Could Twins Acquire Braves’ Escobar?

Buster Olney (ESPN Insider) suggested six possible trade partners for Braves’ shortstop Yunel Escobar, and the Minnesota Twins were mentioned.  This of course, is speculation on whether the Braves truly want to trade Escobar at all.

This is a “ESPN Insiders 0nly” post, so I’ll quote heavily on the Twins portion of the article. (Basically all of the twins portion)

“Escobar would be perfect for the Twins in many respects, and Minnesota has an array of outfielders to choose from, whether it be Michael Cuddyer or Denard Span; Delmon Youngis hitting .264 with three homers, and it’s hard to imagine that the Braves would seriously consider him in any trade. But the Twins’ focus is on relief pitching, and an aggressive midseason deal really doesn’t fit their style — and if Escobar’s conduct in Atlanta has turned off the Braves’ coaching staff, then this is certainly not the type of thing that the Twins would go for. Span is an interesting name, though, because his service time (and salary) is close to that of Escobar, and he is widely seen as a player on the rise.”

It would be a hard to see the Twins trade Span for Escobar, even if we do have a “surplus” of outfielders.  Span is holding his ground as a lead-off hitter and is playing excellent defense.  The center/left fielder is a consistent hitter and will get on base via the walk, infield hits, bloopers and slash hits between outfield gaps.

Escobar would immediately fill in at shortstop, and provide great defense and pop to his bat.  Nick Punto plays a comparable defense, but does not hit as well for-average and does not have nearly as much pop as Escobar.  Punto is hitting .220 compared to Escobar’s .297.

What would make the decision hard is Brendan Harris’ play since earning the everyday shortstop gig when Punto went down with his injury.  Harris is playing an above average defense and is hitting a serviceable .270 and has a little pop in his bat with 4 homers and 22 RBIs.  The Twins could potentially move him to second base, if they indeed acquire Escobar.

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