Twins Weekend Notes: Rich Harden, Brad Penny, September Callups

I would do it.
If we could get Harden to an extension I would consider Revere too

Why is he untouchable when we already have Joe Mauer playing C for us for the next 10-12 years?

The only reason that the Twins are even within sniffing distance of being World Series Champs is because a few years ago they had The Best Farm System. If the farm system gets gutted, a team like the Twins will have a hell of a time even sniffing the postseason.

I view Pino as part of a group of pitching prospects who all have similar #4-5 upsides. Between Mulvey, Duensing, Manship, Perkins, Swarzak (highest upside of the group, IMO), I’m ok with turning one into an established starter. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the rotation has been more consistent since we brought Pavano on board. Removing Liriano and Swarzak probably made as much difference though.

I totally get your point, however. It appears that we may have overpaid to get Pavano.

but I’m not distraught over it. For years we’ve been asking this franchise to deal from a position of strength, and Smith did it without giving up something better. I liked Pino, but if the Twins manage to make the playoffs is it worth it? For a guy with Pino’s ceiling, I think it is.

I’m also willing to reserve judgment on Smith for what he gives up for Harden, if a deal gets doe at all. Time will tell.

I’m just glad that the front office realized that in spite of the team’s record, they have an opportunity to win the division. They’ve taken measured risks with everyone of these pick ups so far, and as long as we’re not trading a Ben Revere or Angel Morales for a Pavano or Rauch, I think I’ll manage. I want this team to win, without giving up on their future, and cosidering their pitching depth in the minor leagues I think Smith has done very well.

Personally I’d like to think Harden would be willing to sign an incentive-laden contract, based mostly on something achieveable like innings pitched to make it realistic. But he’s so talented, and a lot of teams might not ask for an incentive-laden deal, so I don’t know. It depends on how much he’d want to play for the Twins I suppose. Maybe a guaranteed number like $6 million per season, with $2 million in incentives for 100 innings, 125, 150, 175 and 200? He’s only topped 150 once in seven seasons.

With his injury history, I think the Twins could take a somewhat hard line on what they give up. They’d have to offer something for the draft picks the Cubs would lose, and considering the love of our own top prospects I think it’d be hard for Smith to come up with any package that would please knowledgeable fans, but knowing how good Harden is when he’s healthy there’s definitely a win-win scenario for both teams if they’d play their cards right.

I’d be willing to give up Slama and Delaney to get Rich Harden. They’re really good relief prospects, but we’re talking about a dominant ace (when healthy).

Agreed. Also, it’s a matter of the value of relief pitching – the Twins have a boatload of middling starting pitching prospects, and seeing as how the best closer in the history of the team was once a middling starting pitching prospect, I would think that there’s a decent chance that one or two of the guys there aren’t room for could eventually be good in relief (and, on the flip side, there’s a decent chance that one or both of Slama and Delaney will fail at the major league level).

Basically, I don’t trust pitching prospects, and I think relief pitching prospects are overvalued. Go ahead and trade ’em.

but as long as it’s not a top-10 prospect I think we’ll be alright.

I was at the game yesterday, near the Twins’ bullpen, and holy cow is Rauch tall. He warmed up next to Mijares at one point, and it looked like a dad coaching his kid’s little league team.

Putting him in the same category as Swarzak, Perkins, Mulvey and even Liriano is pretty ridiculous. This is purely overreaction to a months worth of horrible starts. The man has a career ERA just over 4.00 after nearly two full seasons of ball…and that includes this horrendous streak. We should probably find a new first baseman too while we’re at it. He can’t drive a run in if his contract depended on it.

This is like the guys who demanded a trade of Cuddy a year ago. A month does not a career make. Not even an injury plagued season. Blackburn has a spot locked in this rotation in 2010. I’m pretty happy about that.