A few days ago there was a report that the Twins offered two of their top prospects for lefty Cliff Lee, catcher Wilson Ramos and outfielder Aaron Hicks. Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com say that rumor was a tad off.
Both the Twins and Mariners have denied comment on the AOL Fanhouse report, which is unconfirmed. The Twins, according to one major-league source, offered Ramos and right-hander Kevin Slowey, not Ramos and Hicks. Other sources say that the Mariners want players who are close to the majors; Hicks, while considered the Twins’ top prospect, does not qualify.
In the same article, Rosenthal and Morosi write that the Mariner’s price is currently ‘mammoth’ and there could be two reasons.
The Mariners’ aggressiveness can be interpreted in one of two ways: They are either close with the Twins and trying to determine if another team will top the Minnesota offer, or they are still trying to drive up the bidding.
It’s hard to tell how long this process will take and whether or not it’ll go to the July 31 trade deadline, but there certainly hasn’t been a shortage of reports in recent days.