Trade Candidate Ian Desmond

[Vanimal46]

And that was one of the most lopsided trades of recent memory.

Matt Capps would like a word with you after he returns from the buffet.

[Vanimal46]

JJ Hardy coming off a down year only cost Jim Hooey.

I'm with you on looking to acquire Desmond, but providing Twins trade examples isn't going to drive the point home to doubters. We have been getting fleeced on a majority of trades in the last 10 years....

 

The Twins are contenders in late JUNE! And as much as I want to keep the cupboards in the minors full for the long term, contending teams make trades for guys like Desmond. I think he should definitely be considered to join this team in July.

[DaveW]

I'm not saying we can get him for a hoey type(who was a lower prospect than anyone in our current top 30-35 fwiw) but a year earlier he was traded for Gomez who at the time looked twice as lost and hopeless as hicks has looked. When teams sour on players they will often trade for less than optimal value anyways.

[RedBull34]

I would love to get Desmond, but I just don't think it's going to work out because of the QO.

 

I don't think the Twins will cover the spread of what he's worth.

 

Conversely, you might tell Rizzo that if he gets a deal, call me first to do you one better perhaps.

[AlwaysinModeration]

Playing Nunez at short stop is literally playing with a ticking time bomb that will go over sooner rather than later.

I don't think that means what you think that means.

[tobi0040]

 

Desmond would be a short term rental. The Twins have to be very confident there isn't injury or something else underlying that is leading to his poor performance this year. They don't have the luxury of time for him to move back towards his mean level of performance.

If they are not confident that they can turn him around immediately, they can't give up prospects.

Bret Boone was a pure salary dump in 2005 when he was one of the highest paid middle infielders. He hit 120 home runs from 2001-2004. He had an off half season in 2005 with 7 HRs and low OBP when traded to the Twins for salary relief. He was awful for the Twins and kept them form looking for a real solution. The Twins don't need a bad half season from Desmond.

 

I am not sure I see this as a valid comp.  Boone was a 36 year old 2B making $9M a year and was coming off an OPS of .639. At that age he was a liability defensively and at a less premium position.  Desmond's dWAR is near zero

 

[Craig Arko]

More likely is that Danny Santana comes back after the All Star break.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

The elephant in the room - no one has offered Duensing to the Nats yet. It's like no one wants to get this deal done!

 

I'd say Catcher is a more pressing issue, though I would be shocked if the Twins admitted defeat on the Suzuki extension this season. They might shift him to be a back up next year (assuming they can find someone better to start in his place).

 

Ian Desmond? If there is a deal that makes sense, sure why not? As has been pointed out in the thread already, the incentive for the Nationals is not so much who they get for Desmond, but who they can afford to get without having to pay Desmond for the rest of 2015.

 

Desmond's remaining contract is less than the money the Twins got back from Santana's Suspension Savings, so the $$$ should not be an issue for Minnesota, just the prospects cost.

 

What do the Nats need? Bullpen? There's a logjam of AAAA guys like Tonkin, Oliveros, Pressly, Thompson, etc. --- I wonder if some grouping of those guys could be enticing to Washington. Maybe they'd want to use them more consistently than the Twins have so far. It's a better offer than Hoey/Jacobson for Hardy... 

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Bret Boone was a pure salary dump in 2005 when he was one of the highest paid middle infielders. He hit 120 home runs from 2001-2004. He had an off half season in 2005 with 7 HRs and low OBP when traded to the Twins for salary relief. He was awful for the Twins and kept them form looking for a real solution. The Twins don't need a bad half season from Desmond.

The Mariners paid Boone's full salary after his trade to the Twins (well, less the prorated minimum that the Twins had to pay).  It was a roster relief move, not salary relief.

 

Remember that infield?  Cuddyer, Punto, Rivas, Juan Castro, Luis Rodriguez, Glenn Williams, Brent Abernathy, Terry Tiffee...  After 20 days of Bret Boone, we cut him and called up Jason Bartlett to be the primary SS, but 2B/3B continued to be a mess that year.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

I thought of Boone as well for a moment - I think that would be a worst case scenario, though.

 

Boone was 36 at the time of the trade, Desmond is 29.. I don't know why Desmond is scuffling this year, but I doubt he'll be out of baseball by the end of the year like Boone was.

[jorgenswest]

Rendon is on DL for second time. Washington will need Desmond.

[jokin]

 

More likely is that Danny Santana comes back after the All Star break.

 

Or before...

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Desmond might be an upgrade over whoever is on the field any given day, but I'm not sure he's worth going after. Washington's best case scenario is probably hoping that Desmond turns it around in the 2nd half, and probably would ask too much for him anyway.

 

Meanwhile, Trea Turner made his AAA debut tonight. So that's thoroughly depressing.

[jorgenswest]

Escobar has a .656 OPS. Not good for LF but the split for all SS in the AL is a . 646 OPS. Maybe they can get league average SS play from a guy already on the team.

 

If they could approach league average production from 1B and DH it would be a big step towards staying in contention.