(The idea for this piece came during a conversation with @jdschultz)
In the Terry Ryan era the Twins found themselves sitting on their hands quite often during the Hot Stove League. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it irked the majority of Twins’ fans. It seemed that whenever they had a chance at an established All-Star the Twins balked at the asking price, which undoubtedly included at least two or three top prospects.
Since Bill Smith came aboard we’ve seen a slight jump in roster moves, but nothing too drastic. It seems that Smith values his prospects the same way Ryan did (who is still a member of the Twins’ organization, by the way).
Some Twins’ bloggers have guessed that there is a list hanging somewhere in Smith’s office that names those on the no-trade list. Obviously, they have not made that supposed-list public, but that doesn’t mean we can’t speculate, does it? Here are some names that are probably on the Twins’ no-trade list.
(The names in italics represent names that the Twins wouldn’t want to give up, but would be willing to part with were the price right. All prospects are going to be held with a tight fist, either way.)
There are 49 names on this list, and, if I were to guess, it is one of the lengthier in all of baseball. Please comment and discuss these choices, adding and removing names as you see fit.
Minnesota Twins
- Scott Baker
- Nick Blackburn
- Carlos Gomez
- Francisco Liriano
- Joe Mauer
- Jose Morales
- Justin Morneau
- Joe Nathan
- Glen Perkins
- Nick Punto
- Kevin Slowey
- Denard Span
Rochester Red Wings
- Rob Delaney
- Luke Hughes
- Philip Humber
- Trevor Plouffe
- Jeff Manship
- Dustin Martin
- Anthony Swarzak
- Steven Tolleson
- David Winfree
- Danny Valencia
New Britain Rock Cats
- Cole DeVries
- Matt Fox
- Carlos Gutierrez
- Erik Lis
- Jay Rainville
- Wilson Ramos
- Anthony Slama
- Rene Tosoni
Fort Myers Miracle
- Joe Benson
- David Bromberg
- Deolis Guerra
- Steven Hirschfeld
- Michael McCardell
- Chris Parmelee
- Ben Revere
- Tyler Robertson
- Steve Singleton
- Spencer Steedley
Beloit Snappers
- Daniel Berlind
- Aaron Hicks
- Shooter Hunt
- Daniel Osterbrock
- Angel Morales
Elizabethton Twins
- Tyler Ladendorf
GCL Twins
- Shooter Hunt
- Daniel Ortiz
- Estarlin De Los Santos
I think your list is a little wrong….
I say first you have the NO TRADE VALUE group..
Nick Punto, Delmon Young, Phillip Humber
I’d put Jason Kubel on the list…
also rookie league I’d put Danny Rams 5 HR, batting over .400 and had a solid outing in Ft. Myers earlier this year
and BJ Hermsen who projects to be a top of the rotation type of guy is with the GCL Twins… I also think that if Van Mil is truely healthy the Twins would like to keep him…. I think that Erik Lis is expandable, I’d say they would more likely to protect Whit Robbins then Erik Lis…. also I’d guess that Toby Gardenhire is untouchable… (we need somebody to take Punto’s spot)
I think I should clarify that this isn’t my list, but how the Twins view their players.
Thanks for your feedback!