Thread: How to improve middle infield

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/20...rubal-cabrera/

Cleveland is shopping Asdrubal Cabrera and St. Louis has "real" interest...

Asdrubal would be great! but you would have to sell the farm.

I like the idea of going after Danny Espinosa. He strikes out a ton, but is much cheaper than Uggla. Span + ??? for Espinosa and Lannan. Lannan isn't anything special but was a 6th starter for Washington. He would have been our #2 last year. Espinosa can play SS also and Lannan would at least provide a #4 or 5 starter (maybe). What say you?

They can keep Lannan and his Blackburnesque contract and peripherals. The poor WHIP, K/9 and BB/K actually have some speculating that they may in fact be the same guy.

Yeah, I didn't realize Lannan was making 5M. Definitely not worth that pricetag.

Originally Posted by Winston Smith

So trade Benson a guy that was bad at AAA got hurt and was later really bad in AA for a guy that had a solid rookie yr at "the major league level"?

I'm surprised the Nationals haven't been all over that one.

Geez, sorry to offend you. Just because Benson had a bad, abbreviated year due to injury doesn't mean he has lost all value. His upside is as a guy who can stick in CF, has a cannon for an arm, can run real well, and has + power potential - sure there are some holes in his game, but I feel assured that he has a higher upside than Lombardozzi Jr. I do not think the Nationals would be offended by that phone call.

A 66-96 team doesn't get turned around in a year. Solve the pitching problem first. If Willingham is traded to solve the starting pitching shortage, it will soon become obvious that the lack of power hitting is the next big problem--not middle infielders. The threads on Twins minor league prospects mostly agree on the need for further development of the top prospects--but some of them wll be full-time starters in 2014. Just because Ryan talks of "competing" in 2013--realistically what else can he say?--we fans should not delude ourselves that a 25 win improvement is likely next season. Build the foundation, then add to it. The minor league system has to become a consistent provider of useful talent and that takes time and likely early selections in the draft--90 losses +--for at least one more year.

Arizona went from 65-97 in 2010 to divison winner with a 94-68 record in 2011
OAK went from 74-88 in 2011 to 94-68 & division winner
Balt went from 69-93 in 2011 to 93-69 & wild card......NEVER happens

Uggla and Youkilis should be the two the Twins target. Both are great power hitters. Since they are both right handed, Target Field may be just the place where each could rebound. Contract wise, it should be one or the other. Uggla has had two below average seasons in a row and Youk has had one. Otherwise, both have been excellent career players. This is a good example on how to buy low for a high reward, yet it's risky because of the money. I've been advocating Youkilis for a while; although, if the Braves want to salary dump Uggla onto the Twins for little added return as part of a package deal, I'd be for that.

According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, the Athletics and Diamondbacks are "at least mildly intrigued" by Hiroyuki Nakajima.

The Yankees won negotiating rights for Nakajima last winter with a $2 million bid, but they ultimately were unable to sign him. The 30-year-old is going to try to come over to the states again this offseason. He's won two Gold Gloves while batting .312 with an .867 OPS during the past five years.

Originally Posted by twinsnorth49

Two words....Pitch ing......wait that's two syllables, same deal though.

MI can wait until the trade deadline next year, if necessary (likely).

lefty reliever bill bray elected free agency and should be on the twins radar as a resonably priced bullpenner