Twins Trade Deadline Opinion - Good Or Bad?

Hey folks.  It's been a couple of weeks since I've blogged, and after some time away, it's time to get back at it.

To start back in...I wanted to talk a bit about the MLB trade deadline that came and went Sunday afternoon.  More specifically, I'd like to discuss the activity (or lack of) of our Minnesota Twins.

As the 4pm eastern deadline neared, the Twins were rumored to be completing a trade which would have brought in Washington Nationals closer Drew Storen in exchange for starting center fielder and fan favorite, Denard Span.  When the deadline passed, Span remained a Twin, much to the satisfaction of almost all Twins fans, including myself.  Yes, the Twins have been in major need of a boost to the bullpen, but that bolstering should not have come at the expense of Span.  Afterall, what would the Twins have done with a third closer, with both Joe Nathan and Matt Capps already sitting out in the bullpen?

So, what was it that upset people more?  Was it the fact that the Twins were considering a trade of one of their brighter, young stars?  Was it the idea that they were try to acquire another closer from the Nationals, a year after sending top catching prospect Wilson Ramos to the Nats to get Matt Capps to close games for the remainder of the season?  Or, was it the simple reality that the team didn't pull off any kind of deal to either try and win this year, or to better themselves for the future?  My opinion?  It was all three.

Going in to July, I was of the mindset that the Twins had a couple of players who should've been shopped to teams, either those contending or those willing to take some expensive contracts off our hands, in order to either make a run at the Central Division title this year, or to prepare for another run next year.  Those couple of players were Kevin Slowey, Justin Morneau, Delmon Young, and Francisco Liriano.  Slowey has clearly fallen out of favor with the club.  Morneau has not played in a playoff game since 2006, with the Twins making two playoff runs each of the last two seasons without him.  Young continues to under-achieve, despite a 2010 season to which he finally played to his potential, but otherwise proves to be mediocre at best.  And Liriano, who appears to do nothing but flip a coin to decide whether he will pitch a good game or not, and lately, that coin has fallen on "not".  Yet, during the days leading up to the deadline, the names Denard Span, Michael Cuddyer, and Jason Kubel continued to be mentioned.

The Twins, in their current form, have the potential to compete for the division title, and even win it.  Where the Twins have fallen flat over the last two post seasons has been in the starting pitching department.  This season seems to be following suit.  Brian Duensing and Scott Baker have been the two steady hands in the rotation throughout July, although Duensing has struggled a bit since the All-Star break.  The other three starters, Carl Pavano (6.87), Nick Blackburn (7.45), and Liriano (4.01), have combined for a 6.08 ERA in the month of July.  It's no coincidence then that the overall team ERA has spiked from 3.08 in June to a pathetic 4.59 in July.  When the Twins cut their Central Division deficit from 16.5 games out of first place to six games out in the month of June, it was because of their starting pitching.  Now that they've faltered a bit in July, it's because of their starting pitching.  Yet, the only deal at the trade deadline that was close to being made was for a closer, not a starter?  Why doesn't that make any sense?

As strange as this may sound, the Twins will encounter a big problem later this month.  With Span returning from the disabled list Tuesday night in Anaheim, and Justin Morneau returning some time in the next couple of weeks, the team will have to start trying to figure out a way to get everyone the at-bats they need in order put the best lineup on the field.  The problem results from an overabundance of outfielders.

With Span back, they will have six (Span, Cuddyer, Kubel, Young, Ben Revere, and Jason Repko).  Given the injury situation, this hasn't been much of a problem over the last couple of months.  With Morneau out, Cuddyer has seen more time at first base than he has in the outfield.  With Span shelved, Revere has been able to prove himself as a very viable major league player.  Kubel being down allowed a few opportunities for Repko to see some action.  Until Morneau's return, Cuddyer will continue to spell him at first, which takes him out of the equation until then.  Given the production from Span and Kubel (pre-DL), Cuddyer's all-star year, and Revere's emergence, the logical choice to move should've been the under-performing Delmon Young.  With his salary only a shade over $5 million, the price tag would seem to have been affordable for many teams looking to add an outfield bat for a stretch run.  Unfortunately, there aren't many teams interested in a below-average fielding .264 hitter with only 2 home runs and a measly 27 RBI's this season, regardless of him costing them only a portion of his $5 million contract.

If they were going to make a move, the Twins needed to improve their pitching situation, both from a starting standpoint as well as a bullpen one.  It's understandable that in order to get something, you'd need to give something.  Packaging some combination of Slowey, Morneau, Young, and Liriano should've been enough to land both frontline and relief help to make a push towards the post season.  Unfortunately, the Twins didn't seem to pursue a trade, rather, let a team like the Nationals pursue them.  As fans, we're lucky the deal with Span never culminated.  We're unlucky, however, that our team's front office seems unwilling to seek improvement.