Thread: Cafardo: Denard Span remains on Nationals' radar.

I'm open to the idea of trading Span, but it had better be for some quality talent in return. Otherwise, we should just hold onto him.

Also, there should not be any rush to make a move, and I would have to think that the Nationals would not be our only or even our best trading partner on this.

I'm don't buy into this idea that we have to deal him now because he's our most tradeable asset, we need to shake things up, and he's replaceable. I am not so dismissive of what Span brings to the table. He's a legit leadoff hitter and solid defensive centerfielder with a team-friendly contract.

He can be moved, but it has to be a move to help the Twins either now or down the road, not just for the sake of making a move.

"SUBSTANTIAL" needs to be and is the Key Word!

Originally Posted by davidjcampbell

According to fangraphs, his WAR in 2011 was 2.2, so far this year it is 0.7 - to me that is replaceable on this team.

Not sure if you're considering the fact that that was in 70 games last year and 26 this year. If not, it certainly is a big thing to consider. Those both project to around 4.5 wins for a full season.

Updating a previous item, Jayson Werth has been diagnosed with a broken left wrist.

Werth will visit with a specialist Monday, but is expected to miss ''at least six weeks,'' according to Nationals manager Davey Johnson. His absence creates a need in the outfield, and all but ensures Bryce Harper will avoid being sent down. Tyler Moore likely stands to benefit in the short-term, though the Nationals could also look outside the organization for depth.


Source: Amanda Comak on Twitter

Good grief, trading any number of your very best players away is not something a team looking to rebuild should do. At all. Instead, the idea would have to be to package lesser players who might still be interesting to other teams but who annoy yours (Danny Valencia, Alexi Casilla, Matt Capps, Anthony Swarzak) with notable prospects (Ben Revere, Oswaldo Arcia, Angel Morales, Carlos Gutierrez, BJ Hermsen, Corey Williams, etc.) to get good value in a couple of trades (in this case, for starting pitching and maybe 3rd base).

For instance, are there really no possible good-great starting pitchers available for trade A: Danny Valencia, Anthony Swarzak, Oswaldo Arcia and BJ Hermsen, or trade B: Alexi Casilla, Matt Capps, Ben Revere and Carlos Gutierrez? The Twins have outfield and middle relief depth in the system. That's all the depth right now (though middle infield is changing for the better), but still.

Originally Posted by shanewahl

Good grief, trading any number of your very best players away is not something a team looking to rebuild should do.

Actually, it sorta is. Knoblauch for Milton/Guzzy, AJ for Liriano/Nathan, Buchanan for Bartlett etc.

We're gonna lose a lot this season. Unless Morneau comes back from injury and comes back to his MVP self, our offense is gonna be bad and our pitching will remain very bad. Span is a great asset that could bring back potential impact players. No deal centered around Valencia, Swarzak and Arcia would. It's very likely that when we're good again, Hicks or Benson will be our best centerfielder.

Couple thoughts...
The Nations would love Denard Span to be their table-setting CF. Bernadina and Nady would be expendable to them if they had Span and they'd have no problem letting go of those strings. The Werth injury could spurn the Nat's to move more quickly, but there interest has to be very high regardless. The Nat's are adequate without Span, as Ankiel is decent enough and they are ok with Tyler Moore to get reps in place of Werth, but they would be far happier with Span.

Jordan Zimmerman is off the table... just forget about that. The Nat's have not and will not give up quality young pitching that is extremely useful in their current pennent drive... has any team ever done such a thing? One problem with the Nat's is the Gio Gonzalez trade... the A's took most of what the Twins would have wanted for Span, so there is not much left to pick from and like another poster mentioned, what is left may not be trade elligible until after this year's draft (although that 1 year rule has been known to be waived with a simple request).

Having said all that, I could see:
Span for Daniel Rosenabum & future considerations (Anthony Rendon)

Not the type of deal I'd usually see from the Nat's, but their M.O. has changed now that they think they can win now. IMO.

Originally Posted by gunnarthor

Actually, it sorta is. Knoblauch for Milton/Guzzy, AJ for Liriano/Nathan, Buchanan for Bartlett etc.

We're gonna lose a lot this season. Unless Morneau comes back from injury and comes back to his MVP self, our offense is gonna be bad and our pitching will remain very bad. Span is a great asset that could bring back potential impact players. No deal centered around Valencia, Swarzak and Arcia would. It's very likely that when we're good again, Hicks or Benson will be our best centerfielder.

Knoblauch? You mean the most under-appreciated Twin in my lifetime (31 years) . . . for Milton and Guzman? No. Bartlett? No. Yes, there is a point with AJ there but that was not also a simple rebuild decision but rather a this-guy-doesn't-fit-with-Mauer coming soon decision.

A team has to rebuild around something. Span is a good leadoff hitter who plays good defense. That is NOT common in baseball. You don't give that up unless someone is clearly there to replace him. And no one is right now. MAYBE this is a discussion for next year. Maybe.

Originally Posted by shanewahl

For instance, are there really no possible good-great starting pitchers available for trade A: Danny Valencia, Anthony Swarzak, Oswaldo Arcia and BJ Hermsen, or trade B: Alexi Casilla, Matt Capps, Ben Revere and Carlos Gutierrez? The Twins have outfield and middle relief depth in the system. That's all the depth right now (though middle infield is changing for the better), but still.

A. No, not for what we need, which is quality ballplayers for 2013 and beyond.

Capps could probably bring a low/medium level prospect or two, but packaging those mentioned just wouldn't be in anyone's interest. It would be great to keep Span, but being our top chip, you can't keep him AND get value coming back to us.

And let's not forget that Pavano and Liriano are going to be worth something as pieces in some trade package. I do think that the Twins, if they are going to make trades, need to come up with such combinations of players according to prospect depth and MLB expendability (for the Twins). They cannot just trade away their top MLB players or multiple top prospects. They are not in a position to do that.

Originally Posted by meister

A. No, not for what we need, which is quality ballplayers for 2013 and beyond.

Capps could probably bring a low/medium level prospect or two, but packaging those mentioned just wouldn't be in anyone's interest. It would be great to keep Span, but being our top chip, you can't keep him AND get value coming back to us.

This is just false. A team absolutely can trade a MLB player, a top prospect and one or two middle prospects for immediate or near-immediate value in return.

Originally Posted by shanewahl

Knoblauch? You mean the most under-appreciated Twin in my lifetime (31 years) . . . for Milton and Guzman? No. Bartlett? No. Yes, there is a point with AJ there but that was not also a simple rebuild decision but rather a this-guy-doesn't-fit-with-Mauer coming soon decision.

A team has to rebuild around something. Span is a good leadoff hitter who plays good defense. That is NOT common in baseball. You don't give that up unless someone is clearly there to replace him. And no one is right now. MAYBE this is a discussion for next year. Maybe.

I'm not sure where to go with someone who thinks Buchanan/Bartlett swap was a bad move. In any event, you won't get anything valuable for the Danny Valencia's of the world. This team needs talent and they have a good piece to swap for future talent in Span. They should do it if there's a good offer out there.

Originally Posted by shanewahl

This is just false. A team absolutely can trade a MLB player, a top prospect and one or two middle prospects for immediate or near-immediate value in return.

Flip this on its head - would you trade a healthy Kyle Gibson to the Cubs for Ian Stewart and Chris Volstad?

Originally Posted by shanewahl

And let's not forget that Pavano and Liriano

Agreed, but only to a level similar to what Capps might bring. Those two, currently, would only fetch mid-level guys. Span really is our only chip. And if we're talking mid-level, Carroll is a mention as well... perhaps Lombardozzi is added to Rendon & Rosenabaum, while we add Carroll to Span? Just a thought.

He remains on Washington’s radar, but with Nationals closer Drew Storen on the DL, a deal is on hold for a while.

I don't think Span is untouchable, although his contract status makes him a nice asset to keep around. But, if Terry Ryan can swap him for a good prospect, that's fine. However, I don't understand why a deal would be on hold because Drew Storen is hurt.

Say you're the GM of a last place team. Your team was lousy last year, too. You need to start rebuilding soon. Right now, your starting rotation is a trainwreck; but at least four SP's on the roster have expiring contracts and shouldn't be back next year, which is good but also leaves you with a lot of holes to fill. At the same time, most of your lineup sucks, as well. You really, really could use upgrades at every spot but Catcher, Leftfield, and Centerfield; even if your constantly injured former MVP at 1B/DH is healthy and productive again next year, you probably need a replacement for him in 2014, too. Unfortunately, your prospect crop in the high minors isn't very good, either. So maybe you're thinking about trading your Centerfielder for some rebuilding pieces, and the Nationals seem interested in him. OK, fine.

Why would the plan to trade your CF depend upon the health and availability of the Nats' closer? How does Drew Storen solve any of Terry Ryan's biggest problems?

Originally Posted by frightwig

Why would the plan to trade your CF depend upon the health and availability of the Nats' closer? How does Drew Storen solve any of Terry Ryan's biggest problems?

I agree. But maybe a three team trade could end up with Ryan getting a starting pitcher.

And let's not forget that Pavano and Liriano are going to be worth something as pieces in some trade package. I do think that the Twins, if they are going to make trades, need to come up with such combinations of players according to prospect depth and MLB expendability (for the Twins). They cannot just trade away their top MLB players or multiple top prospects.

I think that Shane makes an excellent point here, and if Marquis is pitching well, he might also have trade value.

Also, Benson and Hicks don't seem to be doing well enough in the minors to be ready to come up. On the other hand, Revere is a great fielder and is fun to watch.

gunnarthor, you are being a bit difficult here. I am not actually proposing a trade, I am indicating the kind of trade of some sort that might work. I regard Span more highly then you do, clearly. And I don't want to trade someone who seems to have no in-house replacement for someone who may be comparable to pitchers on the FA market in the offseason. I don't want to trade Span for a prospect. I want the Twins to figure out either A: a way to spend 10-15 million bucks on at least one great starting pitcher for multiple years or B: a way to trade multiple players/pitchers for one good-great starting pitcher.

I also find the common assumption that Span is the best trade chip to be in no way clearly true. Different teams have different needs and it always changes. Danny Valencia and prospects isn't something to totally scoff at.

Originally Posted by shanewahl

I also find the common assumption that Span is the best trade chip to be in no way clearly true. Different teams have different needs and it always changes. Danny Valencia and prospects isn't something to totally scoff at.

Valencia is pretty clearly not as valuable a player as Span. Yeah, he's a better fit for a team that needs a third baseman, but a team that's in contention (and likely to be the other end of a rebuild trade) isn't likely to have a third baseman who's clearly worse than Danny Valencia.

Originally Posted by BeefMaster

Valencia is pretty clearly not as valuable a player as Span. Yeah, he's a better fit for a team that needs a third baseman, but a team that's in contention (and likely to be the other end of a rebuild trade) isn't likely to have a third baseman who's clearly worse than Danny Valencia.

Will the A's be in contention in a few months? Cuz they have Inge and Hughes in the minors....