I agree to the trade. As stated in the constitution, we must give our reasoning for doing the trade and here is mine:
Boston Gives:Brandon Jacobs
Sean Coyle
John Alexander (2011 Draftee)
Bobby Jenks (6M 2012)
for
Minnesota GivesDenard Span (3M 2012; 5M 2013; 7M 2014)
Brian Duensing (.480M 2012; ARB 2013; ARB 2014)
We are currently in rebuilding mode here in Minnesota. We really love Span here, but we feel like we need to give him up to bring in younger talent, (Just like the Cubs SHOULD give up Garza!). His team friendly contract made it especially difficult for us to ship him off. We are able to net some good young talent in this trade though.
Brandon Jacobs is a talented OFer who we definitely wanted to land. In single-A last year, Jacobs hit for .303 with 17 homeruns and 30 stolen bases in 115 games. He's a great power/speed prospect that we are very happy to aquire.
We are also very exciting to introduce Sean Coyle to our organization. In single-A last year, at the age of 19, Croyle hit .247 with 14 homeruns and 20 stolen bases. These are impressive numbers for a 19 year old second baseman. We are confident that his discipline at the plate will improve with age and his average will increase as a result. Our coaches will definitely help him along the way.
Lastly, we net another teenage talent in John Alexander. Drafted by the Rays in 2011, Alexander signed early and played well in his first 12 games at the professional level. He hit .314 with 2 homeruns, showing some potential at the dish. Our farm system here in Minnesota is pretty thin when it comes to first basemen, so we were definitely looking to add some depth.
Along with Span, we also gave up Brian Duensing to make this trade happen. Duensing has been a solid arm for us over the years and will probably be a cheap sign through his arbitration years. Nevertheless, we aren't too disappointed giving him up. He doesn't strike many people out and his ERA (where almost all of his value comes from) saw a huge spike last season.
We also took on Bobby Jenks and his contract. This wasn't a very big deal to us as it was only $6M for 2012. We are rebuilding, so we aren't concerned with the outcome of 2012 and we won't be looking to make a huge splash in free agency this year.
Overall, we gave up a good player in Span and a decent pitcher in Duensing to net a high upside outfielder in Jacobs, a second baseman who also has some offensive upside, and some first base depth in our farm system.
Best of luck to both parties!
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