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Delmon Young

Matt Garza Traded For Delmon Young In Blockbuster

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UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 9pm: It’s now a done deal.  The Twins substituted 21 year-old reliever Eduardo Morlan instead of Rincon.

UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 7:30pm: This thing hasn’t gone through yet because of concerns over Rincon’s elbow.  The deal will either be finalized or killed by Thursday, according to Scott Miller.  The trade has been in the works for a few days.

UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 4pm: Neal reports that the Twins have interest in Aaron Rowand, which is really surprising given his reported demands.  I don’t see it.  Neal adds that Craig Monroe may now be non-tendered and the Garza trade will not stop Bill Smith from shopping Johan Santana.  By the way, talks for Coco Crisp persist.

FROM 11-28-07 at 2pm:

Wow!  That rumor really didn’t die!  La Velle E. Neal III says the Twins are close to a multiplayer deal.  They’ll send Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Juan Rincon to the Rays for Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, and Jason Pridie.  I can’t remember any kind of young player blockbuster like this recently. 

It’s exciting to see Bill Smith pull the trigger on a deal to get that possible elite slugger.  Will he be more hesitant to trade Johan Santana now?  Or maybe it doesn’t matter since he’d require an elite young hurler like Phil Hughes in return.  Beyond Young, you also have to applaud Smith for getting Pridie, who immediately becomes the Twins’ center fielder of the future.  The 24 year-old came back from injuries this year to rake in Triple A.  Just like that, the Twins have an outfield.   

Meanwhile the Rays suddenly have an awesome young trio fronting their rotation in Scott Kazmir, Jamie Shields, and Garza.  Rincon’s ability is questionable at this point but he could be the setup man the Rays are craving.

I’ll give the advantage to the Twins but I like this deal for both teams.

Would You Trade Delmon Young For Matt Garza?

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I linked to this article earlier in regards to Francisco Liriano, but I missed a bit at the end:

Trade rumor that won’t die: Twins pitcher Matt Garza for Tampa Bay outfielder Delmon Young.

I can definitely see the positives for both sides in this deal. Garza would give the Rays another MLB-ready young pitcher to add to Scott Kazmir and James Shields. They also have Jason Hammel, J.P. Howell, Andy Sonnastine, and the six-foot-nine monster Jeff Niemann likely to break camp with the team. Arranging those guys between the rotation and the bullpen could work out for the Rays. The move would also allow them to slot Elijah Dukes in right field. Or hey, unlikely as it is, maybe Rocco Baldelli stays healthy (yeah, right).

The Twins would be adding a power bat in Young, a much-needed piece. A trade of Garza likely wouldn’t hold them back from trading Johan Santana, since they’d likely receive a starter in such a deal that could be plugged into the rotation in 2008 (Clay Buchholz/Jon Lester, Phil Hughes, Chad Billingsley, Mike Pelfrey/Phil Humber).

Does anyone see any aspects that would make this deal uneven? Let’s crank out the discussion.

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.

Twins Willing To Trade Garza

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Terry Ryan hung on to his fine corral of young pitchers, and it’s hard to find fault with that.  However, new GM Bill Smith is open to dealing one of them for a high impact young hitter.

Specifically, Joe Christensen says the Twins are willing to move 24 year-old Matt Garza, who posted a 3.69 ERA this year.  The price would be huge – the names the Twins have in mind are Delmon Young, B.J. Upton, and Carlos Gomez.  Upton, a favorite of theirs, seems like the least available of the three.  Marc Topkin agrees that a Young-Garza rumor has been floating around.

If the Twins want to make a lesser deal, teams have also been asking about Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker.  But those two aren’t chopped liver, and Rocco Baldelli doesn’t seem like enough.  The Padres want in on the young pitchers, but aren’t willing to give up third baseman Chase Headley. 

There’s also word in Christensen’s article that the Twins haven’t heard back from Torii Hunter and Carlos Silva regarding their weak offers.  A more legitimate effort will be made to re-sign Johan Santana.

Rays Shopping Baldelli?

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According to Marc Lancaster, Rays’ executive VP Andrew Friedman don’t have any players who are 100% untouchable.  It’s just that a team would have to offer a package the Rays consider superior to Delmon Young, Scott Kazmir, or Carl Crawford.  Not likely.  (Though there is informed speculation that the Twins inquired on Young recently).

One Ray who might come at a more reasonable price is Rocco Baldelli.  The guy just can’t stay healthy; Rays doctors are running all sorts of tests on him to figure it out.  There’s no time like the present to buy low on the potential All-Star.  Aside from the aforementioned Nationals (how about for Chad Cordero or Jon Rauch?), the Twins are rumored to be interested.  The Twins have the young hurlers the Rays crave.  In my opinion, a Baldelli/Boof Bonser swap might be fair.  Hey, remember when the Rays were going to get Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Yunel Escobar, and Kyle Davies for Baldelli?  Damn.

The Rays continue to seek a defensive-minded shortstop and bullpen help, Lancaster says. Cesar Izturis and Kazuo Fukumori might be two free agents who fit the bill.

Rays’ Kazmir May Be Available

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The week in hot stove kicks off with a bang: Joel Sherman of the New York Post has a source saying the Devil Rays might listen to offers for ace lefty Scott Kazmir.  Kazmir turns 24 in January and carries a 3.64 career ERA despite pitching in the AL East.  He’s been particularly tough on the Red Sox (2.66 ERA in 101 innings).  You have to think that if the Yankees are entertaining making an offer for Johan Santana, they’d consider Kazmir as well if the Rays would deal within the division.

Sherman notes that Kazmir is under contract for three years as opposed to just one for Santana, which could equate the two pitchers in the marketplace.  Erik Bedard, under control for two years, has to be in that group of elite, possibly available southpaws as well.  Sherman believes the Rays would seek "multiple high-end pitchers" for Kazmir, who is entering arbitration for the first time this winter.  The Yankees could offer a package starting with Phil Hughes, but the Mets don’t seem to have the goods.  It would take a pitcher of that nature – Hughes, Yovani Gallardo, Clay Buchholz.  Otherwise, why would the Rays consider it? 

Sherman also echoes the surprising notion that Tim Lincecum could be had for the right bat.  He speculates that the Giants could pursue Carl Crawford or Delmon Young as the return.  Hey, our Delmon speculation is catching on!

Sherman indicates that the Twins may be compelled to hold onto Santana, afraid of fan backlash if they also lose Torii Hunter.  Meanwhile, another Santana, Ervin, might be had for a bat if the Angels can’t sign Alex Rodriguez.  Sherman’s sources say any club in the A-Rod sweepstakes will move slowly in the market because his contract would dictate the team’s available budget.

Also notable from Sherman’s rumor-packed column:  teams may wait for the Mitchell Report to come out before engaging in serious talks for Miguel Tejada.  I’ve read speculation that MLB could release this report soon as a way of limiting free agent spending.  Also, isn’t it about time for Jose Canseco’s next book, which supposedly has "other stuff" on Alex Rodriguez?

D-Rays Willing To Trade Upton, Young?

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According to Mike Berardino of the Sporting News, the Rays have been willing to discuss trades for both Delmon Young and B.J. Upton this winter.  (Berardino also writes for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel).  Apparently Upton’s attitude and shaky defense scare rival teams more than Young’s attitude alone.

It’s tough to envision Young going anywhere.  Despite the bat-throwing, the 21 year-old has star written all over him.  He’s got some interesting comparables, according to Baseball Prospectus.  The most similar player is the very solid former Astros and Reds CF Cesar Cedeno.  His list also includes Rocco Baldelli, Orlando Cepeda, Elijah Dukes, Ruben Sierra, Milton Bradley, Sammy Sosa, Hank Aaron, and Jeff Francoeur.  I didn’t know PECOTA used attitude as a variable (Dukes, Bradley).

PECOTA is less enthused with Upton, likening him to Carlos Febles.  However, his list is quite impressive overall, with Alan Trammell, Willie Randolph, Pete Rose, Derek Jeter, and Tim Raines.  At 22, Upton still has plenty of time to find a position and blossom into a star.

What To Do With Delmon Young

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By now, we’ve all seen the video of Delmon Young’s bat flip.  At least, ESPN was calling it a flip before the video came out.  They’ve kind of quieted on that now that we saw that Young really whipped that sucker.

Intent to harm is still a question mark…but when you throw a wooden object at that speed end over end in the direction of someone, you have to realize the distinct possibility of injury.  This eyewitness account stresses that he tossed and did not fling the bat, but I vote fling. 

The Young incident is far worse than Roberto Alomar’s hocker.  In comparison, I don’t know why we got so worked up over that.  Sure, it was gross and incredibly disrespectful, but Hirschbeck was never in harm’s way.  The two are actually friends now.

Buster Olney made the point that if you suspend steroid users for 50 games, Young deserves at least as long.  Because steroid users are not putting anyone else in danger (except perhaps their friends and loved ones).  Kenny Rogers got 20 games for his cameraman thing.  How does this compare?  Young’s infraction is probably worse.  I think we are looking at 40-50 games, which will definitely stunt his growth.  The Devil Rays will probably wait until 2007 to call him up. 

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