Yesterday, Kevin Slowey finally turned in the complete performance we've been waiting for. Over his first five starts with the Red Wings on this very much extended rehab stint, Slowey's performances were a grab bag of ups and downs. Mostly they were ups, but of the 13 runs he allowed over his first five starts 11 of them came in three innings. One big, bad inning for each of those last three outings.
But yesterday, the big inning didn't come. He pitched eight very strong innings, striking out eight against zero walks and five hits. Even late in the game, he stepped onto the mound and did his job. He's now posted a 3.55 ERA in six triple-A starts.
We've heard for weeks that the Twins are looking to trade Slowey, which I find to be immensely frustrating. Why is it that when the Twins want to trade someone, everyone magically finds out? And we don't just find out, we find out weeks in advance, virtually killing any chance of getting fair value in a trade. If letting it slip that the Twins wanted to deal Hardy didn't drive up competing offers, telling the whole world that you want to trade a pitcher who isn't in the Majors and who'd had bad press spun against him is going to guarantee you the value of a Big Mac and a bucket of golf balls.
All of that is a really easy way of saying this: Slowey has more value as a pitcher for the Twins than he would bring back in a trade. We've heard rumblings over the last few days that the Twins are interested in upgrading their rotation. We know for a fact that they're interested in upgrading their bullpen. If these tidbits are accepted as fact, then why would you possibly want to deal a Major League-ready pitcher?
As usual, we don't know the entire story here. Maybe the Twins have just had enough of Slowey, maybe Slowey has just had enough of the Twins. Sometimes parting ways just makes more sense than staying together. Relationships can defy logic, but that doesn't make it untrue.
But that's something that only the Twins and Kevin Slowey know for sure. The rest of us just see a guy who can help the Twins down the stretch. I'm ready to give him another shot.