The Yankees are keeping a close eye on Twins starter Francisco Liriano, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Meanwhile, the Twins are keeping tabs on Yankees prospects.
Earlier this month it was reported that the Twins were open to dealing the left-hander. The two sides briefly chatted about a multiyear deal but the talks went nowhere as Liriano was after a three-year, $39MM extension when the sides discussed a deal. While it appears that the talks did take place, the hurler did not believe that they were ever "serious."
Recently, Twins Assistant GM Rob Antony said that the rumors of the club being willing to move Liriano had no truth to them. The 27-year-old holds a great deal of value, however, and is due just $4.3MM in 2011.
uhhh . . . ok
That’s great, I’m sure the Twins are keeping their eyes on CC Sabathia as well, it doesn’t make him any more available than Liriano is right now.
Yep, I’m keeping my eye on Jessica Alba too, but I’m not optimistic about my chances.
Step off buddy. She’s mine.
Dude, you’re why I don’t like my chances.
Great comebacks by both of you. Actually laughed out loud.
Well, Scarlett Johanssen’s single. Maybe she’s available.
Dude, I would not take her back.
It’s not the eyes that worry me. Where are your hands!!!??? Why’ve you stopped typing!!!??? Keep them above the keyboard!!!!!!
I’m glad you’re here… as a reasonably objective, sane Yankees fan, does the idea of the Twins trading Liriano to them make sense to you?
I like to think of myself as a sane Yankees fan. Do I think it’s likely the Twins will trade Liriano to the Yankees? No. Do I hope it happens anyways? Absolutely.
I’d love to have the King too, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.
That was a sane-sounding comment, but with all due respect you just don’t have the track record of YanksFanSince78 and therefore I can’t be sure you aren’t typing from a padded cell in Bellvue (that’s a place there, right?) I’m keeping an eye on you, though.
Go back to Alba, he isn’t worth your eye.
– From my cell in Bellvue
Honestly, I would put the possibility of him being traded this year at no more than a 25% chance. He’s not going to cost them much to keep this year and he’s got another year left after this season.
I think the Yanks would approach a perspective deal with caution because they, as I suspect, would only envision the Twins being so open to the idea of trading him now IF there’s a concern regarding his health. That’s a very legitimate concern. He already has had 1 TJ surgery already and in 2010 he saw his innings increase by 60 innings.
That being said, I’m willing to think the Yanks will take the same attitude that they had regarding Greinke. Definetly, interested but willing to hedge their conecerns by not offering to pay the demands that, in this case, the Twins might require to get a deal done. Certainly that would mean no Montero and no Banuelos. I might even go as far as to suspect Brackman might be tough to get too. The early reports are that his mechanics, velocity and control have been great thus far. That fact might mean no deal gets done.
your comment to Brad was the best ive seen on here. i almost fell out of my chair dieing of laughter
This story throws me off. First, why are the Twins looking to move him? He is cheap and good, and will not demand top dollar if and when he does test free agency. (Similar to the Pavano deal, I’m guessing?)
Second, Twins will want one of the killer Bs, as they’re definitely not interested in one of the catchers including Montero. I’m having a hard time putting a package together to offer to the Twins for Liriano if he is available.
Third, Twins are in it. They have a good team, why are they selling Liriano when he can help them win that division? Something doesn’t add up. And a related point, Twins are one of the best run organizations in baseball. If they’re looking to move someone, I’d be cautious as to why. Maybe they saw something they didn’t like and forecast a decline or another injury? I don’t know… but something seems off to me.
The rumor was that the Twins and Liriano’s agent had talks about a contract extension and their figures were way off. The Twins might want to trade him while he still has good value and they can get a good haul for him.
The only deal that I as a Twins fan would be alright with is a Banuelos, Betances, Joba, and PTBNL for Liriano. Other than that, I wouldn’t trade him. Yes, I get that is quite expensive but Liriano is still young, cheap and under team control for 2 seasons, a lefty, and has dominating stuff.
You make a good point about the timing of everything.. it does seem a bit fishy, but as a long time Twins fan their moves rarely make sense initially. One reason could be they don’t think they will be able to resign him and are trying to maximize his value. He is coming off a great year and if they see him sliding a bit this year it would make sense to deal him now. Remember that it was Bill Smith who brought in the garbage haul for Santana, so maybe he’s giving himself more time to gauge the market.
Initially when these rumors surfaced a few weeks ago I was pissed off, but the more I think about it, if we get the Yanks to overpay due to desperation I wouldn’t mind a deal.
Finally you mentioned us not wanting Montero.. A lot of people agree with you, but I honestly think he would be a perfect fit as the long term DH. Thome could turn into dust while running at any moment and Kubel is in the last year of his deal. Montero could come in next year and be the full time DH. If he pans out, his RH bat between or after Mauer and Morneau would be perfect.
I personally look at Delmon as the long term DH. Other than his cannon of an arm, his defense is atrocious.
Ya, I’m not convinced were committed to him long term but he would definitely need to be moved at some point. It’s sad to think he’s in his prime and he’s that terrible at D.
Matthew T is keeping a close eye on the Yankees keeping a close eye on Twins starter Francisco Liriano, tweets me.
I would say everyone is keeping their eye on Liriano. Can’t see the Twins moving him though, why would they move their best pitcher for prospects when they’re going to contend?
Exactly. They didn’t sign an extension and everyone immediately jumps to the conclusion that the Twins are ready to trade the dude. Until he’s traded, I’m thinking it’s all some serious BS cooked up by some bored sportswriters in late January.
CGentlemen, you guys haven’t noticed that the other 28 teams in MLB exist solely as a farm system for the Yanks and Red Sox?
Kinda like everyone’s keeping an eye on King Felix.
umm…..ok….not gonna happen
We are talking about the twins here Tho. They have traded away their best players before, but I doubt this will happen. Makes no sense for them.
They traded away Hunter and Santana, but that was years ago. Their payroll will top $100 million this year and they’ve got their two best players signed through 2013.
It’s feasible that the Twins will trade Liriano if another team is willing to drastically overpay, but I don’t see him going anywhere as any kind of salary dump.
Twins didn’t trade Hunter.
Jesus Montero says you are wrong.
And Joe Mauer says Jesus Montero is wrong.
What Jeter wants, Jeter gets.
Havent you heard, Jeters too busy building mansions!
Aren’t we all…..aren’t we all….
Would love to see the Cards make a run at Liriano. It could be a one year replacement of Wainwright.
Their farm kind of sucks, and if they went after Liriano they would probably have to include one of their top pitching prospects and Rasmus.
Rasmus and a top pitching prospect gets you a lot more than liriano
Unless its Shelby Miller, not really. Liriano is young and one of the top pitchers in the league and the Cardinals don’t exactly have a great farm system
It’s 4 years of one of the top center fielders in MLB and Shelby Miller is the only pitching prospect in the system that you could call a “top pitching prospect” So yes, that gets the Cards quite a bit more than 2 years of Liriano.
You’re dreaming if you think Rasmus is a top CF, he’s not even top 10 right now. He has a very bright future but is definitely not a top CF. But when people say “top pitching prospect” it doesn’t necessarily mean an A prospect, just a top prospect in the system, Liriano is worth more than Rasmus and any other prospect not named Miller, besides possibly Cox.
Not right now it doesn’t. Who else is on the market that is equal to or greater than Liriano? Nobody. If the Cards wanted to do this trade it would take a pitching prospect, like a Tyrell Jenkins, and Colby Rasmus.
I must be in the minority because I thought it was a well known fact that all Cashman had to do was snap his fingers and get whoever he wants. Weak minor league system be damned, the Yankees are good for baseball and baseball is good for America.
Weak minor league system? If by weak you mean weaker than four or five other teams in baseball and stronger than 24 or 25 other teams then you would be correct. If you mean weak in general then you are clueless about the Yankee system.
LOL! That’s funny. You obviously don’t know anything
You are correct, I didn’t realize that the minor league system had jumped that high since they were ranked in the middle last year. I do not follow them closely, and I agree that a deal can always be worked out between two teams that want to make a deal. My point was more based on that whatever the big market teams want they think they can get as if the rest of the Majors are a second minor league system for them.
Yes I was wrong about the system as I only looked at 2010 rankings but it more about the mentality that I was talking about. When you pay more in luxury tax than most teams pay in actual salary it is hard to knock that perception.
Also look at a guy like Odorizzi who was a fringe top 100 prospect 2 months ago, he gets traded to the Royals and now he is about #68 on the Royals. Prospect depth is nice, but the big teams prospects are always slightly over rated and the small teams under rated.
I realize KC is a small team but also the #1 minor league so the guys a little deeper get more views.
Classic case of another Yankee hater without the facts…
junkees are bad for baseball and budt selling is ruining the game of baseball by budt kissing the junkees
How intelligent.
You’re username is VERY ironic.
Do you anything about the Yankees farm? Serious question…
I love how people read the headline and laugh. Clearly, if they had bothered to read the article, they’d see where the Twins are looking at Yankees prospects in addition to the Yankees looking at Liriano….
Oh! Well now it all makes sense.
It’s so funny. The Yanks asked scouts to zone in on a couple of pitchers who might come into play and all of a sudden ppl are acting as if the Yanks are demanding and are feeling entitled to every top pitcher on the market. Really? Stupidity.
For the record, your either naive or stupid if you don’t think that every single team had their scouts zoned in intensily once it became evident as to how pithing starved the Yanks would be this spring.
It’s called due diligence. Had this been the Blue Jays doing the same and this wouldn’t be a story.
Ppl react as if the Yanks are the boogeyman coming to steal babies from their cribs in the middle of the night.
“Ppl react as if the Yanks are the boogeyman coming to steal babies from their cribs in the middle of the night.”
If they hadn’t actually been doing just that since 1998 or so you’d be right.
What great young and cheap talents have the Yanks TRADED for from other organizations? Free agency is a different animals since the other team losing the player (thru free agency) has no control of the matter.
Teams look at other players all the time. Last year, the Cardinals “watched Carlos Quentin”. Did that mean they were intent on trading for him, or have any real value? Not really.
1. Fair or not, money is a factor for the Twinkies, but not so much for the Yanks. The NY farm system is actually strong, but there is little to no wiggle room for prospects to prove themselves- not to mention the high pressure that exists in the Bronx. So, the Twins could potentially acquire Major League ready talent for a fraction of the cost if extending Liriano’s contract. The Yankees can absorb the dollars and would get a proven arm. Seems like a good deal for both sides to me.
Lariano is making 4.5 mil this year on a team with a 100 million dollar payroll. He is one of the cheapest aces in baseball. The twins arent trading him. Every team scouts every other team. The Twins arent the Royals, they are trying to win a world series.
And what do you mean a good deal? You don’t even know what the Yankees are hypothetically offering.
Based on Santana to the Mets deal, the Twins got the Mets 2,3,4 and 7th ranked prospects. Factor in every team can afford Liriano’s contract and it comes out to Sanchez, Betances, Banuelos and Noesi. The Twins would be interested and that offer would be tough to top…
If the Twins are 12 back at the break I could totally see them taking Bets and Ban alone. Not right now when they plan to contend, though.
I fel safe in saying they might give up one of the 3 B’s but not 2 and Bans wouldn’t be one of them.
Reasonable, but why would the Twins- a team that certainly considers themselves a contender- make that trade? If they were 12 back at the break, okay, I could see that as a possibility (as a starting point), but right now? No way.
The Mets farm system was a pile of crap back then. None of those prospects, if they were prospects today, would even have cracked the Yankees’ top 10 currently. There’s a reason everyone made fun of the Twins for that trade. They passed up Jon Lester or Phil Hughes for Carlos Gomez.
Still, Bill Smith is still running the Twins. He should be able to settle for some minor league filler for Liriano, since Liriano isn’t as good as Santana was, and Santana was had for a bag of balls.
Santana also had a no trade clause and wanted +100 million dollar contract. That limited what the Twins could do. Liriano doesn’t have any power over the Twins like Santana did.
Nobody really knows what the Yanks/Red Sox offered, everything was a rumor and I don’t think the players were ever truly confirmed. New names were released hourly when all of that was going on.
And no, Liriano isn’t better than Santana, but he was in 2006 before he got hurt. If he pitches like 2010 or better he’ll be one of the top pitchers in the game. I don’t see Liriano being had for a bag of balls. Not when he’s only making a little over four million and is under control for next year for what will be less than 10 million. And after that control is over, he’s not going to be asking for a +100 million dollar contract.
He’s an ace waiting to happen, he still has one or two more hurdles to jump over but that could be solved this season.
“And no, Liriano isn’t better than Santana, but he was in 2006 before he got hurt.”
Its impossible for anyone to throw like that for a full season, the nature of him actually not being to appear in games makes Santana still better. Liriano was never “better” than Johan in Minnesota, thats completely wrong.
It’s impossible for anyone to throw like that for a full season? 2009 Zack Greinke says hi! 2010 Felix Hernandez also says hello. There may be others, but those are the two most recent guys who threw like that for a full season.
Again, I’m not arguing that Santana wasn’t better for the full year. He was, obviously, since Liriano got injured and his year was cut short. What I said was that Liriano was better before he got hurt. And that is a fact. Liriano was taking the CY Young from Santana and was up for Rookie of the Year as well.
May 19th to July 28th for Liriano (which is when he became a starter):
11-2 with 92 innings pitched. 105 K’s with 28 BB’s. 1.65 ERA and .482 OPS against him.
May 23rd to July 30th for Johan:
8-1 with 95 innings pitched. 90 K’s and 19 BB’s. 3.03 ERA and .657 OPS against him.
In that time frame, who would you rather have? If your answer is anyone but Liriano, then I really don’t know what to do with you. It took Liriano 14 games to get 12 wins (one was in relief). It took Santana 22.
I’m not even slamming Johan. I loved him as a Twin, he was awesome, but Liriano was without a doubt the better pitcher when he was healthy. Without a doubt.
“The Mets farm system was a pile of crap back then”.
I was going to say something similar but in thinking about it, I’m pretty sure at least two of those prospects were ranked among Baseball America’s top 75. That’s not exactly a weak package in that respect.
Plus as “twins33” below mentioned, it was a limited market because of the extension he sought. How did he get a no trade at that young of an age though? Why would they give him that?
It was triggered when he won the 2006 AL Cy Young. It was a part of his contract if he was in the top 3 for voting in 2006 or in 2007, he’d get full no-trade.
He had a limited no trade clause before that. He could block 8-10 teams, I believe. Then he won the CY and was able to block everything.
I’ve never heard that stipulation, but I gotta say, I like it a lot! Win a Cy, you can decide your fate, tradewise. Brilliant!
Yeah, because Liriano is as good as Santana…
he’s not, but he’s got an extra two years of team control
But he’s also an injury risk, and the Mets were guaranteed to sign Santana long term if a deal were to be worked out. I doubt they would nearly as much.
Every pitcher is an injury risk. Look at Wainwright. Look at Strasburg. Look at Santana! I cannot remember Santana having a lot of injuries while playing for the Twins. The one that I commonly remember is the whole fingernail issue that he still deals with to this day. Other than that, he was healthy. Not many pitchers have a completely healthy career.
Look at Santana now. He’s had more injuries there than here and they’re paying him a boatload more than the Twins ever did. Did the Mets think he wasn’t going to get hurt? If I’m a GM and I’m signing a pitcher to one of the biggest contracts in baseball for a pitcher than that is going to be my first concern. They signed him anyway.
Players who have had Tommy John surgery usually don’t have Tommy John surgery again. That was his biggest injury while with the Twins. He had other arm issues when he was with the Giants, but they haven’t carried over. Besides TJ surgery, he’s been healthy.
If I were a fan of another team I’d jump on this. Yeah, he’s an injury risk…along with all of the other pitchers in major league baseball. He’s also extremely cheap and has ace talent. More teams are going to be able to afford to trade for Liriano because of those two reasons.
I’d say he’s less of a risk than Santana was. Giving all of that money to a pitcher is a huge risk, especially when you know he likely isn’t going to be healthy forever.
Ugh, I’m sure the Mets medical staff can be attributed at least a little to Santana’s recent injuries.
I’ll take your word for it, I haven’t been paying that close of attention. I understand what you mean though. The Twins medical staff sucks for the most part too.
But the NY media skews its two teams prospects so much they get all this hype then never deliver. No team in their right mind would ever deal for Mets prospects ever again after the Johan trade. People know that whatever is on the table will be tainted and a bust in the making. The Yanks have a slightly better rep, but if this group of guys will really prove if they are for real developing actual big leaguers instead of having paid writers hype total fakes.
You’re statement assumes than in some way Baseball America, Keith Law and others are on a teams payroll, part of it’s PR department or some other way influenced by an organization. Guess what? Sometimes prospects flop and to act as if the Mets or Yanks are the only ones it happens to is silly. Give the Mets some credit. Reyes, Wright, Pelfry, Kazmir and I.Davis were all products of their farm.
I agree that NY’s prospects are usually overrated (I remember when Hughes was the next Clemens and Joba was the coming of christ), but doesn’t mean that the “killer B’s” or other prospects are bad, though personally I wouldn’t trade Liriano unless I got all three. Also this is pointless to talk about, I would be shocked to see Liriano traded especially with the twins lacking dominant starters
Jury’s still out on Joba. You never know… he still could be the second coming of Christ. Fingers crossed! lol
Even if what you say is truth, remember this very important fact. Teams have their own scouts. They usually trust their own scouting department than what the NY Post says about a Yankees or Mets prospect. So to absolve the scouting team for the Twins from any blame is just ridiculous.
I don’t want to just like this comment. I want to marry it,make love to it and let it take half of everything if we get divorced.
What exactly would the Yankees give in return? If the Twins were to give up Liriano they would want major-league-ready pitching, and if the Yankees had that to spare they wouldn’t need Liriano.
Yanks may not have top of rotation pitching prospects ready to start 2011 but they certainly have 3 that will probably be ready by late 2011 or by 2012. Hopefully, it won’t come to that though.
I keep expecting to read rumors about the Mets sending Santana over to the Yankees in midseason, after he shows he is healthy. It’s a NY baseball fantasy trade, sports radio could have fun with that for three months, so for that reason alone someone should make up the rumor. Add to that the fact that it actually makes some baseball and economic sense… C’mon, everyone, let’s get this rumor started!!
Are you asking commenters, most (if not all) of whom have no power in the media whatsoever, to spontaneously generate a rumor?
If the Twins fall out of contention, I fully expect them to trade Liriano(assuming he’s healthy). Or the offseason, but it would be pretty silly to trade him now without an immediate, solid replacement.
Maybe if the Twins are struggling at the deadline but nothing will happen before that.
my lord, the comments here are beyond irrational. yeah MLBtraderumors usually makes posts based on regular scouting. (sarcasm)
He’d be a great pick up for NY but how would a trade between the two teams work? Does NY really have what the Twins will need/want in return?
“He’d be a great pick up for NY but how would a trade between the two teams work? Does NY really have what the Twins will need/want in return?”
Between numerous pitching prospects, Brandon Laird @ 3B, David Adams @ 2B, Eduardo Nunez @ SS, and some lower level OF prospects like Melky Mesa, Slade Heathcott, etc I think they can work something out.
The Twins definitely do not need any more OF prospects. The deal would have to include Banuelos and Betances in my opinion.
The only way I see the Twins trading Liarano is if they fall way out of contention and he has a great 1st half. If 2010 is looking bad for the Twins and his stock is up, then it would make sense to move him if a great package presented itself. If he’s pitching well this season and a big market team is needing a quality starter, the Twins could probably name their price as long as it didn’t shake up the trade partner’s current squad.
These teams won’t be able to work out a deal. The yankees minor league strength is at catcher, the Twins have the best catcher locked up for a long time. The yankees have a bunch of pitching prospects, but they wouldn’t to lose so many of them.
If the Twins indeed were willing to deal Liriano, I could see a package of Gary Sanchez and Dellin Bentances working out for both sides. If the Yankees are willing to give up that much talent, it would be a good fit for the Twins. Yes, they have Mauer at Catcher. But guess what? He won’t be there forever. He’s already dealing with knee problems, and I think he will be at 1B or in the Outfield (less likely) by 2013. At that point, Sanchez will be ready to fill in, and they won’t miss a beat.
That comment may get you some heat from Twins fan, Mauer will behind the plate for awhile
He had his knee scoped. That was about it. Know how many players have their knees scoped? I wouldn’t go as far as saying he’s already dealing with knee problems. Good try, though.
Yeah minor knee surgery for a 6’5 235 lb catcher is no reason to show even a little bit of concern.
Look at Sabathia though. The size of his body puts an extreme amount of pressure on his legs. Maybe 2013 is a bit pessimistic as a year for transition, but it is not out of the question with his size and frequency of catching.
The problem is the fact that he’s a catcher. Those knees take a ton of heat, and under such a big body he really will not be able to handle it forever. I recently heard a bit on the Radio that said he is having setbacks, and having trouble squatting. I think it’s reasonable to expect that he will be done sooner rather than later.
If Liriano is traded to the Yankees that would be dope if not not a big deal as long as some of the young arms in the organization have a chance of cracking the roster
this posting down here when I hit reply to someone is really getting irritating
sure yankees you can have Liriano….for Robinson Cano.
Banuelos, Betances, Joba, and a PTBNL for Liriano
You’re insane.
I’m not saying he’s exactly worth that, but that’s really the only deal for Liriano that I would take.
Agree with YanksFan. So you think they should give up more than their top 2 pitching prospects, both of whom are top 50 prospects? This isn’t Roy Halladay we’re talking about. It’s a very good pitcher who is very flashy, but is also an injury risk.
Yes actually- because he is younger, left handed, and will cost 1/4th what Halladay cost. Ignoring the fact that the Phillies gave up two higher rated prospect at that time compared to what is being offered now in Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor
The deal could make sense, but Liriano’s value is not at it’s peak and the Twins control him for another year beyond this season.
The Twins rotation would be alright without Liriano since they have Pavano (signed through 2012), Baker (signed through 2012, option for 2013, Duensing (arbitration eligible), Slowey (arbitration eligible) and Blackburn (signed through 2013, option for 2014). Not the mention a few options down on the farm (Gibson, Bromberg, Wimmers, Hendriks). None of these guys appear to be true “aces,” but they don’t grow on trees.
I would think an offer of Montero coupled with Banuelos or Betances with a low level prospect woud be enough to get the Twins to listen. That would already be a better return than Santana brought them in 2008.
Unless Twins are out of contention, Liriano is going nowhere. Even if they are out of contention, moving him is questionable.