A Few Good Notes: The Trade Deadline

• Over the past week or so, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal has been reporting that the Washington Nationals are hot after Twins CF Denard Span. But as he tweeted today, it would appear that the talks are about to either die or intensify (hopefully die). And if you follow me on twitter (@gilesferrell), you will know how I feel on this issue. As long as Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard are not an option, the Twins need to continue to say no. Span is incredibly valuable as a leadoff hitter and a centerfielder, and his team friendly contract needs to up his trade value as well. These rumors just need to go away.
  
• It is still unclear whether the Twins are going to be buyers or sellers this weekend. If they choose to buy, they need to buy big time in the reliever market. Over The Baggy has the list of relievers that the Twins have been linked to, and should be considering acquiring to help the very weak bullpen.
• It is too bad that Jason Kubel missed over a month of action with that foot injury. Had he not, his trade value would probably be much higher than it is. As Jayson Stark of ESPN points out in his Rumblings and Grumblings post, the Pirates could be interested in Kubel, but it would appear that GM Bill Smith doesn't want to move him, unless it adds a piece or two that helps the Twins this year. As you know, Kubel is in the final year of his contract and is a free agent at season's end. And since it is unclear who will be back in the Twins outfield, I would rather move him now and get something in return rather than wait and let him leave as a free agent at season's end.
• Don't expect Michael Cuddyer to be traded this weekend. In fact, you can probably count on him being back in a Twins uniform next season as well. As Rosenthal tweeted on Tuesday, the Twins will keep Cuddyer even if they sell and possibly try to resign him. Cuddyer has been the only consistent player in the Twins lineup this year hitting .301 with 15 HR and 51 RBI and is one of two players from the opening day lineup that has yet to have a stint on the disabled list. The Twins love Cuddy and Cuddy loves playing for the Twins, so this really is no surprise.
  
• On Sunday, as more of a fun thing, I will be doing a live blog with all the trades from the day. I did this back in 2009. You may remember the Twins acquired Orlando Cabrera that day, and as I wrote on the page, they were also kicking the tires with the Padres on Heath Bell. Think about this: Had the Twins acquired Heath Bell that day, they would of certainly never needed to acquire Matt Capps in 2010, and our catcher for most of this season would of been...Wilson Ramos! Yikes...I better stop now.