason Justin has so many RBIs is because he was hitting behind the batting title winner and having the highest OBP in the AL among players with his amount of ABs (Milton Bradley's was higher, but the amount of ABs he accumulated as an OF/DH really aren't enough in these discussions - Mauer gets the obvious pass at "only" playing 146g because that's more than a full season for a C).

"Joe Mauer deserves the 2008 AL MVP award. I realize he has no shot of winning it because the Twins didn't make the playoffs, but you'd have a very hard time convincing that another player provided more value to his team than Mauer did."

There's precedent to not going to the playoffs and getting the MVP, most recently 2003 and Arod with the Rangers (I believe they were even in last that year). However my argument stands, everything Mauer was to the Twins, Pedroia was to the Red Sox. While Pedroia gets more attention because he's with a big press team like the Red Sox, I think you can argue his accomplishments can be dismissed by others because of the same reason.

The fact remains though, there isn't an argument or counter argument for or against either player that isn't similar to an another argument for or against the other player. You basically rail against the idea that Mauer wasn't the producer that Morneau was, yet the same relation applies to Youk and Pedroia.

Other arguments are Mauer was the defensive warrior of the Twins, Pedroia was the same. Mauer was better than his peers at his postion, Pedroia was the same. I say Pedroia is the better choice because of his flexibility. He batted wherever in the order the Red Sox required (and exceeded his ability) and was the everything man. He could hit for contact, hit for power, he could fill in as a clean up hitter, steal bases, defend, etc.

To sum up my argument, Mauer isn't as clear cut of a winner or desever of the award as some fans are trying to claim, and worse, some fans are trying to claim he'll be ignored. It'll be a close vote.

"Mauer was better than his peers at his postion, Pedroia was the same."

Actually, therein lies the problem with your argument. Mauer was leaps and bounds better than the next everyday C in the AL, while Pedroia wasn't even the best offensive 2B in the league (Kinsler was). Also, give me the 134 OPS+ from a C any day over the 123 OPS+ from a 2B, a rather easy position to fill. When you factor in their surroundings and how heavily the Twins lean on someone like Mauer compared to Pedroia's supporting cast, it isn't all that close.

92-93, using your argument, any player who outperforms his teammates is the MVP.

But congrats, you managed to jump on only 1 part of my argument to tear it down... that's it. Can you really argue against anything else? Mauer and Pedroia played the exact same role for their respective teams.

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I dont know purple, i say 92-93 boxed you, you can not name a catcher better or equal to Mauer in the AL but you can name a 2B equal to or better the Pedrioa, Kinsler for example. Plus you take Mauer away from the Twins there is NO way they were half as good as they were, you could take Pedrioa away and theres a decent chance they are pretty good. And Mauer play a hell of a lot more important position and Mauer made a group of young pitchers look fantastic for most of the year. Can you say Pedrioa turned 5 young pitchers into legit starters for a damn near playoff team? No so if you think about it I dont see how Mauer isnt the MVP. He made everyone around him better, i dont think you can say that about Dustin

What about this deal..

Twins trade to Marlins:
Cuddyer, Perkins, Revere, Swarzak, Ploufe

Twins get:
Jorge Cantu, Chris Volstad

or what about...

Twins trade to Rockies:
Cuddyer, Perkins, Buscher, Humber, Revere, Swarzak, Plouffe,

Twins Get:
Garrett Atkins, Brian Fuentes

Dcaff - are you crazy?

I'm a big, big, big Twins fan and the minor league guys you are throwing around WON'T be traded. Revere is one of their top prospects, by far. Plouffe is one of their best position prospects and Swarzak looks ready to make the jump the majors soon - so if you want a more realistic deal

Atkins and Fuentes for Cuddyer and Perkins

Atkins sucks outside of Coors field and everyone knows it - he can't hit anywhere else. He has a heck of a lot less value than you are putting in him right now. Fuentes is old. Why would teams give up top prospects for an aging RP?