The Nationals are one of very few teams that can afford to trade a potential impact starting pitcher, something the Twins desperately need. Their starting rotation is the best in baseball and their top four are all 27 or younger. The Twins are a team that can afford to trade a very good Major League centerfielder under a very team friendly contract because they already have Ben Revere, a similar but younger player to take over for him in 2013, top prospect Aaron Hicks likely only a year away, and also need to clear a spot in the outfield for Chris Parmelee now and Oswaldo Arcia soon. And lest we forget, Joe Benson is still around and with a bounce-back year could be right back in the outfield mix.

The Twins could have traded Span and gotten a more Major League ready player or two that could have helped in 2013. But playing to improve the 2013 team is putting lipstick on a pig. Without trading away top prospects and breaking the bank on free agent signings, there is no way to patch that starting rotation enough to be a legitimate contender. And there is no sense sacrificing the future in a misguided effort to put together a .500 team. Trading Span for a young and somewhat raw, but extremely talented starting pitching prospect makes sense. Ace pitchers are hard to come by and for the most part, come in the mold of a big horse with a power arm. Alex Meyer comes from that prototype. Whether he ever reaches that level is yet to be seen, but there is nobody else in the Twins system with the look of a potential future ace. In fact there are very few pitchers in the Twins system that even project as future Major League caliber end of the rotation starters, much less aces. As we have seen year in and year out recently, championship teams are built around ace pitchers and pitching depth, two areas where the Twins minor league system was very thin before this trade and is a little less so now. It’s a step in the right direction.

On the Nationals side of things, they are filling a need in the leadoff spot of their already solid lineup and greatly improved their outfield defense by allowing Bryce Harper to move to left field, and Mike Morse to move to first base. Span also brings more speed to a team build around sluggers. Though they gave up one of their top prospects to get him, starting pitching is the least of their concerns and they could afford to trade from that deep well. Also, adding an African American face to a predominantly white lineup in a city with a large African American population is probably good for public relations.

For Denard Span, is moving from a franchise that lost 90+ games the past two seasons and looks to be headed there again in 2013 to a team that is an early favorite for the 2013 World Series. He slides seamlessly into an already very good lineup at the leadoff spot where he should easily score 100+ runs if he can stay healthy and centerfield between Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper. The chance to play on a World Series contender is what every player wants and that just wasn’t going to happen in Minnesota at least in the foreseeable future. And being the highest profile African American on the Nationals should open up some endorsement opportunities for him. Also, with a good couple years and some team success putting him more in the spotlight, he can set himself up for a big payday in a few years. By all accounts he really enjoyed his time in Minnesota and is sad to go, but he will be embraced by Nationals fans and feel right at home there soon enough.

Alex Meyer’s path to the big leagues just got a whole lot easier. As stocked as the Nationals are with starting pitching, The Twins are equally barren. And though the Twins are considered to be pretty conservative with their prospect advancement timeline, we shouldn’t forget that they tend to be much more aggressive with college pitchers as Meyer was. Matt Garza moved all the way from Low A to the Major Leagues in 2005 and Kyle Gibson was on the fast track before injuring his arm. Meyer could potentially see the Twins starting rotation by late 2013 if all goes well. He’ll be starting in AA most likely and a good couple months there, followed by a good couple starts at AAA and another terrible season by The Twins opening rotation could throw the door wide open. With the Nationals, there would be no need to push him and nowhere to put him in the rotation in the foreseeable future.

Twins fans are understandably upset as they lost one of their favorite players and gained in return a player they had never heard of and is assumed to not be of help for 2013. And to many, it was just another sign that The Twins were breaking their promise to use the added revenue from Target Field to build a consistent winner. But the reality is that without sacrificing a fairly bright looking future, there never was any hope for 2013 sans a miracle 2012 Baltimore Orioles type run where everything goes right. So while Terry Ryan can’t openly write off 2013, if he’s smart, he should be really be working toward 2014 and beyond. And any good Twins fan should remember that it was trades such as this that much of the 2000’s era success was built on. Let us not forget how important the returns from trading established players like Chuck Knoblauch and A.J. Pierzynski were.  Trading established Major Leaguers for low minors prospects is rarely popular with the majority of a team’s fan base at the time but when all factors are looked at, this actually appears to be a trade that benefits all parties involved.

September 25, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins outfielder Denard Span (2) during the game against the New York Yankees at Target Field. The Twins deafeated the Yankees 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE

Happy Trails Span-man

One of the most beloved Minnesota Twins players, Denard Span, was traded this afternoon to the Nationals for top prospect,  Alex Meyer (RHP). The man who’s name and play inspired many phrases and nicknames – “Span-man”, “Let’s get Denarded”, “Spic and Span” – will be continuing his professional career and bringing his list of nicknames to Washington D.C. next season. Feelings will most definitely be mixed about trading an established fan favorite and ball player for – yet again – another prospect. But after delving into the trade more I realized that this may be the right time to move our longest tenured center fielder since Torii Hunter.

Span is the definition of a lead-off hitter, he gets on base, sees multiple pitches in every at bat, is not afraid of hitting with two strikes, uses his speed well, and hits with solid contact to all fields. A career line of .284/.357/.389 with 254 walks in 589 games does some justice to his ability as a lead-off hitter in the majors. What those stats do not tell you is that Span takes and sees pitches effectively, averaging 3.89 pitches per at-bat last season. Taking pitches allows other hitters see how the pitcher is handling the strike zone as well as what kinds of pitches they will throw in certain situations. So taking those pitches will not only help Span in his at-bats, but also aid the rest of the team for their first appearances of the game.

Welcome Alex Meyer

In return for sending Span to the Nationals, the Twins will be receiving top prospect and right-handed pitcher, Alex Meyer. MLB.com picked Meyer as the Nationals’ #2 prospect, and #50 in all of baseball. The 6’9″, 220 lb. flame-thrower has two plus pitches, his 97 mph fastball and 86-88 mph hard-breaking slider, and he has also learned to throw a changeup as well but it will probably not be as effective has the other two. But with the Twins staff being notoriously known for teaching a changeup to young pitchers, look for Meyer’s changeup to improve through the years in the Twins organization.

Meyer had success in his first full season of professional ball after being drafted as the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 draft. Sporting an impressive line in 2012 of a 10-6 record, a 2.86 ERA with 139 strikeouts and 45 walks in 129 innings. Because of this early success coupled with his two plus pitches, Terry Ryan’s and Dave St. Peter’s expectations are high for the lanky 22-year-old:

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/RhettBollinger/status/274277135835885568"]

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/TwinsPrez/status/274280838911369216"]

The Twins finally have a strikeout-minded, “top-of-the-rotation” type pitcher in their system but at the loss of one of their team’s cornerstones, Denard Span. Many opinions will surround the topic of whether this was a good trade or not, and we will not know until Meyer makes it to Minnesota where we can see his talents in action at Target Field. But for myself, I feel as though this trade makes sense and is good for the team… in the long run.

The Twins have a vibrant collection of young outfielders in their system right now who are all knocking or close to knocking on the door to the big leagues. The log-jam is quite extensive with players like Oswaldo Arcia, Aaron Hicks, Eddie Rosario (2B/OF), and further down the road Byron Buxton, all vying to earn their keep in the organization. As these players get better over the next few years, the Twins higher-ups will have to find a spot for them to play so they can start making a difference on the field. In order to make room for these up-and-comers, you have to get rid of players holding onto those positions, whether it is releasing or trading players.

Well, Ben Revere is young, fast, and can handle a bat and is still in his rookie contract; so he stays. The Twins signed Josh Willingham for 3 years last season, and he also had his best year as a professional to boot; so he stays. Ryan Doumit and Chris Parmelee can platoon at multiple positions and outfield happens to be one of them; because of their flexibility, they stay. Darin Mastroianniis a perfect utility outfielder who can play all three positions and cause chaos on the base paths off the bench; so he stays. Arcia and Hicks are the front-runners for making an appearance at the major league level this season, but with so many players already manning the outfield, where do you put them? That is where Span comes in. Span is still in his prime at age 28, currently involved in a team-friendly contract, plays solid defense and is one of the best lead-off hitters in the game today. There is a lot of value in him right now and many teams need a guy at the top of their order. So, trade him. Trade him for what you believe is the best deal for the Twins, and that is exactly what Terry Ryan did.

This trade frees up a position in the outfield for a younger player to eventually fill, allows Revere to potentially establish himself as the new lead-off hitter for the future, and frees up some cap space for more offseason moves as well, as Phil Mackey suggests:

With Span’s $4.75 million off the books, the Twins now have about $70 million tied up in guaranteed contracts for 2013. If the payroll sits between $90 million and $100 million next year, that leaves the with at least $20 million to spend in free agency.

July 9, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; USA pitcher Alex Meyer (17) delivers a pitch in the seventh inning of the 2012 All Star Futures Game at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

I had a feeling Denard Span was going to be traded this offseason, but the Nationals were not the team I had expected. My thoughts were of Span being shipped to Atlanta or Tampa Bay for one of their more proven, young starting pitchers. Once Atlanta tied up B.J. Upton to a long-term deal, they were out of the question. Then there is Tampa Bay, who has more young, major-league-ready pitchers than just about any other team every year. The fit seemed good; Span goes to a perennial playoff contender where he grew up and played his high school ball, not to mention that is where is home is as well, and the Twins receive one of the many arms the Rays have such as Jeremy Hellickson, James Shields, or Chris Archer, to name a few. But Span being traded straight up for a young, unproven top prospect that can throw 97 but stays in mid-90s consistently, has a plus slider in his arsenal and has room to grow into a potential top-end-rotation guy will have to do. I don’t mind the trade at all, a more proven guy would have been nice but it’s exciting to see a guy in the Twins system with as high a ceiling as Meyer does.

With the Winter Meetings right around the corner, let’s see if there are more moves in store for the Twins; especially with $20-$30 million now to spend on improvements.

]]> http://puckettspond.com/2012/11/29/span-traded-to-nationals-the-nuts-and-bolts/feed/ 0 http://puckettspond.com/2011/11/30/mlb-realignment/ http://puckettspond.com/2011/11/30/mlb-realignment/#comments Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:30:12 +0000 http://puckettspond.com/?p=6748 The Houston Astros are heading to the American League in 2013 and will compete in the West Division.  The people in Oakland, Anaheim (Los Angeles), Seattle and Texas won’t be blamed if they’re overjoyed at picking up an automatic 10-12 wins every year against an Astros team that probably won’t contend for a division crown for at least the next five years.

While he’s at it, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig should take this opportunity to realign all six divisions and allow National League teams to use the DH (allowing for traditionalists, at a competitive disadvantage, to continue allowing pitchers to hit).  The discrepancy between the AL and the NL would essentially disappear and bouncing a few teams from league to league would not be such a big deal.

Geographically, the MLB is heavily weighted by teams on the East Coast and in the MidWest.  There is another nice cluster of teams out on the West Coast, but Between Kansas City and California there is pretty much a baseball wasteland.* I know there are a lot of reasons why there are no teams out there, but it seems like a missed opportunity to add two more teams and have two 16 team Super Conferences, but I digress.

  *If a metro area of at least 1.5 million people is what’s needed to support a MLB franchise (That’s what they have in the Milwaukee area, the smallest metro area that is home to a team), then you should add a team in Portland, Oregon and Las Vegas, Nevada; maybe even stretch to get a team in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Salt Lake City, Utah; if you were really trying to expand to “western markets.”  

In the unlikely event that Bud Selig and the owners adopt such a strategy, here are the 6 new divisions they should adopt.  (more…)