MLB Trade Rumors: Does It Make Sense to Send Denard Span to Washington?

As recently as three weeks ago, many Minnesota Twins fans quite possibly would have written Denard Span off as a part of the team's past.

With rookie Ben Revere showcasing his speed on the basepaths and in the field it appeared that Span's trip to the disabled list with concussion symptoms wasn't such a bad thing for the team after all.

Despite Revere's batting average coming back down to earth, the Twins still appear to have enough faith in Revere and the rest of their farm system to at least consider sending Span out of Minnesota.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports was first to report that both the Twins and Washington Nationals have acknowledged that discussions have taken place regarding Span.

Given the small sample size that we've seen from Revere it seems that sending Span to another team would be jumping the gun a bit, however the team will be quick to point out that star prospects like Aaron Hicks are also in contention to take the reins in the Minnesota outfield at some point in the near future.

In early June, Revere's batting average peaked just north of .300 and he had garnered an 11-game hitting streak, but he has since seen his average tumble south of .250 and his on-base percentage naturally take a hit as well.

Hicks is still in Single-A Fort Myers and with a .256 batting average and only 32 extra base hits in 320 at-bats it would appear that he's still at least a year or two away from a call up.

As Aaron Gleeman of Hardball Talk pointed out, the Nationals may have trade pieces that could include infield and bullpen help, but it seems unlikely that the Twins would leave such a gaping hole in the lineup as Revere continues to see his average drop.

Twins GM Bill Smith will certainly be under the microscope as he looks to make amends for the failed acquisition of sketchy reliever Matt Capps in exchange for catching prospect Wilson Ramos, a player that would have come in quite handy earlier this season.

The team is still seven games out in the AL Central but still has a fighting chance with the right pieces on the field. The much harder task at this point is making sure that those pieces are still wearing a Twins uniform after this deadline passes.