How a good rumormonger works:
1. Newspaper article hints that Delmon Young might be on the trading block.
2. The story is posted at a message board-type hangout for Giants’ fans. The Giants should be in the market for young power hitters, so even though the article doesn’t specifically mention the Giants as potential trade partners, the connection makes sense, and it sparks a spirited discussion.
3. A different writer buries a Delmon-to-Giants?-note deep in a column that’s mostly about the Minnesota Gophers. The mention is just offhand, hey-look-this-kind-of-makes-sense speculation, but now that the Pioneer Press has run with it, I can write the following:
4. Eliminate any mention of the Pioneer Press article before I post.
5. Enjoy the riches and womens that come along with being a top-level rumormonging blog captain.
So let me start today’s column with this nugget: I can’t reveal my source, but someone close to the Twins thinks that a Delmon-to-Giants swap might be close.
Young is my white whale. He’s young, powerful (well, he will be), and undervalued. There aren’t a whole lot of position-player busts with #1 overall picks, and Young went into the draft with the kind of scouting pedigree reserved for special players. Alex Rodriguez. Justin Upton. Rickie Weeks. These kind of scoutgasm-inducing players don’t come around too often.
People are souring on Young for different reasons. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is poor. His power is nonexistent. His defense is poor. His attitude is bad. To which I respond: He’s 22, he’s 22, I can live with it, and he’s 22. Young was rushed through the minors, and his K/BB ratio was never sterling, but he always showed an ability to hit for average and power. He has two seasons of empty batting averages at the major league level, but his walk rate and strikeout rate are both moving in the right direction.
The problem: Even if the Giants wanted to trade Jonathan Sanchez, he wouldn't be enough, especially since the Twins’ problem isn’t really a dearth of young starting pitchers. The Twins need a shortstop, a third baseman, and a power hitter or two. Between the two teams, there are a lot of square holes and few square pegs. So while Young is my white whale, I’m not holding my breath, even though I have an inside source claiming a deal is imminent.
Why doesn’t anyone want to just give a young, undervalued hitter to the Giants? I’ll tell you why: conspiracy. Barry Bonds…wild card playoffs after 1993…reverse vampires…I’ll give you the .PDF if you want it.
Comment starter: Delmon Young if you want to, but you might have already commented on the Delmon FanPost. So give us your white whale. Chris Davis? Andy Laroche? Adrian Beltre? Here’s a dumping ground for your best argument.