Tampa/Minnesota Blockbuster!? Young for Garza

[JTrea81]

Surprised the Rays and Twins are not waiting for the market to set itself.

What's the rush? We're waiting for Pieper to get sloshed at the hotel bar so Bedard is extended for 4 years for 4 million with performance incentives like pitching 225 innings a season and being a media darling to get the extra 56 million.

Then the contract will be so good, MacPhail will buy Colletti a few drinks and we can trade Bedard to the Dodgers for Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, James Loney and Andy LaRoche and we'll get them to take back Huff, Mora, Millar, Gibbons and Payton.

MacPhail has it all planned out. He's just waiting for the "magic" of the hotel bar...

[Leitch]

Interesting why they'd be trading Delmon so soon....

I guess they have 17 outfielders and no pitching

[hoosiers]

This is a bad trade for the DRays, IMO.

Garza is supposed to be a good one, but DYoung is an elite hitter. I'm surprised Tampa isn't going after a better pitching prospect or a first year pitcher like Carmona.

[Mackus]

This is a bad trade for the DRays, IMO.

Garza is supposed to be a good one, but DYoung is an elite hitter. I'm surprised Tampa isn't going after a better pitching prospect or a first year pitcher like Carmona.

I agree, the Twins are definitely getting the better end of this deal.

I wonder if the Rays would be interested in Loewen in a similar deal? I love Loewen, but if you could get back Delmon Young, you have to consider it.

[Dr. FLK]

I agree, the Twins are definitely getting the better end of this deal.

I wonder if the Rays would be interested in Loewen in a similar deal? I love Loewen, but if you could get back Delmon Young, you have to consider it.

Doesn't Gazra have a much higher ceiling than Loewen? Or, am I over valuing him?

[hoosiers]

I agree, the Twins are definitely getting the better end of this deal.

I wonder if the Rays would be interested in Loewen in a similar deal? I love Loewen, but if you could get back Delmon Young, you have to consider it.

For Delmon Young, the DRays could have Loewen, DCab and Spoone, IMO. And I'm a huge Loewen fan.

[TGO]

I agree, the Twins are definitely getting the better end of this deal.

I wonder if the Rays would be interested in Loewen in a similar deal? I love Loewen, but if you could get back Delmon Young, you have to consider it.

You guys are overlooking Rincon. He had a bad year but was nasty four years straight before that. And you know the value of relievers in today's MLB. He will help solidify their bullpen, then they can trade him for prospects or take the pick when he walks.

I don't know anything about Pridie, but assuming he isn't much, this is a decent swap for both teams.

[GeorgiaBird]

Young may become an elite hitter but wasn't one last year, and there were some issues off the field. Interesting he went to Minnesota, since he had a little incident up there involving some of the Twins' family members last year, but that is a different story.

From the Rays point of view, they would tell you Garza has suffered from some arm fatigue but they are high on him and high on Bartlett, who I believe had a higher VORP than Delmon last year. So they would say they obtained:

- a strong defensive SS (one of their 2 primary offseason goals) with a much better bat than most of the free agent options available

- a starter who could be league average or could develop into something better

- a good if not great reliever who adds some reliability to their pen (their other primary offseason goal)

for...

- a league average RF who has a ton of potential but also some issues weighing on him

- a AAA outfielder with good speed and questionable bat

- a utility guy who can't field

If Young gets it together this is a crummy trade for Tampa. But if he doesn't I think they come out even, and perhaps ahead of they can get Garza going.

[Mackus]

Doesn't Gazra have a much higher ceiling than Loewen? Or, am I over valuing him?

I'm a huge fan of Loewen, so I'd say Loewen has the higher ceiling. Garza is probably higher rated in general though.

[CrimsonTribe]

Pridie isn't exactly a slouch either... he was coming off an injury last year and put up a .318/.375/.539 line (.914 OPS) in AAA in 245 ABs.

[GeorgiaBird]

Well said VT.

I basically see this deal as Tampa clearly improving for 08 vs. 07. Whether the deal comes back to bite them will depend on how much Young develops, and to an extent how much Garza develops.

Interesting to see who plays RF for Tampa. I have to assume this trade means the Nationals can give up their dream of getting Dukes for a bag of balls. Rays have Ruggiano in the minors but I doubt they are ready to put him in the starting lineup.

[66-70-83-??]

You guys are overlooking Rincon. He had a bad year but was nasty four years straight before that. And you know the value of relievers in today's MLB. He will help solidify their bullpen, then they can trade him for prospects or take the pick when he walks.

I don't know anything about Pridie, but assuming he isn't much, this is a decent swap for both teams.

That says it all.

This is a good trade for both teams. Both teams are addressing needs.

Garza is every bit the potential ace pitcher that Young is the stud hitter.

Who knows what the future holds, but no way is this deal a big advantage for the Twins. I think the DRays did just fine.

Bartlett vs Harris- both decent players.

Pridie vs Rincon- upside vs current bullpen help.

I would like to see trades like this go down more often. Kudo's (if it goes down) to two GM's with the stones to risk failure by taking chances with bold trades.

These trades were a lot more common "back in the day".

[TGO]

Well said VT.

I basically see this deal as Tampa clearly improving for 08 vs. 07. Whether the deal comes back to bite them will depend on how much Young develops, and to an extent how much Garza develops.

Interesting to see who plays RF for Tampa. I have to assume this trade means the Nationals can give up their dream of getting Dukes for a bag of balls. Rays have Ruggiano in the minors but I doubt they are ready to put him in the starting lineup.

I think Longoria will be at 3B on opening day for them, so they could move Iwamura to RF or to 2B and then use one of their many utility type guys in RF if they need to. Ruggiano also looks to me (from the numbers anyway, I haven't watched him play) like he's ready for a shot. He has produced at every level except his brief stint in Tampa last year, and he will be 26. Add in Dukes and Gomes (who they understandably like more at DH) and they have plenty of options.

[GeorgiaBird]

Iwamura will be the starting 2B, assuming Longoria makes the team (and he is going to have to earn his way off of it at this point).

I think this might be seen as an indication that the front office is impressed with Dukes' work to get back to the game. Ruggiano impressed some people with Team USA this Fall so perhaps he will get a chance too, but it seems to me Dukes could fill a lot of the void of Young if he is let back. The only real question is would he be better away from the distractions of his home town.

[amateurfan]

I like this move, regardless of how early in the offseason it is. Tampa can afford to trade Young because they do have great position players. They don't need a superstar in RF with the rest of that line-up, espcially if Longoria has just as good a season as Young in 07. Garza is a great pick up for them. I actually think the Rays got the better end of the deal. The pitching will help them more than Young helps the Twins. Rincon is a solid pick up as well. It must indicate that the Twins are confident that they will get multiple starters for Santana. It also makes me more frustrated with the O's. AM has strength in the minors - the young pitching. I think it's time we started trading some of it to help with the team's weakness - hitting.