Yanks Talking Deal With Twins?
Who knows if this is true but it seems like the Yanks might be kicking the tires on Twins LHP Francisco Liriano.
Liriano signed a one-year, $4.3M deal with the Twins earlier this month to avoid arbitration and has one more arbitration-eligible season left next year. One would presume, then, that the Yankees would be trying to acquire Liriano with an eye towards signing him to a contract extension in advance of his free agency in 2013.
Liriano’s injury history makes him a bit of a risky acquisition but this is the kind of move that could pay off for the Yankees. If healthy, Liriano is one of the best pitchers in the game and would give the Yankees the rotation stability they missed out on when Cliff Lee opted to sign elsewhere.
Without knowing the price Minnesota would demand it’s very hard to guage my own feelings here. As long as it doesn’t cost the team Montero and Banuelos, I’m probably fine with any other combination of players being sent to Minnesota, even if Liriano’s injury history makes this a risky move.
Well, the article says “the Twins would acquire either Ivan Nova or Joba Chamberlain, in addition to other pieces”.
I’d lose either or both to grab Liriano.
I think the Yanks should wait till the deadline. I’m of the camp that Nova will surprise and that the rotation won’t be as disastrous as some make it out to be.
It’s kind of a lonely camp, though.
I still am a bit unsure as to why the Twins are looking to move Liriano, a Cy Young Award caliber pitcher under team control for 2 years. Are they THAT worried about his arm? Are they afraid that they won’t be able to successfully defend their AL Central title?
Just seems odd to me.
@ Corey Italiano:
This might be all hypothetical but, really, you’d rather have Ivan Nova than Frankie Liriano?! Dude, no matter how good you think Nova is going to be, almost every single scout sees his ceiling as a #4 starter. That means his best case scenario is a #3 starter and that’s with everything going right for him.
No way I’d keep Nova when a true #1 can be acquired. No way.
@ Raf:
Agreed, it makes no sense why the Twins would trade a #1 starter with two years of control left. Then again, it all depends on the package coming back.
If it’s built around Chamberlain and Betances with another 1-2 prospects, why wouldn’t the Twins take advantage of striking while the iron is hot? The last time they had a #1 starter they were looking to trade, they got back a couple of turds and a couple of fringe major leaguers.
MJ Recanati wrote:
I’d rather have Nova and Montero plus more than Liriano. At the very least, why not wait till the deadline and let the dust settle? They’ve done it with less pitching in the past.
By the way, off topic, but did anyone see the Maddux-style change up that Adam Warren dropped on Ryan Howard the other day? WOW. Granted he had no fastball velocity and paid for it, that was one nasty pitch. If he can throw 95-96 like Kay was saying, he’s something to watch going forward.
MJ Recanati wrote:
How could you rationalize trading a #1 for a 7th inning reliever and an oft-injured prospect as the centerpiece to the fans? I especially don’t see that happening after how they got burnt last time around.
Corey Italiano wrote:
I’m that camp with you but I think I would give up Nova for Liriano, only if Liriano is helathy though. Like MJ said Nova probably won’t pan out to be much more then 3 or 4 guy in the rotation. Liriano would give the Yanks another lefty in that rotation (that they could use) and CY Young caliber stuff as well. And if I’m not mistaken he’s still pretty young. I don’t see a trade like this happening until more towards the end of spring training though. I’m sure both sides want to see what each part does and if they are healthy.
Joba or Nova, PLUS
Romine (so that Mauer can move out from behind the plate in 2 years, he’s already getting injections into his knees for lubrication), PLUS
a grade B pitching prospect, like Warren or Phelps, PLUS
a lower-level position prospect like an Adams or a Mesa.
That’s my offer, and that’s probably a better package than they got for Santana.
I also like Nova more than the scouts do, although he has considerable developing left to accomplish.
Evan3457 wrote:
I’d do that trade.
Warren/Phelps are back-end starter/reliever types, just like Nova is. Chamberlain may be more than a back-end starter but he won’t be on the Yankees. The Yankees generally don’t draft back-end starters with the intention of keeping them around which means that Warren, Phelps and Nova are all expendable. Since the Yanks don’t seem too interested in Chamberlain on a long term basis, he’s expendable also.
Some combination of those guys plus Romine should get it done.
Evan3457 wrote:
1) Makes you wonder why the Twins agreed to trade their catching prospect Ramos to get back Matt Capps last year when it was pretty obvious from Day One that Joe Mauer’s health will always be an issue.
2) As much as the Twins should be glad that Joe Mauer decided to stick around, yuck…if he’s moving off catcher that soon into his contract, it probably doesn’t bode well for the franchise.
Evan3457 wrote:
It may not even take that much. I’m sure the Yankees are concerned about Liriano’s elbow and their offer may reflect that.
@ Raf:
Possibly. I’d do the deal more or less as Evan constructed it so if it takes less to get it done, even better.