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Who did we get for Sorrento?

According to the info I found, the Twins got Oscar Munoz and Curt Leskanic for Sorrento on March 28, 1992. Sorrento was one of the players the Twins picked up when they traded Blyleven to California afte the end of the 1988 season.

Munoz played 10 games for the Twins, the only games he played in the ML. Leskanic never played for the Twins, he was picked up by Colorado in the 1992 expansion draft and ended up in the majors from 1993-2004 playing for the Rockies, Brewers, Royals and was on the Red Sox in 2004, played in the ALCS, but is not on the World Series roster.

Not a good trade for the Twins.

If I remember it right, they didnt have a lot of leverage.

Hrbek was at 1b and that was Sorrento's only position. They traded him because they had no place for him and everybody knew it.

Sorrento had a few good years but not many. It wasn a good trade but they were stuck. Leskanic had a number of good seasons and a respectable career but they didnt protect him in the draft. That was the mistake.

A quick glance at Sorrento's Career

166 HR's in 3412 AB's

His best run appears to be between 1995-97, he averaged the following during the span for the Indians and Mariners.
Games: 131
HR's: 26
RBI's: 84
Ave: .264
SO's: 95

For the Twins between 1989-91 he played 81 games and went .233, 9, and 27 at the plate. Doesn't sound like numbers worthy of Hrbek's postion.

The Twins haven't exactly came out of the second half like gangbusters just yet. Hopefully Liriano's start was just an abberation due to all his travel over the All-Star break but without Torii Hunters stellar catch he would have given up 9 earned runs in a mere 5 innings. Whatever cortisone does to a shoulder they should give some of it to Silva as well because Radke had the Indians looking silly at times last night.

The Twins probably won't be buyers on the free agent market, but they are in desperate need of an outfielder with Kubel, Stewart, and Ford all hurting. Anyone thinking that Torii Hunter will be available is just wrong, an outfield of Cuddyer, Tyner, and White would be disater for anyones ERA aqnd a sure sign of throwing in the towel not only this year but for many to come. Carlos Lee of Milwaukee could be on the block but at 8-9 million/year he's probably out of the Twins range. With 10 AL teams still in the hunt there probably won't be to many sellers just yet.

I agree Goldy, the Twins will not be active in the trade scene by the end of the month. The only additions to this club will be coming from Rochester.

I really didn't like the double steal in the 7th last night. There is no advantage to having Punto on 3rd rather than 2nd with two outs. The ump blew the call but you shouldn't put the game in his hands. At the high school level its not a bad move to swipe third with two outs simply because there is a 40% chance the catcher's throw goes into left scoring the man without a hit. This is the big leagues, that doesn't happen, you need a hit anyway you slice it. Cuddyer has been cold, he was down 0-2, but he's your cleanup guy, you can't take the bat out of his hands.

The Twins need an outfielder. I will publicly announce that my services are available, however, before I can ink a deal with Ryan and the Twins I will need to be released from the roster of my MN Amatuer Club. Be sure to check the transactions column in the paper tommorrow, you may see the Shanty being designated for assignment, if that's the case, wheels are turning for my shot at the Bigs.

Cuddyer, Ford, Hunter, Kubel, Rabe, Romero, Stewart, and Tyner are your rostered outfielders. With Ford, Hunter, Stewart, and Kubel (would be DL'd if they weren't so thin already) unavailable something has to give. You know White isn't an option when Punto is starting in Center and Gardy is describing Crain and Lohse as good athletes, it means they go in before White does. That's funny and I am somewhat curious to see it happen, but this team is 10 over and 6.5 out of the Wild Card, they need a real body out there and they need to find him now.

Ryan may be forced to do something drastic, the question is do you get an aging veteran to plug a hole for this year only or do you make a deal to take care of an outfield position for the long term. Stewart may never play again, Hunter may not be better than 70% the rest of this year, Kubel could be shut down to preserve a promising future.

Here's a list of candidates, some are clearly ridiculous but many are not.

1)Jacque Jones, Cubs are going nowhere, they're known for picking up part of the tab on a big contract, do the Twins have prospects that they want and do we want to do the JJones thing again. Cubs are close to burning the fleet including Dusty and starting from scratch. Jones currently hitting .301 15 HR 49 RBI's
2)Sammy Sosa, one last hurrah for the Domincan Bomber?
3)Matt Lawton, whereabouts unknown? is he unrostered now?
4)Brent Abernathy, more of an infielder but I thought he was pretty decent in a pinch out there late last year, made great catch in left off the fence, scrapper, plays hard, and is tough out at the plate
5)Matt LeCroy, shuttle him in an out with the golf cart
6)Carlos Lee, Milwaukee is still alive but they won't resign him and they may take prospects now instead of loosing him for nothing at the end of the year. Everyone on the Eastern seaboard wants him, Twins won't outduel the big boys for him. Would put Twins in the middle of the Wild Card talk though.
7)Bobby Abreu, Philly wants to dump him, too spendy for the thrifty Twins
Aaron Rowand, Philly's been shoppin him, talk of him going back to Chisox but they need pitching more than an OF, Rowand could take over for Hunter long term after this year and at a much cheaper price. This is my first choice, give up what you need to get him.
9) Reggie Sanders, Royals will talk to anyone with prospects, he's old and now very average but was an animal in the playoffs only 8 months ago.
10) Cory Patterson, possible long term solution for centerfield, I wouldn't go here though
11) Moises Alou, would only want him as a 3 month rental. Giants may not deal with Twins anymore.
12) Alphonso Soriano, will be moved by deadline, same story as Abreu
13. Jason Bayanyone from Pirates would be available
14) Bobby Kielty, platooner for A's, they would let him go for something, .298 in 45 games this year.

ESPN.com

MLB Transactions

Monday, July 17, 2006
TEAM
Cold Spring Barnstormers Designated outfielder Irishmans Shanty for assignment; fired Bret Boone scouting director ChrisK.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
TEAM
Boston Red Sox Recalled pitcher Kyle Snyder from Pawtucket of the International League (AAA); optioned pitcher Craig Breslow to Pawtucket.
Chicago White Sox Designated pitcher Cliff Politte for assignment; recalled pitcher Sean Tracey from Charlotte of the International League (AAA).
Cincinnati Reds Placed catcher David Ross on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 8, with a lower abdominal strain; recalled pitcher Elizardo Ramirez from Dayton of the Midwest League (A).
Florida Marlins Recalled pitcher Chris Resop from Albuquerque of the Pacific Coast League (AAA); optioned pitcher Yusmeiro Petit to Albuquerque.
Minnesota Twins Placed outfielder Shannon Stewart on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left plantar fascia and outfielder Torii Hunter on the 15-day disabled list with a stress fracture in his left foot; activated outfielder Rondell White from the 15-day disabled list; recalled outfielder Josh Rabe from Rochester of the International League (AAA).
New York Mets Recalled pitcher Heath Bell from Norfolk of the International League (AAA); optioned pitcher Henry Owens to Binghamton of the Eastern League (AA).

Our boys are 6.5 games out of a playoff spot. With IS in the OF, we would over take them all.

6.5 behind boys. Its only July. With ChrisK's hero doing well and Silva coming around, This thing ain't over.

Terry Ryan ought to be thnking of a way to better the club. No, that doesnt mean resigning Brett Boone or something like that.

Make a move. For once. Trade Baker for Soriano. Do something.

My younger son, Charlie's, Little League team played a strong game on Friday night to pick up a rare win. They're firing on all cylinders and ready to storm through the playoffs starting tonight.

Meanwhile, Nick Punto gets thrown out at third to end the 7th inning violating a cardinal baseball rule. A major league one anyway, I didn't realize that even at the high school level you have to worry about the catcher winging it past the third baseman. Completely agree with you on that one Shanty.

Saturday, Charlie and I head over to the Roseville Twins shop and get Punto's autograph. The young lady ahead of Charlie melts into a puddle of goo and gushes over Nick for what seems like hours. I throw up a little in my mouth and am thus distracted from giving Punto grief over his error the previous night. Later I throw BP for Charlie and his brother and discover that Charlie, who's 11, can turn on my 60 mph fast ball. My dreams of replacing Radke in the rotation come to a thudding halt.

Sunday, Charlie decides he'd like to try to get a Joe Mauer bat so we rush off to the Dome. Lines are long and we contemplate swiping a bat from one of the adults running past with an armful, but our luck prevails and Charlie gets his bat legitimately.

The Twins win on a nice start from Silva and a fabulous relief stint by Jesse Crain, who was really bringing it. Rondell White must have taken some good luck pills, a soft fly ball in the 4th turned into a double when the Cleveland outfielder lost it in the Dome sky and then he went from being out at home by five feet to safe when the catcher dropped the ball.

There's no question the Twins will need to make some kind of move to shore up the outfield, they're saying Hunter will be out two weeks but the injury he has normally takes 6-8 weeks to heal so he might be out longer. If White's turned things around that possibly could be the answer, but I'd rather see Ryan pick up someone else. Here are two other outfielders you could add to your list that I think would be an upgrade to what the Twins have now:

Shawn Green (Arizona): Old, expensive, power numbers are down, but still hitting for high average. And apparently the D-Backs are interested in moving him. Not a long term replacement option though.

Kevin Mench (Texas): Not a huge upgrade, but an upgrade nonetheless.

Souhan is a good read today, he addresses the future of Hunter. Basically he says the Twins have these options left now that a trade this year will not happen.
1) Bring Hunter back at 12 million next year
2) Buy him out for 2 million and spend the 10 on another outfielder or 3B in free agency this off-season.

If the Twins buy him out, here is a sample of outfielders and 3rd Baseman around the league and the market value they have this year or at this point in the current deals. Many will not be free agents this year, but it does give you an idea what 10 million might get you.

Outfielders 3B
C. Lee 9 mil A. Ramirez 10 mil
Erstad 8 mil Lowell 9 mil
G. Jenkins 7 mil E. Alphonso 8 mil
A Dunn 7 mil Chavez 9 mil
Kotsay 7 mil Hillenbrand 6 mil
Brian Giles 7 mil Koskie 6 mil
Alou 6 mil P. Feliz 4 mil
J. Pierre 6 mil Boone 4 mil
R. Sanders 5 mil Mueller 4.5 mil
R. Winn 5 mil Ensberg 4 mil
Dye 5 mil D. Bell 4.5 mil
J. Gibbons 4 mil Randa 4 mil
J. Jones 4 mil Crede 3 mil
Payton 4 mil Blalock 3 mil
Encarnacion 4 mil Mora 3 mil
Ibanez 4 mil Castilla 3 mil
Crisp 3 mil
Patterson 3 mil
Rowand 3 mil
Blake 3 mil
Byrnes 2 mil
C. Monroe 2 mil
Podsednik 2 mil

Conclusion
Two years ago Joe Randa was too expensive, last year Bill Mueller was too much, the Twins will not sign a difference maker, let alone a semi recognizable name even if they have Torri's 10 million sitting around. It all goes back to Packerboy's platform, the Twins always take the cheap way out.

Good survey of whats out there IS.

The Twins should be able to afford Hunter. Radke says he will retire but even if he comes back it wont be for 9 million. The other approach would be to get Hunter on a four year deal.

I dont want them to just go out and spend money but why in the heck cant they just once sign a significant free agent to fill a hole.

The only time that was done was when they got Blyleven back and he was on the down side of his carreer. ...but they won a champioship. Ditto Jack Morris.

If they would have signed Thome or Soriano would it have killed them? I dont think so.

Anyway, 50-40 aint bad. Good start to the 2nd half. The high water mark was 11 over .500. Lets get back to that and pass it vs TB. Then lets go out and win 15 out of 20 and see where it takes us.

To be only 6.5 out of a wild card considering the start they had and the season the 2 teams on top of the division are having is pretty darn good. I bet the guys sitting in the dugout are thinking the same thing.

If they get it under 5 by the time they go to Chicago next week..........

I've got really good tickets for the Aug 26 game with the Sox. I'm hoping the Twins are drafting right behind the Sox when the series begins. When the Twins blow past the Sox in the standings on that Saturday night, I will be sure not to wear any Twins clothing to the game, I will not get down the ramp without getting asaulted by some shirtless hoodlem.

Sox are getting itchy, not because of the Twins, but because the Yankees cut their WC lead in half in 3 days. Tigers could really open up some breathing room if they sweep the Sox this week. Garcia or Vazquez will be traded by the end of the month for Bullpen help. Kenny Williams will be making deals by the deadline. Notice the plural form, I predict two major trades, one could involve Tejada.

I'm seeing rumors that the Tigers might get Abreu from the Phillies, Abreu is the most desirable player I saw listed. I'd be surprised to see the Orioles move Tejada, but Williams has shown that he can make a deal.

Did the Twins have a shot last year at getting Kevin Youkilis from the Red Sox? If they're not going to make a move for a big name, that's the kind of player they need to get. Other than Shannon Stewart, has Ryan made any good midseason deals?

In my opinion, Ryan hasnt done squat.

He had a nice team that won 90 or so games and got into the playoffs in a weak division. It aint a weak division anymore. He has a good nucleus of young talent and excellent pitching. He needs a slugger. Get one.

Since '01 these are the guys Ryan has acquired near the trade deadline. Rick Reed, Todd Jones, and Shannon Stewart. That's not much, I wish I could say I am leaving a bunch of guys out, but I don't think so.

If Hunter is allowed to walk after the season here is a list of your free agent centerfielders to be. Mike Cameron, Juan Pierre, Kenny Lofton, Preston Wilson, Jay Payton, Dave Roberts. Anyone there blow you away? With Kubel and and Cuddyer securing the corners, they need someone for the middle. Get used to Tyner if he finishes the season well, he could be your opening day centerfielder next year if Ryan continues to do what he always does, NOTHING.

I like the idea of Juan Pierre. I know, no power. But he is good defensively, good speed and would be a welcome addition at leadoff hitter.

It would make Mauer's hits more meaningful.

Would I trade him for Hunter? Sure, if they sign Soriano

i agree with packerboy on this one if you have pierre leading off...hes a good base stealer so he could be in scoring position for castillo and mauer...how much does he cost? seems like a good CF for us

I believe it's the Cold Spring Springers (2005 Class B State Champs), not the Barnstormers, but I digress.

Pierre is a National League guy and I'd rather have Hunter at almost any price over him, trading a Gold Glover for a guy who beats the ball into turf hoping for an infield hit doesn't appeal to me a whole lot, besides the roster is already full of them; Punto, Rodriguez, Ford, etc.

What worries me most if they do get rid of Hunter they have shown no desire to spend that money elsewhere, let alone spend what little they do have wisely in the free agent market. I'd rather take my chances with Torii than leave it up to Ryan to sign a free agent.

Ideally, the Twins should pick up a slugger to play third and a defensive, OBP, basestealer type of player for out in CF. If they keep Hunter next year, they should be able to get by with a Cory Koskie type player at third, good glove, good professional hitter but less pop, because Hunter will bring more power than the prototypical CF.

Castillo should be the ideal lead off hitter if he can stay healthy, so there's a need at the no.2 spot for a good contact hitter with some speed. And even with Morneau's substantial jump in power numbers, they could still use a slugger. Cuddyer should be batting 5th or 6th, he's made a leap forward but it's hard to say if he'll sustain it.

And next year they'll need a good veteran no.3 starter with Radke gone unless you guys are comfortable with Silva, Baker and Bonser filling out the rotation.

Wasn't it Pat Gillick who got the nickname 'Stand Pat' because he never made any moves? Anyone have any clever nicknames for Ryan?

Of the free agent centerfielders to be, Pierre would give you the least return on your investment. Lately, Pierre has started to hit, but he was in the low .200's until June and he can't throw at all (balls hit to him are an automatic 2-base advancement for someone already on base). He is Luis Castillo at the plate, if you're fine with Luis's bat then you will be happy with Pierre. Honestly, Luis has not done much throughout the hot streak, he was around .400 early and he's thrown up a lot of 1x5's since. I think one Luis at the top is fine, but two guys pounding balls into the dirt in front of home might be too frustrating to watch. At 29, Pierre will command at least a four year deal, he's making 6.5 now, I believe to sign Pierre you're going to need to guarantee him 30 + the 2 on Hunter's buyout. I know this combo went 1, 2 with the Marlins to win a Title, but they were 25 & 26 when that happened.

There is an interesting article in the Strib about Travis Lee of the TB DRays.

Remember he was the guy the Twins drafted 2nd overall and lost because Ryan didnt make him an offer in the allowed time. Well, it was a dark moment back then but it turns out that Lee was just another in a long line of bad high round picks.

Anyway, I have been critical of Ryan for quite awhile. But we do have to give him credit for keeping things more than respectable from a competitive standpoint.

When you consider KC and other places, this aint bad. Right now, the Twins are only 6 back of the Sox and a couple back of the Yankees who are big market and have spent a ton of dough.

The pitching staff he has assembled is the best in Twins history. But it still bugs me that he cant pull the trigger on one big deal that could put his team over the top. He needs another slugger. He hasnt had one in 20 years hit 30 HRs. Get one.

But IS, dont ignore the 40 stolen bases Pierre would add. Those choppers in the dirt can turn into doubles when you steal a base.

Plus he can hit 15 or so triples for you. Most of the time, triples are as good as home runs.

I dont like his arm either but there are some subtle offensive numbers that can get over looked that realy add to a team.

Mauer is going to finish .360 with 85 measley RBIs. Why? Not enough going on in front of him.

Sometimes in sports great players and their accomplishments are not fully appreciated until some time passes. How would like to have this guy leading off for the Twins. In 1985 he was 27 yrs old, he hit .314, 80 SB, 24 HR's, 72 RBI's, walked 34 more times than he struck out. What kind of contract would he command this off season with those numbers at that age? Were throwing around names like Pierre, Cameron, and Hunter at 6-10 million a year. Where have the impact leadoff men gone?

Ricky Henderson is my guess.

Right you are IS. We now consider Shannon Stewart a good leadoff guy. What a joke.