Twins should be busy today

Talk about it

The Major League Baseball trading deadline is today at 3 p.m.

For weeks now, there has been much conjecture about what the Twins will do.

However, there is no question about what the Twins should do.

When the Twins host the White Sox tonight at 7, Justin Morneau and Denard Span should not be in the lineup, they should be somewhere else.

Why?

The Twins have so little of what other teams want, they should go out of their way to unload what few marginal assets they do possess.

So much information is leaked to the media these days that there is no doubt a handful of teams have sniffed around Morneau (Dodgers, Giants, Blue Jays) and Span (Nationals and Reds).

Neither player is likely to bring back a big ransom. Morneau is still owed about $6 million this year and $14 next. Span is cheaper, but hasn’t been very good.

Still, there is enough interest in both players that they could bring something back unlike Saturday’s trade of Francisco Liriano, which effectively netted the Twins a bucket of balls and a few bats.

The Twins are headed for a fourth-place finish in a weak division and have several glaring needs. Furthermore, according to people who evaluate minor-league systems, the Twins are ranked in the bottom half for prospects among the 30 teams. That has been proven true the past two seasons because if ever there was a team with glaring holes all over the field and jobs to be won, it was the Twins.

Morneau and or Span are not going to bring enough back in a trade to replenish the farm system, but they also aren’t making much of a difference right now in terms of wins and losses. Plus, holding onto them for another year is likely only going to diminish their value, particularly in Morneau’s case, who will be 32 years old next season.

Interestingly, despite consecutive poor seasons, fans continue to turn out in strong numbers to watch the Twins, which gives the team an opening to trade players whose names are bigger than their production.

When asked about possibly trading Morneau last week an unnamed Twins executive said, “What are we, a farm club for the big-market teams?”

Well, yes, that is exactly what you are cowardly unnamed executive.

When a team charges premium prices for tickets; has consecutive losing seasons; and does little in- or out-of-season to improve the club; that sir is the textbook definition of a farm club for bigger, more serious teams and precisely why Justin Morneau and Denard Span should have new homes by 3 p.m. today.

Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at dselvig@jamestownsun.com

Tags: sports, twins, baseball