Thread: Article: Twins trade Denard Span for Nationals' 2011 first round pick

Fwiw, Sickels ranked Meyer 28th overall pitcher in his preliminary list this year, so #50-65 overall seems about right:

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/...-list-for-2013

Now the Twins only have about $70M in obligations for 2013, and Blackburn, Span and Morneau represent another $27M in obligations gone after next year. Although Meyers fills a glaring hole in the upper levels of the farm system he's probably not likely to be ready to join the rotation until 2015. I actually like this move for the Nationals much better than Atlanta's signing of BJ Upton. The Nationals have sluggers but really needed a quality lead-off man and center fielder. They get that in Span. But, I'm gonna miss the skinny version of Darryl from the Office patrol center at Target field.

Span is a very solid player at a premium position. This is definitely not a great return on paper. A 1-for-1 trade for an MLB-ready guy is one thing, but this is someone who hasn't pitched above A-ball. The Twins need guys like Meyer in their system but Span was one of the few assets they had and one interesting but flawed prospect isn't good enough.

Currently fighting back tears right now...oh no here they come. Good luck to my once favorite Twin and new favorite former Twin. Pretty good deal both ways, but I wish we could have added some marginal prospects to that package. Nationals just got a fantastic player and their lineup got so much better.

i just don't get the mentality of trading a major league good centerfielder with a great value contract for someone who may never make it to the bigs at all. span should have been traded for a proven pitcher, and one that can help now, not "maybe" in a few years. what a waste of trading chip. and still no pitching for the twins 2013 season.

i don't like the "return" for span either.....1 A-ball pitcher for a good major league CF/Lead-off hitter....Geez, stop trading with Washington. Rizzo has our number. Maybe Washington will re-sign Capps and trade him back to us...

Originally Posted by YourHouseIsMyHouse

Currently fighting back tears right now...oh no here they come. Good luck to my once favorite Twin and new favorite former Twin. Pretty good deal both ways, but I wish we could have added some marginal prospects to that package. Nationals just got a fantastic player and their lineup got so much better.

would a few scrap heap relievers/MIF'ers really have changed your perseption of the trade? This organization is LOADED with scrap heap reclamation prospects. Twins need top end talent... not longshot prospects

Where is Seth?

I want to read what Seth has to say about this trade!

I'm happy... I like what I've read... Hopefully I'll be happy with what I eventually see. Was hoping for an arm that we would see this year and maybe we will. He came out of College so he was 22 in his first year of pro ball. If you consider that there isn't much competition between him and the majors in our system... He could move thru AA/AAA fairly quick... Even for the Twins.

It all depends on that Fastball/Slider Combo of his. If he hangs some zero's and produces some K's. What would prevent him from moving up by the end of the year?

I'm happy but I'll wait to hear what Seth says.

Originally Posted by h2oface

i just don't get the mentality of trading a major league good centerfielder with a great value contract for someone who may never make it to the bigs at all. span should have been traded for a proven pitcher, and one that can help now, not "maybe" in a few years. what a waste of trading chip. and still no pitching for the twins 2013 season.

Please name these proven pitchers teams were lining up to give away

Originally Posted by Boom Boom

I guess this is the right direction.

How many years before Meyer gets a September call-up?

ETA 2015 or so for MN

Originally Posted by SpiritofVodkaDave

Originally Posted by John Bonnes

This is the kind of trade with which I trust Terry Ryan. Trading an established guy for a lower level minor league guy with some upside. I don't know if Meyer is more than a "C" prospect at this point, and his real test should come when he gets to AA next year, but that may be why he's available.

I am disappointed that the Twins didn't get any pitching or middle infielders to help them next year.

How could you call Meyer a "C" prospect, the guy hits 98 MPH as a starter and looks to have 3 plus pitches (not to mention size, good minor league results etc)? He was widely considered the 2nd best prospect heading into 2013 of the Nats farm class.

Meyer is clearly the best pitching prospect the Twins have and ranks somewhere between Hicks and Arcia but ahead of Rosario and Gibson, you wouldn't call those guys C prospects right??

Not to rip him but he may be ranked high in their organization because of the Gio Gonzalez trade that took some good arms to acquire him.

may have been said already, but Meyer was drafted about 8 spots ahead of the Twins' pick in the 2011 draft... Wonder if the Twins were hoping he'd drop to them.

Of course it would have been nice to get a little more but this is exactly the type of move the Twins need to make to fix the franchise long term. Perhaps Meyer is a bust but you need a lot of good arms in your system to produce good starters. This also gives the Twins a little more room to sign FA's this winter.

I think people also need to be realistic about how difficult it is for two teams to exactly match up with needs. The Twins got a borderline top 25 pitching prospect and very few teams are willing to give this up. Very few teams also need a CF'er.

Originally Posted by SpiritofVodkaDave

Originally Posted by h2oface

i just don't get the mentality of trading a major league good centerfielder with a great value contract for someone who may never make it to the bigs at all. span should have been traded for a proven pitcher, and one that can help now, not "maybe" in a few years. what a waste of trading chip. and still no pitching for the twins 2013 season.

Please name these proven pitchers teams were lining up to give away

all anybody does here is guess. how am i supposed to "know" that? how are you? that question can only be answered by the ones privy to the conversations. apparently some teams were lining up for a proven centerfielder, eh? so the twins are the ones that give it away? what's the difference? the teams that always are building for the future, are always building for the future. rarely does that envisioned future arrive. personally, i never like a deal that is a proven for a best guess. best guesses litter the minor league rosters. and that is what this is. span is not a guess. i just don't like it. not at all. and oakland already got the nat's best young arms last year.

Originally Posted by darin617

Not to rip him but he may be ranked high in their organization because of the Gio Gonzalez trade that took some good arms to acquire him.

He's a borderline top 50 prospect so this is a pretty weak Devil's Advocate position.

Deleted.

Terry Ryan and PPMPPPP

In the category of "Payroll Paring Moves of Proven Players at Premium Positions", Ryan definitely has Smith beaten and deserves some credit. Hardy for Hoey ranks near an all-time low in Twins trading annals. Span for Meyer looks somewhat better, on paper anyways.

Let's look at some comparable numbers:

Jim Hoey 6'6"/205#s
Hoey combined numbers at age 23 playing at 3 levels (A/A+/AA):

IP 51/ERA 2.28/WHIP 1.11/K^9 12.9/BB^9 3.2

Alex Meyer 6'9"/220#s
Meyer combined numbers at age 22 at 2 levels (A/A+):

IP 129/ERA 2.86/WHIP 1.10/K^9 9.7/BB^9 3.1

Obviously, Meyer achieved the bulk of his numbers as a starter, so the comp is less than exact, but still... both pitchers come advertised with major mechanics issues.

Originally Posted by The Greatest Poster Alive

would a few scrap heap relievers/MIF'ers really have changed your perseption of the trade? This organization is LOADED with scrap heap reclamation prospects. Twins need top end talent... not longshot prospects

Well not really, it just would have made it look better. I don't like straight up trades and I think it's important to squeeze out every last bit of value you can get.

Meyer has a ton of upside, but being age 23 in A ball doesn't impress me.

There were not going to be any miracle returns in a Span trade. Did I expect a trade like this, probably not. Am I disappointed in the trade, not really. Who knows, this guy could be a #1 or #2 starter in 4-5 years, he could also be pitching in Independent Ball or working for a construction company in that same time frame.

I am however very happy for Denard Span. He is leaving a severely crippled franchise and heading to a team that has everything going for it. My guess is that Span flourishes in his new environment and has great team and personal successes.

Viva Denard Span!!!

I honestly think this was the best he could do. I have more faith in Ryan making these kind of deals as opposed to trading for MLB talent