There's something to be said for hindsight.
I'm not one to play the stock market, but even when you gamble, knowing when to get out is the biggest challenge. Get out too soon and you may miss a greater gain. Get out too late and you may cost yourself more pain. Get out just in time and you have the ability to reinvest or reallocate.
Sadly, I don't think I would ever want to take Bill Smith to Vegas any time soon!
Back in November of 2007, the Twins and Tampa Bay Rays pulled off a four-player trade, moving Delmon Young and Brendan Harris from Tampa to Minnesota, while sending starting pitcher Matt Garza and starting shortstop Jason Bartlett in the opposite direction. It was a move thought to be somewhat of a new leaf being turned over by the Twins. Delmon Young came with a little bit of baggage, a little bit of an attitude, and a lot of potential. In Garza and Bartlett, the Twins were dealing one of their up-and-coming arms and a proven commodity at short stop. Harris was somewhat of a throw-in to complete the deal, but was a solid utility player in his own right.
The Twins were hoping to catch a little lightning in a bottle with Young...hoping that the potential he had would find its way to the forefront and land them an All-Star caliber left fielder who could provide a little pop from the right side of the plate.
What they ended up getting was an average outfielder with very erratic tendencies at the plate and an even more erratic attitude toward improvement. For an organization that has a reputation for building up young talent through an above-average nurturing environment, bringing in someone with questionable character and a lack of drive isn't exactly the recipe for success. Bill Smith figured he'd give it a shot anyway.
With Monday's trade of Delmon to the Tigers in exchange for next to nothing (a Single-A pitcher and the ever-popular player-to-be-named-later), Smith has done nothing but prove he is that gambler that doesn't know when to leave the table.
In his first three full seasons with the Twins (2008-2010), Young averaged .291 with only 14 home runs and 80 RBI's. Those numbers don't appear to be all that bad, until you realize that those averages were severely aided by Young's above-average 2010, in which he hit .298 with career highs in homers, RBI's, and doubles (21 / 112 / 46 respectively). Without that stellar season, Young's numbers were nothing more than mediocre, given the expectations the Twins had for him.
What Smith should've done was to deal Young after his fantastic 2010 campaign when his value was at its absolute peak. The fact that he assumed Young was still on his way up and that he could expect an even better year in 2011 was absurd thinking. Although Delmon is only 25, this is his fifth full season in the big leagues. If he hasn't gotten it by now, he never will. Coming off his career year in 2010, Young has done nothing but disappoint in 2011, hitting only a mere five home runs and driving in only 33 runs in 309 at-bats. For a team like the Twins, decimated by injuries this season, it would've been nice for a five-year veteran to take the reigns and be the go-to guy on the team. With Delmon, they were just lucky they could pencil him into the lineup.
There's no question that unloading Delmon was the right thing to do. The Twins will be a better team without him. What's sad is that it took Bill Smith this long to realize what he had, or didn't have, for that matter. Even sadder, the fact that we will no doubt see similar returns for the likes of Francisco Liriano and Justin Morneau, since it's pretty evident Smith missed his window for both of them. At least we know one thing: we should be able to fill out the rest of our Single-A roster with what get from those future deals when they happen.
Nothing about Thome?
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