David Ortiz
Kyle Lohse
Francisco Liriano
Jason Bartlett
Johan Santana
Any idea what these players have in common, beyond their Minnesota Twins ties?
None of this quintet _ one of baseball's best hitters, a decent veteran starting pitcher, an extremely promising young starting pitcher, a starting big-league shortstop and baseball's best starting pitcher _ began his professional career with the Twins. All started in other organizations, only to be traded to the Twins before they had a day of major-league experience.
Do you know whom the Mariners received in return for Ortiz? Dave Hollins, who played just 28 games for Seattle before moving on. Bartlett came over from San Diego for Brian Buchanan, one of the youngsters the Twins received from the Yankees for Chuck Knoblauch. The Cubs gave Lohse for the last year and a half of Rick Aguilera. And Liriano was a virtual throw-in, in the infamous deal that made A.J. Pierzynski a Giant for one season and also gave the Twins Joe Nathan and Boof Bonser.
Santana, as you probably know, came from Florida for Jared Camp, in a pre-arranged deal, after the Marlins agreed to swipe Santana from Houston in the Rule 5 draft.
So the Twins have a history of 1) knowing what they're doing, and 2) getting the most out of their young talent.
Are they perfect? Of course not. After all, they non-tendered Ortiz following the 2002 season. And while general manager Terry Ryan executed all of those prior moves, the deal of Johan Santana to the Mets marked Bill Smith's first big decision as Ryan's successor. My opinion hasn't changed in the last 24 hours; Smith should have jumped quicker on the Yankees' Phil Hughes-Melky Cabrera package.
Nevertheless, I am curious to see what becomes of Carlos Gomez (pictured above), Deolis Guerra, Phil Humber and Kevin Mulvey. Joe McIlvaine, the former Mets GM who is now a Twins scout, liked what he saw of Gomez. While McIlvaine was a disaster as an administrator (the reason the Mets canned him in 1997), he always had a good scout's eye. The Twins have liked Guerra since he was 15, and they probably would have taken Mulvey with the 64th pick of the 2006 draft if the Mets hadn't done so at 62.
Humber? Well, he just hasn't shown much since his Tommy John surgery.
But let's not forget that part of the equation is coaching and instruction. A players' talent is paramount, obviously, yet he can be aided or hurt by an organization's staff. The Twins, history shows, help their kids more than they hurt them.
Comments (3)
I remember just a few years back how everyone wanted to get rid of an injury riddled prospect named Jose Reyes. They wanted to trade him for Alfonso Soriano's expiring contract. Fans and media members are so impatient.
The Mets could have filled an All-Star team with their prospects that wouldn't amount to anything.
Kent/Mora/Kazmir/Winnington/P.Wilson/Jason Bay/Izzy.
I'm not saying I wouldn't make this trade, I'm just saying the Mets have given up on more prospects than most.
Prospects are just that: Prospects. No one knows what they will be. Santana is the best pitcher in the game. I'll take that anytime.
Yeah but prospects turn into great players sometimes. Again, I'm not saying I wouldn't do this trade if I were the Mets. I dont know the prospects but I think I would.
But what I am saying is there have been plenty of Victor Zambrano's and Billy Taylors in Mets lore.