Thread: Danny Valencia Traded to the Red Sox

Does anyone know why he didn't sign a pro contract until he was 20 (or almost 20)?

Trade makes a ton of sense for the Twins, with the emergence of Plouffe they had no need for Valencia and he most likely would have been cut after the season as well.

It's disappointing that Valencia started playing this horribly this year, really thought we had our 3rd baseman of the future a couple years ago, but the Twins certainly gave him his chances and he simply doesn't hit enough to justify his mediocre defense at 3rd base.

Pineda intrigues me because he is young and apparently can hit and has some speed. Nice to get a decent upside (long ways away) guy for Valencia instead of some AAAA retread.

edit sorry didn't see the other thread, please lock up?

Good. I don't even really care what the Twins got in return. It was time to clear Danny off the 40 man. It was clear he had no future with Minneosta.

Originally Posted by notoriousgod71

Especially one that hit .188 last season in rookie ball.

Career .321/.380/.423 hitter, plus he has shown a significant improvement this year.

The Twins weren't getting anything great in return for Valencia, and he wasn't going to be around next year most likely. Good riddance. At least we got someone who could be projectible.

Originally Posted by shanewahl

The past hatred for Valencia and the current hatred around here of trading Valencia for an OF prospect is pretty funny.

I don't see a lot of hatred of the trade in the thread.

The question is whether you can call Pineda "an OF prospect."

Originally Posted by jffrsnclrk

I can't help but think this move is a little risky. It is not like Danny was horrible when he was sent back down to AAA, and the Twins seems to have a plethora of outfielders like this Pineda fellow. At the very least, in the short term it certainly hurts the Twins depth. But, y'ah know, maybe it will be worth it in the long term, we shall see.

He had a .688 OPS in AAA this year and had no future with the team.

The Twins did the right thing, they got rid of someone with zero future for 2013 on the team and now they can give those at-bats to other players to evaluate where they fit. I'm guessing we start seeing Alexi in the lineup nearly every day as sort of a last audition for them to keep him around, or maybe this opens up a spot for Escobar sooner.

Ideally we can move Carroll as well this month, though if we are stuck with him next year it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

Originally Posted by USAFChief

I don't see a lot of hatred of the trade in the thread.

Shhhh, don't ruin his narrative.

They must really be convinced that Plouffe is going to play well enough to dump Valencia. Not that I disagree with the move, just think its putting a lot of faith in a guy they can't be certain about.

Don't forget that Deibison Romero at AA used to be on the 40 man roster, and he is hitting .270 with 15 homers. He might finish the season with close to 20. He should certainly be the Twins' AAA 3rd baseman next year, and could be called up to fill in if Plouffe has more hand problems. I'm not sure if he bats right or left. Also, I'm not sure of his defense, but before he was injured about 3 years ago, he was considered a legit prospect, and it looks like he is working his way back to that status. So, I'm not surprised Valencia was traded, because Romero would have pushed him aside for the AAA spot next season. Now, Romero might also be a 6 year free agent after this season--I'm not sure, but I would think the Twins would do everything they could to keep him as insurance next season at 3rd.

Originally Posted by Badsmerf

They must really be convinced that Plouffe is going to play well enough to dump Valencia. Not that I disagree with the move, just think its putting a lot of faith in a guy they can't be certain about.

Plouffe destroyed AAA in 2011, and has mashed the ball in 2012. Even in the majors last year he still posted a 91 OPS+. Its a bit of a no brainer that Plouffe will play better then Valencia moving foward.

Valencia had a 0.5 WAR last year and a -.7 WAR this year, at this point Carroll can match his production at third base or any number of AAAA players they could grab off the waiver wire.

Originally Posted by Twinsoholic

Don't forget that Deibison Romero at AA used to be on the 40 man roster, and he is hitting .270 with 15 homers. He might finish the season with close to 20. He should certainly be the Twins' AAA 3rd baseman next year, and could be called up to fill in if Plouffe has more hand problems. I'm not sure if he bats right or left. Also, I'm not sure of his defense, but before he was injured about 3 years ago, he was considered a legit prospect, and it looks like he is working his way back to that status. So, I'm not surprised Valencia was traded, because Romero would have pushed him aside for the AAA spot next season. Now, Romero might also be a 6 year free agent after this season--I'm not sure, but I would think the Twins would do everything they could to keep him as insurance next season at 3rd.

Romero will be 26 nxt yr & is a 6yr FA. He is a righthanded hitter & having a very solid AA yr. Also think he'll be resigned/40 manned & be the AAA 3B next yr

The Twins have now traded about 15% of the active jewish ball players in baseball this year.

Nishi to the Twins in Cleveland. Oh boy!

Do you think it's possible Valencia was traded becuase he didn't perform, and not because "he has personality"? Geez.

We won't know if we got anything for him until perhaps next year. That'll be mildly interesting.

From JoeC's trade announcement blurb in the STrib:

“It wasn’t a matter where we were down on him or anything else,” (Rob) Antony said. “It was just a situation where this might be a better opportunity for him.”

Yeah...you weren't down on him.

Here's a pro tip:

If you are going to have a ****ty attitude and be a ballplayer, at least make sure you are a good ball player so that the team will have a reason to put up with your crap. That is why teams lived with Jeff Kent and Luke Scott and why guys like JD "The Readl Deal" Durbin and Valencia were let go.

Originally Posted by SpiritofVodkaDave

Here's a pro tip:

If you are going to have a ****ty attitude and be a ballplayer, at least make sure you are a good ball player so that the team will have a reason to put up with your crap. That is why teams lived with Jeff Kent and Luke Scott and why guys like JD "The Readl Deal" Durbin and Valencia were let go.

Amen. Good riddance....if this guy he was traded for has a 1% chance of doing anything productive for the Twins down the road, then this was a great trade. My guess is that either Valencia showed no change in his attitude/character this time around, or he possibly did something that was the last straw for the Twins. Valencia had NO FUTURE with Twins after Plouffe's return.

Originally Posted by SpiritofVodkaDave

If you are going to have a ****ty attitude and be a ballplayer,.

Originally Posted by Hammond2ndHome

. My guess is that either Valencia showed no change in his attitude/character this time around.

So I trust that both of you either know Danny Valencia personally or know someone in the Twins' clubhouse who knows him to speak first hand of his attitude...

Please enlighten us.

Originally Posted by thrylos98

So I trust that both of you either know Danny Valencia personally or know someone in the Twins' clubhouse who knows him to speak first hand of his attitude...

Please enlighten us.

There have been reports in the past with his attitude, there have been articles on it and I believe Nick Nelson (who has his sources) at one point said this was the case as well.

I'm not going to waste my time looking through the archives. Either way, Valencia was simply not a good ball player and didn't fit into the future plans.