Alex Meyer for Denard Span. Arrr! The White Whale be ours! *stamps peg leg*

[imref]

Russo says he wanted Harper out of cf to cut down on mental and physical demands. Just swing a big stick bro.

[PANatsFan]

at Lannan's option year - Nats best pitching prospect now

[swirvi]

Is it possible that we could let ALR walk AS WELL AS trade Morse for a pitcher?  We then bring in Tyler Moore at 1B.  Its obvioulsy more risky, but if we believe that Moore can produce as well as Morse, and for a fraction of the price ALR demands, then it seems like a great move to me.  We'd be set at pitchers #1-5, OF, and IF for years to come...

[PebbleBall]

The least surprising sentence I'll read tonight, from MLBTR:

Conversely, ESPN's Keith Law (Insider subscription required) likes the trade for the Twins.

[GburgNatsFan]

Rizzo should seriously run for president in 2016 with this record of success.

[Baseball is Life]

The white whale, it has been landed.

I would love to see them now sign ALR and move Morse for a SP.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Meyer is a high beta guy.  I think most likely he's Jon Rauch with more velocity, but there's maybe a better chance he's a rotation regular and good one rather than a bust who never makes it.  Span is good but I think the twins have the depth to make this move with Revere.

Ben G has not written a story on this for the St Paul Pioneer Press but he's tweeted quite a bit. 

A few (sorry, I don't do twitter):

#Nats fans who still follow me: You're getting a solid guy in Denard Span. Good OBP, fielder, clubhouse guy. Durability only concern.

No; Meyer is a solid prospect. Only question is, could they have gotten more? RT @MinnesotaMathew: did the #Twins make a bad trade?



@timkjohnson I was of the opinion they needed to move Span for some pitching this winter and let Revere play center.
View conversation
3h Ben Goessling Ben Goessling ‏@BenGoesslingPP

@timkjohnson Yeah. I mean, it's possible they could've gotten more, but Meyer is exactly the kind of pitching prospect they need.
View conversation

[hammondsnats]

wow even guys like Tribe Time and PANats like the trade

[JCA-CrystalCity]

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_22091874/minnesota-twins-trade-denard-span-minor-league-pitcher

"I got up to 99 in the Futures Game," Meyer said shortly after being traded from the Washington Nationals to Minnesota for center fielder Span on Thursday, Nov. 29.

That's the kind of velocity a Twins starter hasn't approached since Francisco Liriano's rookie season in 2006 -- and power only closer Glen Perkins can flirt with currently. The 6-foot-9, 220-pound Meyer also throws a circle change, a knuckle curveball and a power slider.

In short, he is a rarity.

"Every organization is looking for these types of pitchers," Twins general manager Terry Ryan said. "It's not just the Twins and because of our plight. Every club in the game wants pitching of this nature. He's got stuff, and he throws it over."

...
Span, 28, was the Twins' center fielder and leadoff hitter for the past five seasons, hitting a combined .284 with 360 runs and 90 stolen bases. He also is an above average fielder with a team-friendly contract that will pay him $11.25 million over the next two years, making him a perfect fit for the defending National League East champions.
....
"He has the stuff, and he's got the frame and he throws it over," Ryan said. "These guys are hard to get. A major leaguer for a minor leaguer, I know that won't make a lot of people happy."

But wait until a pitcher of this caliber is further along in his career, Ryan said, and it's a lot harder to get him.

The move also will help Ryan move forward with other roster decisions as baseball's winter meetings begin Monday in Nashville. Acrobatic outfielder Ben Revere will move into center, opening up right field for prospect Chris Parmelee. The Twins also have outfield prospects in Aaron Hicks, Joe Benson and Oswaldo Arcia on the 40-man roster.
....
As for whether Meyer will be a starter or reliever, Ryan said: "Starter, starter, starter, starter. We're looking for starting pitching."

[cmdterps44]

If all goes as planned, we may finally have CF problem solved for almost as many years as we had the problem.

[imref]

i watched MLB at 8 PM to see what they had to say, they seemed to think it was a pretty even trade.  They showed Meyer pitching in a futures game, he's a freaking beast.    I hope this trade works out for us, but we've given up a lot.  At least we're set on starting pitching for the next few years. 

A winner in this trade is Jordan Zimmerman, I imagine he gets extended before training camp.

[monkeyhit]

Well if Rizzo thought we needed a centerfielder this is a good trade.  But, IMO we don't need Span.  Harper was great in CF.  I loved Werth leading off and I feel that Tyler Moore should be a everyday player.

Agree, not at all excited. Losing one of our few pitching prospects for an average OF who replaces Morse or laRoche in the lineup is not my idea of an upgrade.

[UnkleWheez]

Center field is all about defense. Span is not a average defender. He is very good. On offense he give the power lineup the speedy leadoff hitter them have been dreaming of.

[sportsfan882]

We are starved for pitching prospects at this point. Giolito and Purke have a long road to recovery and are a long way from contributing. I guess we can hope Karns performs well again this year.

[tomterp]

BP

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=19028

Acquired OF-L Denard Span from the Twins for RHP Alex Meyer. [11/29]

Mike Rizzo’s previous attempts to land a legitimate center fielder always left him circling back to Span. The last publicly known time Rizzo and the Twins were engaged on Span had Minnesota demanding the inclusion of infielder Steve Lombardozzi. Yet Rizzo landed his man without losing Lombardozzi.

Span, who turns 29 in February, is coming off his best offensive season in three years. He has not been able to repeat the high on-base percentages that put him on the map over his first two seasons, but he does bring a competent offensive profile to the leadoff spot thanks to high contact rates and a willingness to walk. On the basepaths, Span boasts adequate stolen base success rates while showing a knack for taking the extra base. Many regard Span as an above-average defensive center fielder, and his presence should allow Bryce Harper to move to a corner position for good.

Sweetening the deal for Rizzo is Span’s contract. While B.J. Upton received a five-year deal worth $75 million from division-rival Atlanta, Span will make about $20 million over the next three seasons. Making matters better: $8.5 million of that sum is unguaranteed. Granted, Span is less reliable than Upton, having spent time on the disabled list in three of the past four seasons, but the added financial flexibility should allow the Nationals to re-sign Adam LaRoche or bring in another worthwhile contributor. —R.J. Anderson

[sportsfan882]

Meyer was the built in replacement for Jordan Zimmermann if we had failed to extend him. Makes signing him a top priority now.

Gio is the only SP signed long term right now.

[hammondsnats]

we need tags on this site

:SF likes 'em young:

[SkinsNDeacs]

I love Span and I love this deal.

The only thing that concerns me is that this means Morse to 1B.  I don't think it can be overstated how important ALR was to our infield D and how VERY much worse we will be with Morse at 1st. 

[houston-nat]

SkinsNDeacs, that's why I think LaRoche will get extended and Morse traded. At least, that's what I hope.

[tripan1035]

Long time Twins fan here.  You'll like Span, good guy in the clubhouse and good lead off man.  But he is far from a great baserunner, gets picked off often and makes some boneheaded baserunning mistakes.  Decent center fielder with decent arm, but takes some adventurous routes to get to balls, often making spectacular grabs out of easy ones.  Hope it works out for both teams, Twins need starting pitchers and the cupboard in the minors is bare.

[GNatsNoMore]

I really hate to see Meyer go (I created his thread in The Farm), but Span does seem to have recovered well from his concussion, so he should be productive, plus this will put less stress on Harper.  I'm a big fan of The Beast too, but I'd be willing to let him go if we could resign LaRoche, who is even more valuable. 

Santa, I mean Rizzo, here's what I want for Christmas:

1) Resign ALR, even if it means a 3-year deal.

2) Extend Jordan Zimmermann.  This is even more important now Meyer is gone, as some have said.

3)  Trade Morse for a 3/4/5 starter (preferably with at least 3-4 prime years left, since we don't have anything close to a major league starter).

4) If we can't get that for Morse, then sign a 4/5 starter for 2-3 years, and trade Morse if we can get something like a Meyer-type pitching prospect, since we have no healthy, top starting pitching prospects left in the minors. 

[imref]

Long time Twins fan here.  You'll like Span, good guy in the clubhouse and good lead off man.  But he is far from a great baserunner, gets picked off often and makes some boneheaded baserunning mistakes.  Decent center fielder with decent arm, but takes some adventurous routes to get to balls, often making spectacular grabs out of easy ones.  Hope it works out for both teams, Twins need starting pitchers and the cupboard in the minors is bare.

we've lived through Nyjer Morgan. 

Thanks for stopping by, you'll enjoy watching Meyer develop.

[comish4lif]

Span is a great pickup.

He is EXTREMELY fast and can steal a lot of bases.  When he's on, look out...he tears the place up.  He can be inconsistent at times, but then again, all players are from time to time...nothing to be worried on.  The fact that it only took an A ball player to acquire him is a HUGE win for the Nats.  Great move all around.  Get to keep Storen, and pick up a good player in Span.

Fast and steals bases? Well, how come he only stole 17 bases and his career high is 26 steals?

[houston-nat]

Fast and steals bases? Well, how come he only stole 17 bases and his career high is 26 steals?

We had only 3 guys manage more than 15 steals last year and none manage 26, so...

[Coladar]

This is a great, great, great... freaking awesome steal of a deal. Meyer for three years of Span? Two set in stone for $11mil plus a third team option for only $9mil? That's just smart baseball.

That said, I'm not a huge fan of it. Only because it guarantees LaRoche or Morse goes. While I doubt Rizzo makes the deal if they expect LaRoche resigns, and it indicates talks had broken down... I'm not 100% on that only because it is such a steal, Rizzo would have been nuts to turn it down. I really, really wanted both guys back and the OF to remain as is with Harper in CF. If it ain't broke, etc. Bottom line, the lineup we had was stellar and meshed. On paper Span sure isn't a downgrade, but clubhouse chemistry and leadership wise, I think Morse and LaRoche both played a big part, contributed to the success dramatically off field and outside of stats.

Great deal, no complaints, and at the very least this isn't a net loss. Short of having both LaRoche and Morse back, this was probably the absolute best case scenario and best deal we could have made. But I still wish 2013 saw our 2012 roster with added playoff experience and Strasburg 100% to make the run for the whole shebang. With the situation as is, they'd better let LaRoche go. I'd be quite unhappy, disappointed and pessimistic if we lose Morse via trade over LaRoche. I think Morse will contribute far more, on and off field, to the 2013 team returning to October and advancing further. Morse is just great, bringing a spark and intense energy, motivating and leading the team and loved by the fans. LaRoche might be more of a sure bet stats wise, offensively and at 1B, over Morse, but like I said, some players have value beyond their stat sheet and Morse is undoubtedly one of them.