Who would have thunk it? The Twins have traded Francisco Liriano within the AL Central Division to the Chicago White Sox for minor league pitcher Pedro Hernandez and infielder Eduardo Escobar. I have not seen any previous reports of the Mighty Whities interest in Liriano but that is how these trades often happen, all the rumors of interested teams are just that, rumors. At first blush it does not appear like the Twins received much in return but time will tell, we will just have to wait and see. Then again it is not like the Twins traded a superstar, Liriano had to be traded and obviously the Twins don’t think that moving him to Chicago will hurt them long-term.
So what did the Twins get for Liriano? They received 23-year-old lefty Pedro Hernandez. Hernandez is just 5’10” and goes about 200 and was signed by the San Diego Padres as an amateur free agent in 2006 and was traded to the White Sox this past winter in the Carlos Quentin deal. Hernandez has one big league game under his belt when the White Sox called him up for one start just 10 days ago against the Red Sox but it was not a pleasant experience for Hernandez who lasted just 4 innings giving up 12 hits, 3 home runs and 8 earned runs. In his 6 minor league seasons, Hernandez has 33-13 record with a 3.42 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. Hernandez is not a strikeout pitcher and has given up 453 hits in 428.1 innings. Not exactly what I was hoping to get in return for Liriano but he is left-handed and is only 23 years old.
The other player that the Twins received for Liriano was 23-year-old switch hitting 2B/SS/3B Eduardo Escobar. Escobar was signed by the White Sox as an amateur free agent in 2006. Escobar appeared in 9 games with the White Sox in 2011 and in 35 games this season. In the minors, Escobar played mainly at SS and 2B but with the White Sox this season he played primarily at 3B although he also played a few games at SS and 2B and even appeared in the outfield for a game. In his 89 big league at bats over two seasons, Escobar hit for a .202 average with no home runs and 2 stolen bases.