Twins Trade Valencia to Red Sox

Prior to Sunday afternoon’s 6-4 loss to Boston, the Twins announced that they had traded out of favor third baseman Danny Valencia to the Red Sox for Jeremias Pineda. Valencia was immediately optioned to AAA Pawtucket and Pineda was assigned to the Twins’ Gulf Coast League team.

The trade marked the end of a tumultuous marriage between Valencia and the Twins marred by inconsistencies and a lack of trust.

Valencia made his pro debut with the Twins in 2010 and looked impressive in 85 games. He hit .311 with a .799 OPS while driving in 40 RBI for the division winning club. 2011 saw Valencia return to earth, batting only .246 with a .677 OPS over 154 games. Valencia tallied 72 RBI and 102 strikeouts over this span. In addition, Valencia’s defense, which had never been a particularly strong suit to begin with, was still below average.

In his 2010 half season, Valencia committed 6 errors. In 2011, Valencia tripled that total to 18.

2012 was widely speculated to be Danny’s last chance with the Twins. Manager Ron Gardenhire had commented frequently throughout the 2011 season and offseason that Valencia needed to make improvements if he wanted to stay with the club.

Rather than rising to the challenge, Valencia appeared to collapse under the pressure. Valencia barely batted above .150 in the early weeks of the season and was still committing errors on defense. On May 9^th, the Twins had enough and optioned Valencia to AAA. The move allegedly angered Valencia and furthered a rift between the manager’s office and the player.

After Trevor Plouffe was inserted at third base and proceeded to become one of the hottest players in the game, it was clear that Valencia was not going to get another chance at the Twins’ 3B job.

Plouffe’s injury afforded Valencia a second chance, but he continued to struggle at the plate and in the field. In 34 games this season, Valencia managed a meager .198 average with 2 home runs and 17 RBI. The final straw was likely Valencia’s 4 errors – with improvement on the field he probably would have kept his roster spot simply serving as a solid defensive third baseman. With poor defense and an anemic bat – he never stood a chance.

Pineda, the player acquired from the Red Sox for Valencia, is a 21 year old outfielder who the Twins consider a “late bloomer”. While 21 is old to be a GCL player, the Twins feel his stat line of .421 with 22 RBI and over 36 games indicates that he may be maturing at the plate.

It’s not surprising that the Twins finally decided to part ways with Valencia, after all, his struggles and Ron Gardenhire’s frustrations with said struggles were well documented and bubbling beneath the surface for a large part of the last two seasons.

What is surprising is that the Twins managed to get something in return for him. While Pineda may not be any immediate help to the organization, he looks to be a talented outfielder who, at the very least, could help rebuild the beleaguered farm system.

Time will tell who got the better of this trade. It’s entirely possible that with a different set of coaches, Valencia can return to form and turn into a power hitting third baseman for the Red Sox. Alternatively, Pineda can prove this “late bloomer” theory to be correct and be part of a vicious Twins outfield in 3 to 5 years.

Or, more likely, both players will simply be minor league farm players destined to be chips in future trades. Who won this trade? The Red Sox get 3B depth, the Twins jettisoned Valencia and received something in return. For the time being, everyone wins.