Originally Posted by
dwintheiser
In general terms, I like the trade myself, but I'm noticing a couple of things not being mentioned:
- People are putting the trade in terms of Revere's value, but I think the trade from the Phillies' side has more to do with them having went from 102 wins in 2011 to .500 last year. Their front office likely thinks they're still a prime team, and giving up good pieces that won't get them to their goal next year is OK if you get a piece that will. Revere isn't a star, but if he does what the Phillies expect, which is get on base and play great CF defense, then he'll help them work back up in the standings. (I guess the 'right place at the right time' folks may be making this point, but it seemed pretty oblique compared to the 'oh, look how valuable Revere really was' crowd.)
- I think the idea that this trade helps the Twins be competitive in 2013 is pretty silly - after all, if the Phillies thought the players they gave up would help them win more in 2013, they wouldn't have traded them, right? After all, the big failure in Philly wasn't on offense, but in defense and pitching -- they allowed about a run per game more in 2012 than they did in 2011. Revere will help with that, but not by a full run per game.
- I also think that if people really think Hicks's upside is rookie-year Torii Hunter, then there's no reason to start him in center in 2013 no matter how good his spring happens to be -- to justify starting his free agent clock early and possibly burning an entire year of eligibility via super-two status, he's got to be ROY-caliber material.
I'm finding the 'conspiracy theory' of having a number of Twins future performers starting at AAA this year, where they'll get to work with Paul Molitor as a roving consultant, prior to Gardy being replaced by Molitor for the start of the 2014 season to be more and more credible.