Quote: Twins want Major-League Ready Talent
Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire, regarding a potential trade involving Johan Santana, as quoted by the Jack Curry in the New York Times…
“We have to get people back that are going to help us in the major leagues. Everybody thinks that we’re just launching people. That’s not the case, or Santana would have been traded.”
…first off, that is clearly a jab at proposals from the Red Sox and Yankees, and the Mets, who have reportedly offered a collection of semi-proven talent for gardenhire’s ace…
…however, this remark from gardenhire is consistent with what i have been writing for the last two days, which is that, from what i can gather, the problem the Mets are having is not necessarily their upper-level prospects, all of whom actually hold fairly solid value on the trade market…the problem is that to acquire a player like santana, they’ll need to contribute an established hitter, who is young and under control, i.e., Jose Reyes or Ryan Church, not minor-
leaguers who are still in need of development, like gomez or martinez…the thing is, while most teams understand that David Wright and reyes are too much to give, church is not enough…
Of course, during an appearance on SNY’s Daily News Live, citing ‘two different sources,’ MLB Radio’s Seth Everett suggested that LHP Oliver Perez will need to be in the deal,’ because New York’s offer, as of now, ‘is not enough.’
…so, perez certainly counts as a person who can help the Twins this coming season, as gardenhire believes he’ll need…plus, perez is lefty, like santana…the thing is, perez will be a free agent after next season, so it’s hard to imagine the Twins wanting to acquire him, knowing he can just walk away in a year…
