Garza - Young deal almost done
A huge trade with the Tampa Bay Rays appears to be imminent. The reported trade would send Matt Garza, Juan Rincon and Jason Bartlett to Tampa Bay in exchange for 22-year old former first-round pick Delmon Young, Brendan Harris and former Twin prospect Jason Pridie.
The deal makes sense in a lot of ways. The Rays are desperate for pitching and the Twins need an outfielder (and more generally a bat). While trading a potential top of the rotation starter is never easy, the Twins have some depth when it comes to young pitchers making Garza expendable in the right deal. I think this is the right deal.
Rincon's better days seemed to have passed him by as he's coming off a disappointing 2007 in which he posted a 5.13 ERA in just under 60 innings and it's no secret the Twins have been shopping him for at least a year.
Harris has a slightly shorter track record as a starter than Bartlett, but seems to offer a small offensive upgrade over Bartlett. Harris batted .286 with 12 home runs in 2007, his first year as a starter after bouncing through 4 different organizations.
With the Hunter loss, this deal and the possibility of a Santana trade, the 2008 Twins are shaping up to be a very different team than 2007's. It will be fun to watch things take shape.
Update: Juan Rincon may be out of the deal due to elbow concerns. Reported by the St. Petersburg Times
Topics: Juan Rincon, Brendan Harris, Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, Delmon Young, Jason Pridie
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