I seriously doubt that the Red Sox would trade Youkilis unless it was for far more then any team would want to give up. The logical move would be to trade Lowell and his two remaining years on his contract. The problem they will have is that teams interested in Lowell will want to make sure he is 100% healthy from his back problems that caused him to miss some time during the playoffs last year. They may have to wait until after spring training to start to even try to move him. I would love to have a guy like Youkilis batting between Mauer and Morneau as he definitely has an impact bat with good defense at third base. However the Red Sox are going to want the entire farm for him and knowing the Twins they just won’t do it.

One thing people forget is that the baseball season is a long one, and some teams and players become more willing to move as the season goes along.

It is not a bad strategy for the Twins to stand pat with extra payroll and a few needs and see what becomes available. We all know that around July 25th, a lot of pending FA suddenly become available, especially bullpen pitchers.

Of course, that assumes the Twins are still in the race at that point.

Just to say that going to ST like they are now, sorting out the outfield, looking at the infield, considering their pitching staff, there will be plenty of time to make moves once the season starts.

Yes he had some injury problems this year but still played 113 games and has played 150+ in the previous 4 seasons. I’m not overly concerned about his injury risk. He’s a better defender than what we have or what’s available (except Beltre) and like others have said, he’d cost less in players. I think if we gave a couple of decent prospects we could even get Boston to pick up a bit of the tab.

That said, I’d love for the Twins to go after Youkilis but I don’t see him being available at all. He’d cost us a ton and I have to wonder if his power is sustainable. He’ll have a damn good OBP but I’m not going to be expecting 30 homers from him every year. I also figure there’s a reason he’s been at 1B most of the time the last 3 seasons. He may be a gold glover there but I wonder how he’d be if they played him consistently at 3B. I think he’d cost more than he’s worth and Lowell might be available at a bargain given his injury, age, and price.

what makes you guys think we’ll pick up lowell but we won’t sign wigginton?

of course, but why would they ever do something?