The Twins and the Yankees have reportedly engaged in some trade discussion revolving around Francisco Liriano. Twins fans are understandably not that thrilled about sending one of their ace pitchers to the Yankees, especially for the package that has been reported to be what the Yankees are offering. From our Twins blog Twinkie Town.
Pardon me while I guffaw.
I'm not saying that Liriano can't be traded, or that denials by public officials should be taken as gospel, but in Liriano you're looking at one of the most valuable starting pitchers in baseball. Ace talent under team control for two more seasons? The starting point had better be something better than Chamberlain or Nova...or Chamberlain AND Nova.
Liriano doesn't have the W-L record or ERA of a top of the rotation starter, but his secondary statistics reveal that he could be extremely successful with a stronger offense behind. But then again, that is true about every pitcher. At the same time, with their rotation in shambles, this could be an excellent opportunity to get a lot of value out of the Yankees. At this point, he might be more valuable to them than he is to the Twins. it's just important that they get all the value in return for him that they can.