Nick Nelson

Twins: Span 8 Revere 9 Mauer DH Doumit 2 Morneau 3 Plouffe 5 Mastroianni 7 Dozier 6 Carroll 4 Diamond P Tigers: Jackson 8 Raburn 7 Cabrera 5 Fielder 3 Young DH Peralta 6 Boesch 9 Laird 2 Santiago 4 Porcello P

... And they end up with an extra draft pick plus all that money to spend on another FA pitcher. I'm failing to see why this isn't an option. Seems like a pretty good one to me.

I dunno. At this point I'd have no problem with offering the $12.5 M regardless of how the market sorts out. Clearly it can't be the only money they spend on pitching, but they'll have payroll beyond that and Liriano isn't a terrible gamble at that price.

I'm pretty sure anyone who's saying he should stay in the majors is saying it because they think it's what's best for him as a player. The only point being made is that his negative impact on the team's outcomes shouldn't play into the equation. Personally, I don't see what Dozier has to gain by going back to Triple-A. His problem right now is that he can't hit major-league pitching. Going to the minors isn't going to fix that. If he can't figure it out by the end of the year, you move on. He's not a good enough prospect to merit kid gloves.

Just going off what John said. Would be characteristic of this team.

Jonathan Sanchez. (Literally.)

I'm pretty sure that's exactly what he's saying. What are you even disagreeing with here?

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[ATTACH=CONFIG]1467[/ATTACH]The Big Picture The Bronx Bombers have made the playoffs in seven of the past eight years but have reached the World Series only once, when they beat the Phillies in 2009. For most teams, one championship in eight years would be perfectly adequate, but not for the Yankees. This is a franchise that appeared in the Fall Classic six times in nine years prior to their latest "drought." Now, with a 48-32 record that qualifies as second-best in baseball (behind the Rangers) and gives them a comfortable six-game lead in the AL East. You can bet they'll do whatever it takes to position themselves for another strong postseason run. Why They Will Trade With the Twins Championship aspirations? Check. Room to add payroll? Check. Pressure from fan base to make a move? Check. The Yankees have all the characteristics of an aggressive deadline buyer, which means they're exactly the type of club that the Twins should be focusing on should they choose to sell. Moreover, they've suffered some tough losses in the rotation; Michael Pineda was lost for the season in spring training, and more recently Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia went down with injuries that will keep them out for a while (Pettitte likely won't be back until September). In addition, Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances – two top prospects that were being counted on to step in at some point this season – have been set back by injuries and ineffectiveness. These events leave the Yanks on shaky ground in the rotation, so it's easy to envision them taking an interest in Francisco Liriano, who they've been linked to in past rumors. Why They Won't Trade With the Twins There's a very narrow fit here. The Twins don't really have any impact starters to trade outside of Liriano, and New York is in no great need of help in the lineup or bullpen. So the question is, how much are they willing to give up for two months of the mercurial Liriano? Even if they're desperate for starting pitching, it's tough to see them moving a high-end prospect for a rental, especially considering that superior impending free agents such as Zack Greinke and Cole Hamels could be made available. Conclusion There's definitely a potential match here, and if Brian Cashman is unwilling to meet the asking prices of Milwaukee or Philadelphia, one could easily imagine him calling up Terry Ryan to inquire about Liriano. At that point, it becomes a matter of settling on a prospect (or prospects) that the Twins like and that the Yankees are willing to move in return for a wild card. ~~~ Possible Trade Targets Dellin Betances - RHP Top pitching prospect Manny Banuelos is probably unavailable, but it's possible that Betances – another of the vaunted "Killer B's" – could be plucked. The sky-scraping right-hander was ranked by Baseball America as New York's third-best prospect during the offseason, but he's had a brutal campaign. He was recently demoted from Triple-A to Double-A after posting a 6.39 ERA and 71/69 K/BB ratio in 74 2/3 innings for Scranton. If the Twins feel they could straighten the 24-year-old out, this might be the right time to make a bid for him. But that's a risk, and it's unclear Cashman would be willing to sell low. Gary Sanchez - C Catching prospects are intriguing, because the Twins will be gradually transitioning Joe Mauer away from the position in the coming years and they certainly don't have any amazing backstops on the farm. Sanchez would seemingly be a good fit – he's 19 and hitting very well in Single-A, which means that if all goes well he'd be reaching the majors around the time Mauer is looking at a full-time switch to first base or DH. David Phelps - RHP Despite posting excellent numbers throughout the minors, the former 14th-round pick has never been viewed as a spectacular prospect. He's pitched as a starter and a reliever for the Yankees this year, posting very respectable numbers (37 IP, 3.16 ERA, 34/14 K/BB). A 25-year-old rookie who's missing bats in the majors and has several years of inexpensive team control ahead of him? Sounds like exactly the guy the Twins are looking for. In fact, he should be the first player Ryan asks about.

Diamond is a big one. I don't think anyone viewed him as a future rotation staple after this first year in the organization, but he's really shown a lot this season. Surely he won't maintain a sub-3 ERA in the long-term, but his abilities to throw strikes and get grounders are legit and portend at least reasonable success going forward.

I posted these as a series of tweets today but thought I'd copy them here as it seems relevant to this thread: - Doing research for content in an upcoming #Twins scorecard. Did you know they've had a .600+ W% post-break 5 times in 10 years under Gardy? - Number of times Gardy has had a team finish the 1st half over .600: zero. For whatever reason, his (good) clubs ALWAYS surge in 2nd half. - The cumulative second-half W% of playoff teams under Gardenhire is .623 (compared to .433 for non-playoff teams). #Twins - Now hear me out on this... Say the #Twins went 3-3 to finish out road trip, then played .623 ball in the second half. They'd finish 85-77. - Do they have the pitching to do it? Probably not. But 85 wins sure could be enough in this division...

I don't like it. Hendriks is a much, much better pitcher than De Vries. Granted, you wouldn't know it by their latest respective starts, but I don't think there's much to be gained here. Hendriks has shown his mastery of Triple-A hitters, why not just let him take some lumps and hopefully try to turn things around? I presume there's something specific he's being sent down to work on, as John hinted.

Another instance of a pitcher taking too long to come back from injury and the Twins getting mad at him about it. I fully expect to learn of some serious issue with Pavano's shoulder that previously went undiagnosed.

I said "if anything" they will sign him to a one-year deal. That's not based on any knowledge, but I know they ain't picking up the option. I don't think the Twins will burn any bridges by declining it. I'm sure Baker understands that any team would be hesitant to pay him $9M coming off elbow surgery.

They're just going to be declared the winners after 150 games? Actually, that'd make a lot of sense.

Not even a consideration. If anything, the Twins will decline the option (which doesn't even have a buyout) and sign him to a cheap one-year deal. I wouldn't necessarily have a problem with that.

Just can't make any judgments at this point. He's 23 and he's got less than a full season's worth of innings above Double-A. He's looked bad, no doubt, but his command is superb. He could very well figure things out at some point. Not unusual for a fresh kid to get knocked around by MLB hitters.

Love you frightwig, but I could hardly care less about half-season fWAR samples. Nobody takes partial-season UZR scores seriously; why should we put stock into a metric heavily weighted by them? I'll certainly buy into the argument that he doesn't have the track record or mainstream recognition to justify an appearance. But I won't downplay his production because it was concentrated in one part of the schedule. You could certainly make the case that a guy who's been the most dominant hitter in the league for a month (and counting) ought to be showcased in the ASG. He certainly stands out more at his position, to me, than Willingham, who while awesome is just one of many awesome offensive OFs in the league.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?745-Are-Span-s-Days-in-Minnesota-Numbered

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1440[/ATTACH]Since he was first called up in 2008, Denard Span has been an integral cog for the Twins. He's also been a joy to watch. He plays hard, brings a great approach to the plate, offers very solid defense in center, and is good with the fans. Yeah, it's fair to say that I'm a big fan of Span. So I'm going to make sure to savor watching what will very likely be his final month in a Twins uniform. There are a number of factors that lead me to believe Span's departure from the organization is imminent. First and foremost, there's Ben Revere's emergence as a legitimate top-of-the-lineup asset. The Twins seem well aware that Revere isn't suited for right field, and at this point his production is almost identical to Span's. Moving Revere to center would create an opening in right field for Chris Parmelee, who's hopelessly buried at this point. Even as someone who thoroughly enjoys watching Span play, I must admit that trading him makes a lot of sense from a team-building standpoint. It would open opportunities for young players while hopefully returning talent at an organizational area of need. The fact that the Twins have floated Span to other teams in the past would also support the notion that they're open to moving him. Reports indicated that they were close to shipping him to Washington at the deadline last year, and those rumblings – from what I heard – did not sit well with the outfielder at all. Is there lingering animosity between player and organization? That certainly hasn't been on display this year. In fact, Ron Gardenhire recently said that Span "might've been our best player in the first half this year." I was struck by that statement, mainly because the center fielder's production hasn't been especially outstanding. A part of me couldn't help but wonder whether Gardy was taking that angle with reporters in an effort to increase Span's appeal to potential suitors. Presumably, finding interested trade partners won't be a huge challenge. Span's concussion issues appear to be a thing of the past, and although he's no longer the top-notch offensive force he was in his first two seasons, he's a very solid 28-year-old leadoff man who handles center field well. His team-friendly contract runs through 2014 (with a 2015 club option) and will pay him just $11 million over the next two seasons. That's a good value for what he brings to the table, but it's also money the Twins could stand to spend elsewhere. Opening up that payroll space, while also creating opportunities for younger guys and getting future assets back in return, is basically a no-brainer regardless of your feelings on Span. Terry Ryan and the rest of the front office brain trust surely realize this, which is why whispers of the center fielder's availability are already leaking out. It wouldn't surprise me if Gardenhire actually does feel like Span has been his best player up to this point. The guy's been a soldier, bouncing back from a tumultuous season and playing in 71 of the club's 77 games over the first three months, providing consistency and stability at the top of the lineup and in the middle of the outfield. Trading him just makes too much sense, however, regardless of whether the Twins are positioning themselves as a seller or not. I'll be very surprised if he's still on the team come August 1st.

Trevor Plouffe leads all MLB third basemen in homers, and ranks third in OPS (though he's technically a little short of qualifying). He might have a better case as a snub than Willingham.