Trading Delmon Young: Second Verse, Different Tune

According to transfer guru, and fellow Bleacher Creature, Ken Rosenthal, the Twins are once again exploring the market for fourth outfielder Delmon Young.

We've been through this once already this winter, sparked by Ron Gardenhire's public statement that he really sees Delmon as the odd man out in the Twins overcrowded outfield. Since it was early in the free agent process, I felt comfortable dealing Young as long as it brought back a good young player to fill a position of need.

However, a lot has changed in the last two months, and I'm reconsidering that position.

Two things are making me sure that keeping Young is the best plan for now.

First, there are good players still available as free agents to fill the positions of weakness. Joe Crede, Orlando Hudson, and Orlando Cabrera are still waiting for their value to bottom out, and the Twins could swoop in an sign one of these former Gold Golvers or Silver Sluggers to a deal on the cheap. The hole would be patched and Delmon Young would be preserved.

Who could have known that the market would be this week when the winter meetings began. A depressed free agent market hurts trades too. Is any team going to pay top dollar for Young when Bobby Abreu is still looking for a deal? Not a chance.

Second, the name mumbled in connection with a Young trade is Jarrod Washburn. It should be noted that I wouldn't want Washburn on the Twins at any price, which makes trading someone with Young's potential for him all the more unpalatable.

Look at it this way: The Twins traded Matt Garza for Delmon. Now they are talking about shipping Young to Seattle for Washburn. Did his value really drop that much last season? He hit almost .300; Washburn's ERA was over five for huge parts of the season! Bill Smith would have to be certifiable if he thought that a deal centered around Jarrod Washburn and Delmon Young was going to improve the Twins.

This all indicates to me that Smith's mentality and the market forces just aren't in the Twins favor right now. If Smith isn't feeling a little pressure because of his lack of offseason moves, then he isn't paying attention. Whether he should be feeling that pressure is another matter entirely.

Irrespective, Smith shouldn't be pushed into making a move for the sake of making one, and certainly not now. If, by midseason, baseball's financial situation is doing better than expected (unlikely), then perhaps Young could be moved for fair value. The other option could be to deal the cheap young slugger to someone like Detroit, who may need salary relief.

As long as a move to the Pacific northwest that doesn't yield Adrian Beltre or Jose Lopez looks like a good trade for Delmon Young, the Twins are better off keeping him and hoping this offseason has fixed some of his issues.