Twins Interested in Jack Wilson, Likely to Shop Delmon Young

by Charlie on Dec 9, 2008 10:21 AM EST Comment 13 comments

The two developments in the headline are almost undoubtedly separate, but the Post-Gazette did mention them in the same article.

The Twins' emergence was a surprise to some in the industry, word developing yesterday morning, but perhaps it should not have been: Everett was their shortstop part of last year, and the others they employed at the position were ineffective defensively.

As with other teams, Minnesota would expect the Pirates to pay part of Wilson's tab, but a possible return was not known. The Twins' system is deep with prospects, though, so a match on that front seems plenty doable.

One player Minnesota is shopping for a trade is Delmon Young, 23, a talented, sometimes troubled outfielder. He batted .290 with 10 home runs and 69 RBIs over 152 games last season, but Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said in a recent interview that Young will not be part of his outfield in 2009.

Getting Young in any kind of trade for Wilson would be an enormous coup. Young is "troubled," yes (he has twice been suspended for incidents with umpires, and was once benched for trotting to first on a grounder), and he isn't much on defense, but his upside is just stratospheric. He was the first overall pick in the 2003 draft, and his tools are second to none.

UPDATE: Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com says the Twins will not pursue Wilson. (Thanks to Chester in the comments.)

Also, this is pretty funny.

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I’m thinking to get young we would have to trade Wilson along with McLouth or McCutchen. Yea, I don’t see that happening, although Young is an incredible talent.

by scully0505 on Dec 9, 2008 11:18 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Whoa, there, cowboy

Scully’s right. Young is worth a hell of a lot more than just Jack Wilson, and if we want to pursue him (which I’m not convinced that we should), then we’ll have to kick in a bunch of other stuff.

by Vlad on Dec 9, 2008 11:53 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

No kidding. The Post-Gazette implied there was a connection between Wilson and the Twins’ interest in trading Young, not me.

by Charlie on Dec 9, 2008 12:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

Jack Wilson is not equal to Delmon Young and the Twins would not make that deal. But it’s fun to think about, so what would it take for the Pirates to pry Young away from Minnesota?

The Twins have a couple holes on the roster: shortstop and another lefty in the bullpen. We have both in Wilson and Grabow. But even those two aren’t enough. We would have to eat a bit of the salaries we’d be sending to the Twins, and we might have to include a decent OF (Morgan? Pearce?) to give Minnesota some depth behind Cuddyer, Gomez and Span — none of whom are sure things.

That said, I think it’s a longshot that we end up with Young. Still, given that he is their fourth OF and there are rumors, it’s not 100% impossible (just 99%).

by Alleghenys on Dec 9, 2008 12:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

For Young?

Probably a package fronted by Maholm or Capps.

by Vlad on Dec 9, 2008 2:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I've heard Young linked to Huston Street in rumors.

They need bullpen depth.

by scully0505 on Dec 9, 2008 2:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I Disagree. Wilson for Young is Even Up

I disagree. I think a Young for WIlson would be an even trade. Young has issues that only a club like the Pirates would be willing to take on. No contending team wants the trouble of dealing with someone who needs to mature. If the Twins have no plans to use him in their outfield next year, they want to dump him. This is a situation like Josh Hamilton was in when the Reds grabbed him. Sure that was a Rule 5, but only a non-contending club can give a player an opportunity to play regularly while he matures.

Having said the above, I’d prefer more pitching instead of an OF.

by zogger on Dec 9, 2008 12:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I don't think so...

Young is way more valuable than Jack Wilson. If the Twins are smart, they’d ask the Brewers for Hardy and change for Young. The Brewers could then move Cameron and clear some money for Sheets or Sabathia. Although the Brewers would have to be convinced Alcides Escobar is ready, and I’ve seen it written that they aren’t convinced quite yet.

As far as the character issues go, the Twins knew all of that a year ago when they acquired him. With a mostly-incident free (am I forgetting something??) year under their belt, they wouldn’t just dump him off and cite character issues as the reason.

by lost_zero on Dec 9, 2008 12:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe the Twins aren't interested in Jack

According to this report I found on twinkietown

http://hotstove.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/12/source_twins_not_after_wilson.html

Obviously all reports at this point have to be taken with a grain of salt.

I made most of my life decisions at a Foghat concert... I stand by them.

by Chester J Lampwick on Dec 9, 2008 12:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Charlie's right...

..this would be a huge, huge addition to the Pirates could we pull off getting D. Young. I think some arguers on this board are making their case a little extreme to both sides.

True, Young is a talented young player but to think the Twins would ask for Wilson AND either All Star Nate McClouth or our #1 prospect Andrew McCutchen seems a little absurd.

Also, to think that Jack straight up for Young would be fair seems to be too far on the other end of the spectrum. The Twins traded a young, solid pitcher in taking a chance with Young, they aren’t simply going to give him up for just Jack.

A fair trade for me would be something like: Young and an A or AA young quality pitching prospect for Wilson, B. Moss, and Paulino.

If something like this were on the table, I’d have to say the Pirates take it and run.

by jlk9697 on Dec 9, 2008 12:41 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Delmon Young was ranked in the top 3 prospects by baseball america since he was drafted in 2003.
Some might say he has underperformed a bit so far, but he will only be 23 next season and has hit close to .300 last year, albeit with an underwhlming OBP. Many scouts think his power is just around the corner. As much as I love Cutch, I see Young as a very similar player with more upside. If we traded McLouth we would be selling high and buying low (McLouth’s main knock is his CF defense and he won a gold glove!). Yes, the twins have commented that Young will not be a part of their outfield next year, but like lost_zero said, they would target a much better ss than Jack in a trade.

Also, the twins wouldn’t want Paulino when they have Mauer and I’d doubt they want Moss, although I hope to God I’m wrong.

by scully0505 on Dec 9, 2008 2:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs