The Twins have reached an agreement to trade Francisco Liriano to the division rival White Sox. In return the Twins will receive pitcher Pedro Hernandez and infielder Eduardo Escobar. Both will report to Triple-A Rochester. Hernandez is a 23 year old left-handed starter with a low 90′s fastball and a 3.42 ERA in six minor league seasons. He was rated Chicago’s 20th best prospect. Escobar is a 23 years old infielder who played primarily 3B for the White Sox and SS in the minors. He was rated Chicago’s 10th best prospect and is regarded as a top defensive infielder. He has a career batting line of .270/.315/.351 in the minors and has struggled in his 35 major league games this season batting only .195.
Not only did the Twins trade Liriano to a division rival they traded him for two underwhelming prospects. Escobar is above average with his glove but leaves more to be desired at the plate and is not a base stealing threat either. Hernandez has a solid 3.42 ERA with 360 strikeouts and 78 walks in 428 1/3 minor league innings. He is not an overpowering pitcher as his fastball clocks in around 90 MPH. He made his major league debut on July 18th and gave up 8 earned runs on 12 hits in 4 innings. Both have seen time in the majors this season but seem to be very overmatched so far. The Twins apparently got whatever they could for a “rental player” in Liriano who will become a free agent after the season. By dealing him to a rival it suggests that the other offers they were getting weren’t much. Neither Liriano nor the Twins pursued a contract extension before the trade was made.
Liriano will stay in town and likely pitch against the Twins in his debut for the White Sox this week. Brian Duensing will start tomorrow for the Twins in place of Liriano.
