It had been reported over the last couple of days that the Minnesota Twins were looking to acquire a pitcher in order to bolster a bullpen that could use work, despite having the best ERA in the league today.
It appears as though the Twins have found that man. But he most certainly came with a price.
In exchange for the 26-year-old right-hander, Minnesota had to trade one of their best prospects, catcher Wilson Ramos.
Ramos, who will turn 23 on August 10, was called up on May 1 in order to start for Joe Mauer, who was injured at that time.
In seven games with Minnesota, Ramos averaged .296 at the plate with 1 RBI. His best game actually occurred in his first contest with the club, where he went 4-for-5 with a run scored.
However, in his next 22 at-bats, Wilson managed only four hits, and was sent back down to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings on May 13.
Minnesota also sent minor league pitcher Joe Testa along with Ramos in the deal for Capps.
Testa, a left-hander, is a 24-year-old pitcher who will likely need more time in the minors before he can make any significant value to the Nationals organization.
In Matt Capps, the Minnesota Twins are getting an all-star closer who will take over for the man who was substituting for Joe Nathan, Jon Rauch.
Where we stand now, Minnesota will likely move Rauch to the set-up role, which will allow Matt Guerrier to be a middle-reliever that the Twins needed.
Capps, who was an all-star this year, recorded 26 saves in 30 opportunities for the Nationals this season.
Matt is currently pitching on a one year, $3.5 million deal, which means Minnesota is likely only going to use Capps as a rental in order to help their bullpen, and give them a better shot at competing with the likes of the Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, White Sox, and Rangers in the American League.
Many question why Twins General Manager Bill Smith was willing to give up so much for so little. But in retrospect, Ramos would likely only see the field on rare occasions, especially with Joe Mauer in front of him.
Also, Minnesota has Drew Butera and Jose Morales, who are both young and talented catchers who will be able to fill in for Mauer when he’s either resting or injured.
As a Twins fan myself, I am pleased with the move. If we didn’t have such a stable catcher in Mauer on our roster, I would be opposed to the move.
It’s also being reported that the Twins may not be done making trade deadline moves in order to upgrade their pitching rotation.
With both Scott Baker and Nick Blackburn pitching terribly, Minnesota could use another quality starter.
A year ago, the Twins acquired Carl Pavano from the Indians in order to help out their staff. To this day, Pavano has been an ace for the Twins pitching staff.
Ted Lilly was said to be a target of interest for the Twins a couple days ago, but that rumor has since been shot down because Minnesota is apparently on Lilly’s “no-trade list.”
Nonetheless, there are still quality starting pitchers out there who are looking to be traded before the deadline occurs.
Edwin Jackson, Jeremy Bonderman, Javier Vazquez, and Dontrelle Willis are all starting pitchers with expiring contracts that the Twins could make a move for.
It’ll be an interesting 24 hours for the Twins organization. I’ll definitely be checking the web and ESPN to see if Minnesota makes any moves.
Stay tuned!
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