TWINS-RAYS SWAP SIX
The Minnesota Twins acquired outfielders Delmon Young and Jason Pridie as well as infielder Brendan Harris from the Tampa Bay Rays for pitchers Matt Garza and Eduardo Morlan as well as shortstop Jason Bartlett.
What does it give the Minnesota Twins
This is a classic, old-fashioned trade between a team ripe with pitching (Minnesota) dealing with a team knee-deep in hitting (Tampa Bay). Young will be the big right-handed bat Minnesota needs to hit between lefties Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, and he may even replace Torii Hunter as the club's new center-fielder. Harris will either replace Bartlett at shortstop or play second base--with Alexi Casilla taking over at short. Pridie has been going back and forth between the Rays and Twins organizations, and is merely a depth player at this point. The key to this deal is Young, though losing Garza may hurt if the Twins are forced to also trade ace Johan Santana.
What does it give the Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays land a starter with upside in Garza, a starting shortstop in Bartlett and a promising pitching prospect in Morlan. However, the cost was steep, since Young was viewed as a future stud. Unfortunately, his attitude within the Rays clubhouse didn't match his ability. Garza will probably slide into the No. 3 spot in the Rays rotation, behind James Shields and Scott Kazmir.
Fantasy impact