Michael Young, the Rangers‘ long-time star infielder, has had just about enough of Texas.
The 34-year-old Young has recently stated that the Rangers have “misled and manipulated” him and he is now requesting a trade from Arlington.
So, where is the best option in my opinion?
The Minnesota Twins.
Look at the club’s starters at the shortstop and second base position. Alexi Casilla is the one that scares me the most, seeing as how slumps frequently and doesn’t have the best glove. Tsuyoshi Nishioka, a Japanese product, seems to have locked up the starting shortstop bid in his first year in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
The San Cristobal native also could use a mentor like Young to help push into stardom himself in the future.
Young would probably start at second base if signed, earning the nod over Casilla.
That moves Casilla to the bench, and gives the Twins‘ more infield depth. Young has played everywhere in the infield in his career, so learning a new position is not in the question for him.
It seems so easy, and because of Young’s older age, the Twins might need to only give up a few third-tier prospects, and not necessarily pull the trigger on Ben Revere or Kyle Gibson.
If the Twins and Rangers were to execute a trade, that leaves the infield with—Justin Morneau, an injury-proned first baseman who, when healthy, is one of the best, the .300 career hitting Young, Nishioka, a star abroad who will contend for Rookie of the Year and Danny Valencia, a third baseman whose breakthrough season gave the state of Minnesota a deep breath of relief.
So why not pull the trigger, Minnesota? Michael Young would give the Twins depth in the dirt and ultimately help us win our seventh AL Central crown in the last nine years.
He would also give Minnesota some much-needed experience at the second base position.
Let’s help create a Young-er infield.
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