FanPost

Teams Coveted Valencia and Swarzak


According to Charley Walters teams were asking for Anthony Swarzak in return for the pitching help that MN so desperately needed at the deadline. We know teams wanted Valencia. We know some teams whose pieces we might have coveted (Pittsburgh, Oakland, and Toronto) were asking for some serious prospects in either quality or quantity before the deadline.

No one got Halladay, or therefore any other Blue Jay of note, Sanchez went for a pretty penny, and the White Sox gave up a lot to get Peavy (probably more than we even had to offer). Its lazy to blame Bill Smith for not making moves that we don't see, but the smarter analysis uses info that we do have to decide whether Smith made the right decision. Example: some people were yelling that the Twins should trade Young, Crain, Perkins, Keppel, Punto... but seriously, who the hell would want them? And who could we possibly get with that package combined?

According to Walters, "the Twins and Texas Rangers had trade discussions about Minnesota outfielder Delmon Young before the deadline, but couldn't make a deal." So its likely that Smith tried to unload used or damaged goods as well. But look, there's only 40 spots on a 40 man roster and who doesn't already have a Punto, a Crain, and a Perkins on it? It looks like the real question was would you have been willing to give up Valencia, or Swarzak for relief help?