Denard On Way Out?

With the non-waiver trade deadline just 3 days away, there was a few major moves yesterday, but none involving the Minnesota Twins. There was very little expectation of the Twins making any trades before the deadline, but one name has surfaced a bit the last few days. Outfielder Denard Span, who is currently rehabbing in Triple-A Rochester has been the focus of a rumored trade to Washington.

Why trade Span? That is the question many Twins fans maybe asking themselves. I look at it like this. The Twins have a plethora of outfielders currently at the major league level and then a few good looking prospects that will be at the major league level within the next three years, hopefully. With Delmon Young going through the arbitration years, I expect the Twins to hold onto him. Michael Cuddyer will be re-signed after the season ends. It would be a mistake for the Twins to not re-sign him, but that discussion is for a different day.

That brings me to Jason Kubel, who is also rehabbing at Triple-A. He will also be an impending free agent after the current season. I think the Twins will try to re-sign him, but signing him and Cuddyer could be an issue. The other outfielder on the current roster is Ben Revere. He appears to be set in the Twin Cities for a while. However, when Span comes back, where do you put Span or Revere?

This then brings us to the potential trade to Washington. The player that keeps coming up on the Nationals side, is closer Drew Storen. This may bring flashbacks to the Matt Capps-Wilson Ramos trade, but this is not at all like that trade. I personally am in favor of this trade as the Twins need to really bolster the bullpen if they want to make any attempt of a 2nd half run towards another Central crown.

Storen will turn 24 years old in a couple of weeks and has really impressed me this year so far. He has a record of 5-2 with 25 saves (28 opportunities) along with a 2.68 ERA. He could essentially be the Twins closer post-Nathan. Nathan has a team option for the 2012 season worth 12.5 million with a 2 million buyout, so the Twins will need to start thinking about the future closer role. There isn’t really anyone in the minor league system that would be suitable, so I think the trade for Storen would be a good one for the Twins.

Toss in the fact that Storen hasn’t even been in the league for two full seasons yet, so he will be under team control for many years to come. You can also argue that same point with Span, but Span will start asking for more money in arbitration years soon. Don’t forget that Span is coming off a concussion and as the Twins have seen with Justin Morneau, it could really alter his career, so if we can get someone as good as Storen for Span, I say pull the trigger.