Twins head into break

The Twins finished their series with the Tigers today, ending their "first-half" with a loss. I think all Twins fans should be happy with where the team sits -- it's definitely exceeded expectations.

Instead of saying much about the last three games, I'm going to focus on a rumor that is starting to pick up some steam: Making a trade to acquire Adrian Beltre from the Seattle Mariners.

The obvious is this: The Twins lack power from the right side. They also lack a great glove. Enter Beltre - 16 homers, Gold Glove 3B. He is under contract for $12 million for both this year and next year.

If the price was only in dollars, that would be steep. He'd be the Twins highest paid player both this year and next. But the steeper price would be what the team would need to give up. I'm just going to throw out some possibility and finally, make a hypothetical trade.

Whenever there is a discussion about the Mariners, we first need to focus on what they've done - and that is trade away the farm for Erik Bedard. They gave up their 2007 #1 prospect CF Adam Jones and their 2008 #3 prospect RHP Chris Tillman, not to mention two left-handed pitchers and another right-handed pitcher. So those would be natural "need" starting points. Add into that the fact the Mariners would be giving up their starting 3B and we have a lot of potential trade possibilities.

First of all, pitchers are usually always included in trades like this. Some names I'd expect the Mariners to be tossing around:
LHP Glen Perkins
RHP Boof Bonser
RHP Philip Humber
RHP Kevin Mulvey
LHP Brian Duensing
RHP Anthony Slama
I also believe that guys like Swarzak (even though he's struggled), Robertson and Guerra would be mentioned, but I doubt the Twins would part with them; Swarzak because his value is not real high right now.

The other intriguing position would be outfielders. I would consider the Twins CF depth very good right now. Some possible names:
CF Denard Span
RF Michael Cuddyer
CF Joe Benson
CF Ben Revere
CF Angel Morales

I would also assume the Mariners would want to get an INF back, probably someone that could play 3B.
3B Mike Lamb
3B Matt Macri
3B/SS Trevor Plouffe
3B/SS Luke Hughes
3B Garrett Olson
3B Danny Valencia
3B Deibinson Romero

Presumably, for the Twins to take back $12m, they would require the Mariners to take some money back. In my mind, Mike Lamb or Michael Cuddyer would have to be included. With Cuddyer's big contract, I would have to assume that the package of prospects would have to increase. So the first part of the puzzle is easy: Mike Lamb. What's his value to the Mariners? Not too much.

Another piece of the puzzle would have to be a "top position prospect". The names that I would categorize there would be: Denard Span, Ben Revere, Joe Benson, Trevor Plouffe, Luke Hughes, Danny Valencia. Obviously, they are not all equal. I would have a really hard time giving up Span, Revere or Hughes. The other three - lesser prospects - could go. Of those three, the Mariners would probably find Joe Benson - an Adam Jones-like player - the most appealing.

Now the part that would make this trade actually happen - the pitchers. I think Perkins and a low prospect could make it work. I don't think the Twins would trade the guy from Stillwater. I don't think Bonser or Humber really excite anyone right now - their value is low. That leaves LHP Brian Duensing and RP Anthony Slama as guys the Mariners would probably focus on. (That's not to say some guys like Manship, Mullins, Rainville, Steadley, Devries, Waldrop, McCardell, Van Mil, etc. wouldn't/couldn't be traded.)

Would the price of CF Joe Benson, LHP Brian Duensing, RP Anthony Slama and throw-in 3B Mike Lamb be enough to get it done? Would the Twins need to include more major-league ready players? Is that too much? Who on the big-league club would the Twins be willing to part with?

If I was Bill Smith and the Mariners offered Beltre for these four, I would have to think hard about it. I would need to work out something money-wise, because $12m is a load to take on.

I would take a step back though and say this:
Joe Benson has fallen below Ben Revere, who will still be blocked by Gomez, Span and probably Young. Brian Duensing is a good prospect, but for a team that has all their "prospects" in the rotation already - and they're doing a good job at a higher level. Anthony Slama has been lights out, but he's old for his class. Mike Lamb... does anyone actually want Mike Lamb?

When I think about it that way, now I don't think that would be enough. Who else would have to be added? Who really knows? It's just something fun to think about.