Just what every blog needs in late July: another fan who thinks they could be a GM...

In trying to find potential trade partner for the Minnesota Twins, I started looking at the Cubs organization the other day.  What I discovered is that they have several young, cheap players that could potentially fill some of the holes in the Twins lineup.  Even better, these young, cheap players are actually sorta dispensable in the Cubs organization.

The first name is Matt Murton.  I'm certainly not the first to suggest that Murton would be an excellent target for TR, but I have spent all summer (since the Cubs sent him down to AAA) telling anyone who'd listen that he'd be a perfect fit for the Twins.  He's an athletic corner outfielder (one could even envision a player like him filling in at center, if need be), who has demonstrated good patience with solid power both in the minors and majors.  Even better, the Cubs have publicly declared him trade bait, as he has been unable to squeeze into the Soriano/Pie/Floyd/Jones/Pagan outfield.  Here's the lowdown on Murton: http://www.firstinning.com/players/Matt-Murton-a

The second target would be Mike Fontenot, who has played well in limited duty at second base this season.  At 27, Fontenot is a little old to call a prospect, and he has lost a lot of playing time that past couple years to Ryan Theriot, who is a weaker hitter, but faster and can play shortstop.   On the Cubs current roster, he is squeezed around Theriot and Mark DeRosa in the middle infield. For the Twins, he would represent a better bat than Castillo, as well as being far cheaper and younger.  His addition would also allow us to delay handing the starting job to Alexi Casilla in 2008. Fontenot's stats are here: http://firstinning.com/players/Mike-Fontenot-a/

The final target is someone who was just called up the Cubs last week:  Scott Moore.  Moore actually is a legitimate prospect, a third baseman who is hammering AAA pitching at just 23.  For the Cubs, he is trapped behind Aramis Ramirez, and can only hope to be used as a back up to Aramis and Derrek Lee in the near future.  He's certainly a valuable commodity, but one would think given the Cubs roster, he's mostly valuable as trade bait.  The upside for the Twins is obvious.  He could be eased in as our starting third baseman, representing a huge step up from Punto and Brian Buscher.  And, like Murton and Fontenot, he's cheap, and could wear a Twins uniform for a number of seasons.  Here's his stats: http://firstinning.com/players/Scott-Moore-b/.

So, now that I've babbled on for far too long about three fairly random Cubs, here is the question I wanted to put out to fans in Twinkie Town.  Could you envision a trade involving Joe Nathan for two or all three of these players?  Trading Nathan would obviously be a dramatic blow to the bullpen, but we do have another relief ace in the pen.  It would also give us a good corner outfield bat, an offensive upgrade at second once Castillo is gone, and a major boost at third base.  It would also give us three major league ready position players - none of whom are terribly important to the Cubs long-term plan - who could all be starters for the Twins in 2008, 2009, and maybe even beyond.  I think a move like this would be a major step forward for rebuilding our positional strength and providing depth to our lineup.  It would also be a big step towards creating salary space for the upcoming contract talks with Torii, Johan, etc. I would love to hear what you think.