Comments on: Red Sox trade for Twins’ Danny Valencia

By: twonis

twonis — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:14:36 +0000

Twins fan and Minneapolis resident here. My Dad is actually old friends with one of the members of the Twins coaching staff (I’ll leave that anonymous but it doesn’t rhyme with Barbenbire) and the word on Valencia is that he is a totally uncoachable and a total @ss. I’ve had the second part of that confirmed by other people I know around town who had their interactions with him. With Trevor Plouffe we have no need for him. He was a solid contributor once upon a time by doesn’t appear to have the chops to be a long-term, every day player and by trading him, even if it appeared to be a pretty rotten trade, he still comes off the payroll opening up more room to land a solid starting pitcher in free agency.
If Scott Baker comes back healthy and the Triple D’s (Diamond, Deduno and DeVries) continue to play the way they are all they need is one solid ace to make up a very respectable starting rotation.

By: 18thstreet

18thstreet — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:46:50 +0000

Doug Mientkiewicz.

By: brewdogg

brewdogg — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:10:20 +0000

Umm…. Yeah I guess that would work. I was thinking Ortiz as a similar situation, but you make a good point.

By: bigleagues

bigleagues — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 14:11:59 +0000

He was signed as an international free agent last year. I couldn’t find a decent scouting report on him, but he was leading the GCL in hitting . . . albeit as a 21 year old. Once the Sox signed him last year he played in the DSL, then at Sox Rookie level, where he has remained this year.

The one thumbnail on him basically compares him to Ben Revere.

By: bigleagues

bigleagues — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 14:00:52 +0000

Tom Brunansky?

Frank Viola?

Rick Aguilera?

By: bigleagues

bigleagues — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 13:47:50 +0000

C’mon proudly, I know you are smarter than that.

The Sox have virtually no depth at 3B in the upper levels. In Valencia they get a guy who apparently lost his mojo (whether its his head or its physical) but who has been a little below average defensively and creates a little competition scenario with Andy LaRoche at Pawtucket.

Also, perhaps Red Sox player development people have seen something they feel they can fix in Valencia’s approach.

By: bigleagues

bigleagues — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 13:34:06 +0000

Perhaps a little overstated (as Valencia did prove he could play at the ML level, but obviously something went wrong between the end of last season and the start of this season) – but your overall point is dead on.

The Sox traded from a position of strength in their minor league system as they have decent prospect depth in the OF at higher levels . . . to address an area of weakness – the lack of depth at 3B in the upper levels.

By: rooney24

rooney24 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 13:19:45 +0000

Since I’ve never heard of the guy, does anyone know how much of a prospect Pineda is? What are the odds that he ever makes the majors? 5%, 10%, 25%? And, no I am not asking in a smart ass, sarcastic way. I am really curious about what kind of prospect this guy is.

By: rooney24

rooney24 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 13:17:19 +0000

Because they are professionals, and you need to keep trying whether you are in or out of it. Aren’t they around .500? If so, one 8-10 game win streak would have them in the wild card hunt.

By: rooney24

rooney24 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 13:15:20 +0000

Nick Punto?

By: rooney24

rooney24 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 13:14:58 +0000

In reply to Pisano, most teams put most of their guys on waivers, just in case something will work out and/or if someone is foolish enough to claim a high salary player. You hear about guys passing through waivers every season that really have next to zero chance of being moved.

By: wsnydes

wsnydes — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 12:49:09 +0000

How do you expect to acquire a big league ready player for a guy that can’t get into the big leagues himself?

By: brewdogg

brewdogg — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 05:36:36 +0000

Well, I seem to remember another guy the Twins gave up on who did some good things for Boston……..

By: brewdogg

brewdogg — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 05:27:32 +0000

I think you may be confusing Terry Ryan with Bill Smith. What exactly is your major gripe about the trades that Ryan has made in the past year? Because his track record before he stepped down and let Smith take over has earned him some leeway from me, especially considering that he hasn’t moved any real big pieces anyway. In case you have forgotten, Ryan has a habit of coming out on the better end of deals, even if they aren’t all earth-shattering. If he decides to move an outfielder or two in the offseason to make room for Hicks, Benson, or Arcia, then I am sure that we will be happy to see whoever they get in return a couple years down the road. Try to remember that this is the guy who traded for 4 pitchers who would become All-stars in the span of 6 years.

By: azpackerbacker

azpackerbacker — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 04:41:41 +0000

“Either the Twins get really eager to trade guys they don’t like NOW, or they are just too cheap to pay for a plane ticket.”

-Don’t forget Liriano got dealt to the White Sox last week one day before they came to town too. You may be onto something, or on something.

By: bozosforall

bozosforall — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 02:20:36 +0000

So true.

By: bozosforall

bozosforall — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 02:19:14 +0000

Sounds more like something that would motivate a crybaby Boston fan.

By: bigleagues

bigleagues — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 01:38:43 +0000

scottp9 . . .

Yes you are indeed correct.

I just didn’t want to complicate things further.

By: scottp9

scottp9 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 01:01:48 +0000

There is no waiver trade deadline – the procedure is the same in September/October as in August. August 31 is the date by which a player must be on a club’s roster to be eligible to play in the post-season for that club.

By: fmlizard

fmlizard — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 22:56:44 +0000

Doug Mientkievicz, Delmon Young, now Danny Valencia…all traded while visiting the other team.

Either the Twins get really eager to trade guys they don’t like NOW, or they are just too cheap to pay for a plane ticket.

By: rgledz

rgledz — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 22:24:54 +0000

Ya, because that’s what I said big guy……not so much. I didn’t say anything about a major league ready pitcher. I said they have a ton of outfield prospects at every level including the Gulf Coast league. Are you seriously sticking up for Terry Ryan?? Every trade he makes results in a player that will never see the majors…..are you happy with that? Are you happy with the “major league” pitchers that they have going right now? Usually he gets a soft throwing pitcher that has ties to Minnesota. Maybe he should have asked for that….obviously this satisfies you.

By: pisano

pisano — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 22:19:12 +0000

With that in mind, why doesn’t Boston put that whole team on waivers?

By: Tim OShenko

Tim OShenko — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 22:17:14 +0000

Really? Is it just because he’ll be spending part of his career in Boston? If that’s the case I hope no Babe Ruth baseballs come into your posession.

By: tfbuckfutter

tfbuckfutter — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 22:14:23 +0000

I don’t get why the Sox keep trading for awful players like this guy, Lillibridge, Byrd….

My theory is they just like doing paperwork.

By: 1twinsfan

1twinsfan — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 21:44:54 +0000

Hopefully, Valencia can get his mojo back. And I’m sure Adrian Gonzalez will be a great team addition. No? Not Gonzo? Pedroia? Beckett? Pfft. Maybe this new guy will turn out to have trade potential later for a decent starting pitcher. All I know is if the starter is Diamond, De Vries or Deduno, we have a good chance of winning. Blackburn has now taken the guaranteed to lose spot that Liriano held.

By: willclarkgameface

willclarkgameface — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 21:41:19 +0000

Why do the Red Sox keep trying. The season has been over since they broke camp in April.

By: mikeincmn

mikeincmn — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 21:10:18 +0000

The Red Sox benefit in the sense this means if Middlebrooks goesin down they dont have to face the reality of Nick Punto playing everyday. Considering just how awful Nick Punto is with anything that doesnt involve his glove thats probably why they did it.

By: proudlycanadian

proudlycanadian — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 21:05:29 +0000

I understand your past pain.

By: theskinsman

theskinsman — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 20:13:38 +0000

Because no one named Julio Lugo is involved?

By: proudlycanadian

proudlycanadian — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 20:08:10 +0000

How the Red Sox benefit from this trade?