Francisco Liriano: Why the Minnesota Twins Should Push to Trade Him

Minnesota Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano may have just thrown the 270th no-hitter in baseball history and the first of the 2011 season, but that doesn't mean the Twins can or should count on Liriano the rest of the season.

In fact, the Twins should do just the opposite and try to ship the enigmatic lefty out for some help in the bullpen.

Liriano's name has been mentioned in trade rumors across the Internet since the beginning of the season, although most lacked an ounce of truth since the Twins planned to hang on to him in hopes he could further build off of last year's performance.

But through six starts, one thing is clear: Liriano is never going to develop into an ace and is better off being moved sooner than later before he loses any more of his trade value than he already has with his disastrous start. 

How can I be so harsh on a guy that just through nine gutsy innings and didn't allow a single hit?

To be frank, Liriano's no-hitter can be attributed to luck, terrific defensive plays and an anemic White Sox lineup more than anything. Liriano didn't dominate the White Sox lineup in the slightest—instead, he survived it. 

To make it nine innings while walking six batters and only striking out two without giving up a hit is a remarkable feat. But it is remarkable for all the wrong reasons.

How does a pitcher without pinpoint control or an electric pitch manage to no-hit a professional team?

It's mind-boggling.

Liriano's no-hitter is more of a testament of how bad the White Sox offense was than how good he pitched.

Yet Liriano has etched his name into history, and that is something that nobody will be able to take away from him. That doesn't mean that the Twins should look at his latest outing as a sign of things to come, though.

Heading into Tuesday, Liriano very well could have been pitching for his job in the rotation with Kevin Slowey set to rejoin the club this weekend against Boston.

Slowey didn't make the five-man rotation out of spring training and was bothered by a shoulder injury out of the gate, but he has shown in the past he can be a solid starter. A solid starter is exactly what the Twins are looking for with their rotation crumbling apart with one bad start followed by another.

Liriano stopped the bleeding for the Twins on Tuesday night, stopping a six-game skid and a slew of poor pitching performances, but the bigger problem for Minnesota right now than the starting rotation is the bullpen. With Joe Nathan nowhere near his pre-injury form and Matt Capps also struggling, the Twins could use another quality arm to go in the pen.

So instead of getting greedy and hoping this is the turning point in Liriano's season—which it's not—the Twins should actively try to move him before it's too late. The inconsistency that Liriano displays is something that will plague him for his entire career. It's who he is and always will be.

The bottom line is that Liriano was once a dynamic prospect who possessed terrific stuff but blew out his arm. Since his comeback, he's never had the velocity on his fastball to complement his terrific slider.

Minnesota needs to recognize that Liriano will never develop into the ace that they once envisioned. That went out the door when his viscous delivery caused him to need Tommy John surgery and turned his once-electric arm into an above-average one.  

It's time for general manager Bill Smith to work the phones to see if he can move the left-hander for some help in the bullpen.

The season isn't over yet for the Twins despite sitting 10 games behind Cleveland, but Liriano's time in Minnesota needs to be.