July 28, 2008 – If you look at the last 10 years, the Twins have not been real active at the trade deadlines in July and August but they have made a number of trades and more often than not, they have been a seller versus a buyer. None have been what you could call real blockbuster deals. The trade they made for outfielder Shannon Stewart in 2003 is probably their best acquisition at a trade deadline. Here is a quick look at the deals they have made:
7/31/98 – Traded Greg Swindell and Orlando Merced to the Red Sox for John Barnes, Matt Kinney, and Joe Thomas.
8/25/98 – Traded Mike Morgan to the Cubs for Scott Downs.
8/3/99 – Traded George Williams to Houston for Josh Dimmick.
7/16/00 – The Twins send Butch Huskey and Todd Walker to Colorado for Todd Sears.
8/31/00 – The Twins send Midre Cummings to the Red Sox for Hector De Los Santos.
7/28/01 – The Twins acquire Todd Jones from the Tigers for Mike Redman.
7/30/01 – The Twins acquire Rick Reed from the Mets for Matt Lawton.
7/12/02 – The Twins send Brian Buchanan to San Diego and acquire Jason Bartlett.
7/16/03 – The Twins acquire Shannon Stewart and Dave Gassner from Toronto and part ways with Bobby Kielty.
8/31/03 – The Twins acquire Jesse Orosco and send Juan Padilla to the Mets.
7/31/04 – The Twins send Doug Mientkiewicz to the Cubs and get Justin Jones in return.
7/11/05 – The Twins acquire Brett Boone and cash for a player to be named later.
7/31/06 – The Twins send Kyle Loshe to Cincinnati and get Zach Ward in return.
8/31/06 – The Twins acquire Phil Nevin and trade Adam Harben to the Cubs.
7/30/07 – The Twins trade Luis Castillo to the Mets and receive Drew Butera and Dustin Martin.
8/15/07 – The Twins send Ramon Ortiz to Colorado and receive Matt Macri.
Looking at this list it appears that very few of the trades that have made a huge difference either for the Twins or for the other teams. Maybe with Mr. Smith at the GM helm it will be different in 2008 but I am not holding my breath. The latest rumor has the Twins looking at bringing Latroy Hawkins back to town and I would not mind seeing him sitting in the Twins bullpen.