Say, here is an idea for a trade

I know many people don’t really care for the speculative trade posts that I and many other bloggers do, but I like writing them, so… sorry.

I wrote the other day about a guy who said that Danny Valencia is as good as gone from the Twins organization, because the team is going to start selling off components. Of course, this is nonsense, because teams don’t generally like to sell players that nobody would want to buy. That said, I think I found a market for him.

The “Change of Scenery” trade is always a fun one. Teams swap problems in the hopes that a new environment will break the players from their funk, or put them n a course for greater success than wherever it was that they were playing previously. After seeing what Danny Valencia did his rookie year, it would be hard to argue that there isn’t at least some talent there, and perhaps a better organization will help him work his flaws out. And he is under team control for several more seasons, so in the right hands, perhaps he could develop a little bit more to an acquiring teams’ liking.

But what problem child could the Twins acquire in exchange for Valencia (and admittedly, another prospect or two, perhaps). Jair Jurrjens, pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. Jurrjens is also playing minor league ball right now, but was an all-star last year. He has had a mercurial career looking at the raw stats, but has generally held steady looking at his FIP, and even steadier when taking into account xFIP in the 4.28 range. It’s not a great number, and Jurrjens has been in a funk since last year, but if we are selling Valencia low, we should probably buy low, correct?

And besides, if the Twins have been short on anything all year, it’s been pitching. Even if Jurrjens pitches to what should be expected, he would be an improvement from what the Twins have received from Nick Blackburn, and would be a stabilizing veteran presence where Scott Diamond, PJ Walters or Cole De Vries wouldn’t be. Worth a shot? Why not?