Seth Stohs

Today is the July trade deadline. At 3:00 this afternoon (central time), the non-waiver trade deadline will come and go. The Twins have already traded Francisco Liriano. That was a given. The Twins needed to deal him before July 31 regardless of the 10 (or more) things that we hate about the actual deal itself. What would your reaction be if the Twins did not make another trade before the 3:00 deadline? [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]What if Terry Ryan does not get an offer for Denard Span, Josh Willingham or Glen Perkins that he deems worthy of accepting? What if the Twins have to eat $10 million or more from the Blue Jays in a deal for Justin Morneau? The Twins need to do something to acquire pitching, and with a weakened minor league system, they also just need to gain as much talent as they can regardless of position. So, is there a case for the Twins to do nothing at the trade deadline? The Twins are said to be looking for a lot in return for Denard Span. The same is true of Josh Willingham, if he is even available at all. This is smart, and the Twins are the team in control on these guys. Because both are signed for a couple more years at very reasonable dollar values, there is no hurry to trade them. In both cases, GM Terry Ryan should not accept anything less than a great return. First, both play pretty important roles on a team and are very valuable. Span is a terrific leadoff hitter and a solid centerfielder. Willingham may not be much defensively, but having his kind of power in the middle of the lineup is an asset. Second, because they are signed for at least two more seasons, the Twins could find that they could acquire more during the offseason, or even at next year’s trade deadline. Although the Twins would likely love to get out from under the $14 million they owe Justin Morneau, they should be smart about it as well. If they have to eat any of the contract, they need to make sure that they get enough return to make it worthwhile. Otherwise, they might as well just keep Morneau and hope that he can continue to improve, maybe even getting back to his MVP form. If so, he is a great middle-of-the-lineup threat, and as is seemingly a theme here, he could have even more value next July, or in the offseason. The same can be said for relief pitchers Glen Perkins, Brian Duensing and Jared Burton. Perkins is signed long term. Duensing has at least three years of arbitration-eligibility before he can become a free agent, and Burton has one more arbitration season. Relief pitching is something that seems to get traded at the trade deadline for more than they should. So, the Twins should explore deals for these three in hopes that they are offered a package they can’t refuse. But the other side is that these are three strong building blocks that can provide stability in the Twins bullpen that they can hold on to for a couple of years. Again, all three could be traded in the offseason or at the deadline next July. Of course, other players could sneak through waivers and be traded in August. Players like Carl Pavano and Matt Capps would need to come off of the Disabled List and prove themselves to be healthy enough to get through the rest of the season first, but that could happen. Someone like Alexi Casilla could provide a bench bat or pinch-running capabilities for the right team for a playoff run as well. According to Twins mlb.com writer Rhett Bollinger, the Twins are 34-32 since May 16th. If not for a horrendous first six weeks of the season, the Twins could be in contention for a playoff spot. Maybe this team isn’t as far away from contending for a playoff berth as we think? Maintaining status quo would mean that the Twins could have a 2013 lineup with Denard Span, Ben Revere, Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham, Justin Morneau, Trevor Plouffe and Ryan Doumit in it. Although Brian Dozier has struggled mightily in his rookie season, as most players do, there is still hope that he can be a league average middle infielder in time. They will need to figure out how the middle infield will play out, but with those first seven in the lineup, the middle infield can go back to being defense-first types. The question, as it always is, is in the pitching staff. Scott Diamond would appear to be the only sure-thing for a rotation spot coming into the season. It is unlikely that anyone that te Twins would acquire in a trade today would be able to step in to a rotation spot in 2013 and become a top starter, but the hope would be that the return on a great player would be some pitchers with great upside. But if the Twins decide not to make July trades or big offseason trades, that means that they have ever intention of competing right away in 2013. If that is the case, the Twins will have to spend on pitching in the offseason. I am fine with them “counting on” Liam Hendriks to step up in 2013. I even understand their need to continue giving Nick Blackburn opportunities because of his horrible contract (although I think once we get into the 2013 season, the Twins should feel like they can DFA him and just eat what is remaining). Kyle Gibson may be ready by June. That means that, at a minimum, the Twins need to bring in two quality starters. I would never advocate giving a $100 million contract to any pitcher, so I would not sign Zach Greinke, but I’m sure many of you might think differently. For me, I would much rather see the Twins sign two (or three?) $8-10 million types. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Twins offer Edwin Jackson a three year, $27 million deal. I would like to see them offer Anibal Sanchez a four year, $36-40 million deal. Aces? Probably not. Quality starters who are still young enough to continue to improve and provide some stability to the staff? Certainly. I would not overpay for either of them, or any of the other free agent pitchers, and there is no way to know what other teams will offer them contracts or if the players would even be interested in coming to the Twins, but the Twins do need to reach out to them. And yes, if this is the direction, it will also require a commitment from the ownership because it will require that the payroll not go down any further, and likely go up a little bit. I would also bring back Scott Baker. He may not be able to pitch until midseason, so I would keep the year one contract low. However, I would offer a contract with a series of team options. Baker has always shown that, when healthy, he is a very good pitcher. If think it would be wise to bring him back at the right price. Regarding the need to bring more talent into the Twins farm system, the team will need to find ways. Again, trades could come in the offseason. The Twins should use their high waiver claim to pick up talent. They should look at the Rule 5 draft as a means to bring in players. They also should feel good about several of their prospects. Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Arcia have both taken big strides forward this year. Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario remain top prospects. The Twins used the draft to acquire high-ceiling young talent like Byron Buxton and J.O. Berrios, along with some very hard throwers. It isn't like the Twins minor leagues are completely void of talent. So, if the trade deadline passes at 3:00 today, and we learn that the Twins did not make another trade (or more), it will likely feel somewhat disappointing. However, we will never know for sure what offers Terry Ryan received for these various players. I do know that I would be far more disappointed if the Twins traded one of their valuable pieces who are not free agents at the end of the season for a package that we deem less than appropriate. photo from Twins Now

The Twins got a very nice 7-6 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night. But the offense and defense of Denard Span and some great ninth inning work from the bottom of the order gave the Twins a walk-off win. Danny Valencia led off the ninth with a line drive single. Alexi Casilla pinch ran for him. Brian Dozier laid down a perfect bunt that AJ Pierzynski threw into right field, allowing both runners to advance. Jamey Carroll stepped up and flew out to right field, deep enough for Casilla to score the game-winning run. The next 24 hours will be interesting as the trade deadline will pass in the middle of the afternoon (3:00 central time) and then the Twins will take on Francisco Liriano in his first White Sox start. Should be an interesting day, to say the least. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from the Monday games in the minor leagues. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 7, COLUMBUS 2 Esmerling Vasquez made the start for the Red Wings and was very good. The right-hander threw six innings and gave up two runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out six. Kyle Waldrop came in and recorded his third save with three perfect innings. The big hit for the Red Wings came off the bat of Rene Rivera whose eighth homer of the season was a grand slam. Chris Parmelee went 3-5 and drove in two runs. Pedro Florimon was 3-5. Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Matt Carson were each 2-5. Brian Dinkelman went 2-4. Eduardo Escobar made his Red Wings debut and was 1-4 with an RBI. NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS No Game Scheduled FT. MYERS 4, DAYTONA 8 It was a rough start for Cole Nelson and the Miracle in this one. They came on late, but it wasn’t enough. Nelson gave up seven runs (5 earned) on ten hits and two walks in three innings. Miguel Munoz struckout four over three scoreless innings. Clinton Dempster gave up a run on two hits and two walks in two innings. He struck out three. The Miracle scored four runs in the 9th, but that only cut the lead in half. Levi Michael was 2-5. Anderson Hidalgo hit a three-run double in that ninth inning. BELOIT 5, PEORIA 3 Jason Wheeler started and gave up one run on six hits and two walks in five innings. He struckout four. Dallas Gallant gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits in two innings. He struckout three. Corey Williams recorded his 15th save with two scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit and struckout two. Stephen Wickens hit his first Midwest League home run and walked. AJ Pettersen went 2-3 with his ninth double. Miguel Sano went 2-4. Kennys Vargas went 1-3 with a walk and his second double. ELIZABETHTON 5, BRISTOL 3 Corey Kimes made the start in this game. The lefty gave up three hits and a walk over five shutout innings. Brett Lee improved to 3-0 despite blowing a save. He gave up three runs on four hits in two innings. Luke Bard made his Elizabethton debut. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out two in an inning. Travis Huber picked up his first save with a 1-2-3 inning. Jorge Polanco led the offense in this game. He went 3-4 with his first home run and fourth stolen base. Candido Pimentel went 2-5 with his fifth double. GCL TWINS 3, GCL RAYS 1 Yorman Landa pitched very well again. He threw four shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out three. Kuo Hua Lo gave up one run on five hits over the next 3.2 innings. Melciades de la Cruz struckout two in 1.1 innings. Zach Larson went 2-3 with his second stolen base. Byron Buxton was 1-3 with a walk and his fourth double. Joel Licon drove in two runs. Aderlin Mejia was 1-3 and stole three bases, including a steal of home. --- Players of the Day for Monday, July 30, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Jorge Polanco Pitcher of the Day – Corey Kimes --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, July 31, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Columbus – RHP Eric Hurley New Britain @ Bowie – LHP Blake Martin Ft. Myers @ Daytona – RHP Tom Stuifbergen Beloit vs Kane County – David Hurlbut (vs Royals #1 pick, RHP Kyle Zimmer) Elizabethton @ Bristol – Ricardo Arevalo GCL Twins vs GCL Rays – TBD --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!