Minnesota Twins: Justin Morneau and 3 Players Twins Should Have Traded

The Minnesota Twins were pretty quiet at the 2012 MLB Trade Deadline, making only one trade.

They sent pitcher Francisco Liriano to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for a couple of prospects.

Though that was probably a good trade for the future of the team, the Twins missed out on several other trade possibilities.

Let’s take a look at three players the Twins should have tried harder to unload before the trade deadline.

Justin Morneau, 1B

Morneau has shown flashes of his former brilliance, hitting 13 home runs and driving in 47 runs so far this season.

But, that power production isn’t what the Twins need from their first baseman, especially with superstar Joe Mauer not hitting homers the way he used to.

Morneau could have been valuable to a team with a first base or designated hitter vacancy.

As long as he stayed healthy and avoided another concussion, he could have been a valuable piece to a team in the playoff hunt.

Denard Span, OF

With Trevor Plouffe, Josh Willingham and Ben Revere ready to man the outfield on a daily basis, Span is just an expensive fourth outfielder.

Span can be a valuable everyday outfielder, but he’s not going to get that opportunity on the Twins anymore.

Minnesota should have traded him to a team that needed outfield help, like the Boston Red Sox or Baltimore Orioles.

They could have received some quality prospects and strengthened their farm system in the process.

Matt Capps, RP 

Capps has a relatively high 3.81 ERA, but he has converted 14 of 15 save opportunities for the Twins.

He also has 18 strikeouts in 28 innings pitched, so he still has some decent stuff.

With a number of teams looking for bullpen help this July, the Twins could have acquired a couple of decent prospects for Capps.

Keeping him for the rest of this season doesn’t help them either this year or in the near future.