Tampa/Minnesota Blockbuster!? Young for Garza

[Sports Guy]

Great move for each side.

And no, this doesn't mean they won't trade Santana.

Can you imagine if they ended up with Melky, Hughes and Delmon Young?

Add to that Liriano coming back and what you get for Nathan(ML ready third baseman?) and you have a ridiculously good and young team that could contend next year.

[hoosiers]

Young is a pretty good looking hitter, but lets not overstate his value.

I think it would be nearly impossible to overstate Young's value. What he did at that age is remarkable - why don't you look up the last 21 year old to have that many hits, extra base hits, etc. in the majors before you start discounting his talent because of the walk rate?

Young was a number one overall pick who has done nothing but justify that pick, save for some minor behavior issues, since drafted.

There is little doubt in my mind that he is on his way to being one of the very best bats in baseball.

[SilentJames]

Great move for each side.

And no, this doesn't mean they won't trade Santana.

Can you imagine if they ended up with Melky, Hughes and Delmon Young?

Add to that Liriano coming back and what you get for Nathan(ML ready third baseman?) and you have a ridiculously good and young team that could contend next year.

Great move for the Twins. I don't get this for the Rays. Yeah they need pitching, but Garza? I think they gave up too much.

there is just nothing about him that REALLY impresses me. I read the write ups and I know he was a number 1 prospect in the Twins org. Perhaps I just haven't seen enough of him.

I think Young was too much.

Young is the type of guy they need to build around. I would have given up Gomes before someone like Young.

[Elbren]

I'm a bit confused by this deal.

- w/ Harris gone, I'd think that Upton moves back to 2B. Iwamura might play 2B if Longoria moves up to the ML club but that's a pretty big jump for a guy who is only 22 and only has one month of AAA under his belt.

- with Young gone, Upton possibly moving back to the infield, the uncertainty surrounding Dukes, why would you also include Pridie in that deal? Especially with Crawford in the last year of his deal. I'm sure they'll pick up one (if not both) of his options, but I can't see them resigning him to a big deal, so I'd assume they're going to trade him sometime in the near future.

They just went to having a glut of talented OFer's to having a huge question surrounding the OF. Not good IMO.

[66-70-83-??]

I'm a bit confused by this deal.

- w/ Harris gone, I'd think that Upton moves back to 2B. Iwamura might play 2B if Longoria moves up to the ML club but that's a pretty big jump for a guy who is only 22 and only has one month of AAA under his belt.

- with Young gone, Upton possibly moving back to the infield, the uncertainty surrounding Dukes, why would you also include Pridie in that deal? Especially with Crawford in the last year of his deal. I'm sure they'll pick up one (if not both) of his options, but I can't see them resigning him to a big deal, so I'd assume they're going to trade him sometime in the near future.

They just went to having a glut of talented OFer's to having a huge question surrounding the OF. Not good IMO.

I like this deal for the Rays.

Kazmir, Shields, Garza is a really nice (and young) 1-2-3 punch.

Call me crazy. But, within the next year or two- that could rival any 1-2-3 in the league.

Maybe Minnesota feels strongly that they are going to get 1 or 2 of Kennedy / Hughes / Chamberlin in the Santana deal. Otherwise, it is hard to see them giving up their past (Johan) and future (Garza) aces.

But for Tampa: IF looks to be Pena, Iwamura, Bartlett, Longoria.

OF/DH- Crawford, Upton, Dukes/Baldelli/Gomes.

Not too shabby.

They look pretty good for now and the future.

On paper this seems to be a good deal for both teams.

[Sports Guy]

THis deal has hit a slight snag....Rincon's elbow is holding things up.

Whether it kills the deal or not is to be seen.

It surprises me that you don't see more deals like this though. Look at these 2 teams...Neither likes to spend much money but they both have depth in one area and needs in another...So, trade your strength for a weakness.

I just wonder why these trades never get made...My guess is that teams are too unsure of how good the youth will end up being and they are afraid to trade away a top star.

[Sports Guy]

I like this deal for the Rays.

Kazmir, Shields, Garza is a really nice (and young) 1-2-3 punch.

Call me crazy. But, within the next year or two- that could rival any 1-2-3 in the league.

Maybe Minnesota feels strongly that they are going to get 1 or 2 of Kennedy / Hughes / Chamberlin in the Santana deal. Otherwise, it is hard to see them giving up their past (Johan) and future (Garza) aces.

But for Tampa: IF looks to be Pena, Iwamura, Bartlett, Longoria.

OF/DH- Crawford, Upton, Dukes/Baldelli/Gomes.

Not too shabby.

They look pretty good for now and the future.

On paper this seems to be a good deal for both teams.

Let's not forget that the Rays had a terrible defense last year...Longoria and Bartlett really improves that.

Brendan Harris may have had a career year.

[GeorgiaBird]

I think Garza is getting short-changed in this discussion. He, like Delmon, is yet to show his full potential. He is 23, with a 95+ mph fastball and two other pitches. Against the AL East (Yanks, Sox, Os) last year he had 12 IP, 0.83 ERA. Against the Indians he had an ERA of 2.7. And remember he was playing his home games in the HHH Dome. He was much better away from home.

Rays could also sign Troy Perceival by morning. I can't imagine Rincon would allow the deal to fall apart, but right now you could be looking at an opening day roster of...

1B Pena

2B Iwamura

SS Bartlett

3B Longoria

LF Crawford

CF Upton

RF Dukes

DH Baldelli

Kazmir

Shields

Garza

Sonny

Jackson

Dohmann

Rincon

Wheeler

Reyes

Perceival

That is the makings of a pretty good team. Long-term if Young gets it together and gets his act together the Rays could have regrets, but I can't say I blame them for trading him and getting value vs. trading Dukes or Baldelli and for different reasons getting nothing in return.

[os1971]

I like this deal for the Rays.

Kazmir, Shields, Garza is a really nice (and young) 1-2-3 punch.

Call me crazy. But, within the next year or two- that could rival any 1-2-3 in the league.

Maybe Minnesota feels strongly that they are going to get 1 or 2 of Kennedy / Hughes / Chamberlin in the Santana deal. Otherwise, it is hard to see them giving up their past (Johan) and future (Garza) aces.

But for Tampa: IF looks to be Pena, Iwamura, Bartlett, Longoria.

OF/DH- Crawford, Upton, Dukes/Baldelli/Gomes.

Not too shabby.

They look pretty good for now and the future.

On paper this seems to be a good deal for both teams.

Yep, but seams better for the Rays. Looks like last place is a lock for us

next year.

[66-70-83-??]

THis deal has hit a slight snag....Rincon's elbow is holding things up.

Whether it kills the deal or not is to be seen.

It surprises me that you don't see more deals like this though. Look at these 2 teams...Neither likes to spend much money but they both have depth in one area and needs in another...So, trade your strength for a weakness.

I just wonder why these trades never get made...My guess is that teams are too unsure of how good the youth will end up being and they are afraid to trade away a top star.

That is it- fear.

Too many GM's would rather do the safe thing- nothing.

You can't make a bad trade if you don't make any.

That is why I would give these guys props for having the stones to make a deal that could go either way for either team. This trade has boom or bust potential for both teams.

[GeorgiaBird]

fyi the deal is done. Rincon is no longer a part of it. Twins sending a MiL instead. I am unsure of the name yet.

EDIT: Eduardo Morlan is the third guy.

[Sports Guy]

The more I think about it, the more I think this is just one of the best trades I have heard in a long time.

[Sports Guy]

Let's look deeper into this trade.

I think Young has more value than Garza based on upside, so IMO, the Twins win that part of it although I understand why TB did it.

So, let's look at the rest of it:

Bartlett is a solid defensive player...The DRays IF defense was terrible last year and he should sure that up.

Pirdie is a decent CF prospect...Had a big year last year but was disappointing last year...Could be the CFer for the future for the Twins.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/P/Jason-Pridie.shtml

Brendan Harris had a good year last year...He is a solid player.

When you really look at everything, both of these teams really improved themselves big time.

The Twins added a lot of offense and a potential top 10 player.

The DRays greatly improve the defense and adds a potential top of the rotation starter.

[SilentJames]

I still have reservations because Young is the type of guy they need to be building around.

I would expect themm to be trading Crawford before Young. Crawford is going to be expensive real soon and they traded away their best young outfielder for a VERY high ceiling pitcher who has yet to have much sustained success in his limited time in the majors.

Yes his minor league stats are very impressive, and that does carry a lot of weight. ALOT, but enough to risk trading a guy who was considered the BEST young prospect in baseball?

It is a VERY boom or bust deal, though I think the Rays took more of a risk here than the Twins did. If young falmes out then its not that big of a deal. They have bats around him to keep them going.

But if Garza doesn't become the second of the 1-2 punch then you could see the Rays regretting this trade until he comes around.

[HeyIt'sMe]

I like the deal much more for Tampa now that they got Morlan. This kid is the key to the trade, IMO. He's got a ridiculous upside and could be either really good, or completely mediocre.