Twins and Devil Rays Swap Garza-Young?

[wang_chi7]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3131988

Twins get:
Delmon Young
Brenden Harris
Jason Pridie

DRays get:
Matt Garza
Juan Rincon
Jason Bartlett

Sounds like a good deal for both teams. Rays desperately need pitching (they also are talking with Troy Percival), Twins need some hitters and Young is badly needed, Harris is also an improvement over Bartlett. Also would get a nice prospect in the OF.

I'd be very happy if the Twins get this finalized. Now if they only figure out what they're doing with Santana either way.

[HoustonGM]

"According to the St. Petersburg Times, the Delmon Young-to-Minnesota is done, though it may no longer be a six-player trade."

from Rotoworld.

It appears likely that Rincon is out of the deal.

[wang_chi7]

Rincon was swapped out for minor league pitcher Eduardo Morlan. Rincon has a small injury the Rays were worried about.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3131988

[QHowes]

I like the deal from the Twins perspective, even if Young comes with baggage.

[HoustonGM]

Rincon was swapped out for minor league pitcher Eduardo Morlan. Rincon has a small injury the Rays were worried about.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3131988

They should've been worried about his declining performance...

The Twins got the single best player (Young) but the set of 3 players the Devil Rays got beats the set of 3 the Twins got.

[aj58078]

They should've been worried about his declining performance...

The Twins got the single best player (Young) but the set of 3 players the Devil Rays got beats the set of 3 the Twins got.

How so?

Garza will be good but Young will turn out better, Bartlett couldnt hit a beachball last year and still isnt that great of a fielder, whereas harris can hit. I dont know about the minor leaguers, but I have heard about Pridie, but not Morlan.

[BM_MAN]

Rays Did a Stupid Trade There

[HoustonGM]

How so?

Garza will be good but Young will turn out better, Bartlett couldnt hit a beachball last year and still isnt that great of a fielder, whereas harris can hit. I dont know about the minor leaguers, but I have heard about Pridie, but not Morlan.

Garza's going to at least be a number 3, but he could be a #1 or 2 if he hones his stuff.

Young definitely has a sky's-the-limit peak. He's an immense talent, but his pitch recognition is horrible. That said, I do believe he's going improve that and be a superstar.

Bartlett was a below average hitter, but he actually is a very good fielder. He has fantastic range. In the +/- system (how many plays above/below average a player makes), he was +18, tied with Adam Everett and Tony Pena for 4th in the majors (behind Tulowitzki, McDonald, and Vizquel). He was 9th in the majors in fielding win shares, 7th in range factor, 6th in zone rating, and was 8 fielding runs above average. The Devil Rays defense was the worst in the majors last season, and the addition of Bartlett in the field will benefit them greatly. Even if he's an average fielder (which he's not, he's above), he's a huge upgrade at short over Brendan Harris. Here's what Keith Law of ESPN said about Bartlett:

Jason Bartlett is a high-contact hitter with a very short swing. He doesn't catch up to big-time fastballs, but can foul them off to try to get a pitch he can punch to the outfield, and he will take an occasional walk. His real value is in the field, where he has excellent range and a plus arm. His hands are a bit stiff, and he'll make his share of errors, but he more than makes up for it with the sheer number of ground balls he can reach.

Yes, Harris is a better hitter, but he's an absolute butcher in the field, especially at short. All together, he was 28 fielding runs below average. That negates most of his offense. Bartlett's offense isn't so bad to negate much of his fielding. Using Wins Above Replacement Player, Bartlett was 4.5, while Harris was 1.6, and that takes into account fielding. You're underestimating the importance of defense. Harris is a nice player to have around as a utilityman, because he can fill in at third, short, and second, albeit poorly on the defensive side, and has a nice bat, but as everyday players, Bartlett is way ahead of Harris.

Pridie is a so-so player. He's got speed and can play a decent center field, but until this year, didn't do much in the minors, which is most likely a fluke if you compare his stats to his past stats. Even if it's not, he's not more than a fourth or fifth outfielder either way.

Morlan has a great arm. In 69.2 innings (all but 4 in high-A) he struck out 99 batters and walked just 20. In his entire minor league career, he has 337 strikeouts compared to 105 walks in 274.2 innings. He has a future as a very good reliever.

The trade is basically potential superstar outfielder + 2 bench players for potential star pitcher + decent shortstop + potential good reliever.

Had the deal been completed as it was originally planned, with Juan Rincon instead of Eduardo Morlan, I'd say it was a clear win for the Twins. As it happened, though, it's slightly in favor of the Devil Rays. Both teams definitely benefit from it though.

[FRENCHREDSOX]

Rays Did a Stupid Trade There

Not really they addressed their needs: they needed an upgrade,on the field, at SS,which Bartlett is & allows them the 1 or 2 years to develop Brignac.
They had excess OFs & although Young played 162 games last season his pitch recognition was the WORST in all MLB (as cited by ESPN stats) & also had make-up issues & needed a reliable SP to follow Kazmir & Shields - remember this is a team that had Seo-Fossum-Jackson as regulars for a large part of the season & played AA rookies in September.Garza is not an ACE,but he is definately a #3 & maybe #2...& Morlan is a "live arm" which every SMALL franchise needs.


Just check out the Minor Rule V draft this year you will see 75% of the draftees will be P's..

The trade can only be judged by results 3 to 5 years down the line.As of today it would be (both by ESPN/Fox) as an equal deal with the Rays getting the better end for 2008 performance.