It seems like not too long ago people were discussing Danny Valencia as the future for the Twins at 3rd base. Now, he will try to make a name for himself playing for the Boston Red Sox as the Twins shipped him out for a lower level minor league prospect in Jeremias Pineda. Pineda, 21, was batting .421 (56-for-133) with nine double, three triples and 14 stolen bases for the Red Sox GCL affiliate.
Valencia wasn’t much help to the team this year anyway so this trade is kind of a wash for now. If he dominates for Boston it will be okay to cause an uproar but that seems unlikely. Trevor Plouffe (currently on the DL) is having a fine season so it isn’t like the Twins don’t have any other options. They also must have felt comfortable with Jamey Carroll playing 3rd until Plouffe can return. In a surprise move, still struggling Tsuyoshi Nishioka got called up from Triple-A to fill the roster spot left by Valencia’s departure.
Personally, I am pretty content with this move. I was not seeing much progress from Danny in the minors and he came off like he had a slight attitude. Yes, I agree with the masses that say Pineda won’t make a difference for this team but I wasn’t holding out hope for Valenica either. In small moves like these, jumping to quick judgement is a waste of time.
