This was the biggest thing I disagree with. How often do we see players in their 30's peak? Cuddyer and Willingham are a few examples that we have seen first hand. I don't buy that there is a prime in baseball unlike other sports. It's not very physical and is much more mental. A player in his 'physical prime', or in that 27-29 year old range, isn't significantly more likely to be in his 'career prime'. To follow that up, I agree that Revere gives the Twins a better chance. I strongly disagree with trading Span before Revere because it is an EXCELLENT idea to trade high on Ben after this season. It's almost a guarantee that Revere will decline next year and his value couldn't get much higher. Both Revere AND Span should be sent packing if a good offer comes around because neither is necessary for the future. Hicks is our CF, Arcia is our RF, and Benson is our LF. Hicks, Benson, and Arcia will of course need a little more time to develop, but they are all knocking at the door in AA and it's possible we see them in September call-ups and certainly in Spring Training. I wouldn't mind holding on to Denard until the 2013 deadline rather than the offseason to be a stopgap in the meantime. Simply put, Denard is more 'proven' and can be counted on to compete at a consistent level. His value probably won't change much. Parmelee, Doumit, and Mastroianni are all reasonable stopgap solutions as well. MY PLAN: Trade Revere in the 2012-2013 offseason. Spring Training OF/Opening Day OF: Willingham LF, Span CF, Mastroianni RF, 4th OF Parmelee (Parmelee splits time at 1st and DH in addition) Here's where it gets interesting. Think of the trio Benson, Arcia, and Hicks... Trade Span at the 2013 deadline. If 1/3 Outfielders or more progress. Extremely likely. Second Half OF (If one of Benson/Hicks progress): Willingham LF, Hicks/Benson CF, Mastroianni RF, 4th OF Parmelee Second Half OF (If only Arcia progresses): Willingham LF, Mastroianni CF, Arcia RF, 4th OF Parmelee (Parmelee splits time at 1st and DH in addition) Trade Willingham at the 2013 deadline. If 2/3 Outfielders or more progress. Somewhat likely. Second Half OF (If both Arcia and one of Hicks/Benson progress) Parmelee/Doumit LF, Hicks/Benson CF, Arcia RF, 4th OF Mastroianni Second Half OF (If both Hicks and Benson progress; Not Arcia) Benson LF, Hicks CF, Parmelee/Doumit RF, 4th OF Mastroianni Consider trading Justin Morneau if 3/3 Outfielders progress. Unlikely. Second Half OF Benson LF, Hicks CF, Arcia RF, 4th OF Mastroianni In hindsight, I actually like keeping Span last deadline. It's nice to have him around while we wait for players with more potential. None of these arrangements are intended to be competitive and you'll see that I am expecting the entire trio to be prepared for 2014, not 2013. Hopefully Span, Revere, and Willingham would all fetch good SP hauls. I love Denard Span and Ben Revere and would hate to see them go, I really do. The moves would definitely be very unpopular with the fanbase and I understand that. They both have great personalities and have become fan favorites. But what's to say we don't like the new guys too? Trading Morneau makes me very uncomfortable because I am one of the believers. If the outfield all pans out in 2013, the Twins really can't put Parmelee there and he would need to spend more time between 1B and DH. This is a solid plan to derail the logjam in the outfield and what I think would get the Twins back on track to contention!