La Velle makes ESPN his bitch

While Minnesota suicide hotline operators hunker down for the next week in anticipation of Johan Santana jumping ship - Nightmare now with 100% more Joe Nathan! - the Twins continue to prove that they are prepared for life after Santana.

A deal is reportedly in the works with Tampa Bay to trade young talent for young talent with Matt Garza headed south as Delmon Young packs his bags for Minneapolis.

According to the story which was first reported by La Velle E. Neal III:

The main pieces changning teams would be outfielder Delmon Young, the first overall pick in 2003, and righthander Matt Garza. But indications were strong on Wednesday that as many as six players could be involved.

In addition to Garza, the Twins would send Tampa Bay shortstop Jason Bartlett and reliever Juan Rincon for Young, shortstop Brendan Harris and outfielder Jason Pridie. Pridie was with the Twins during spring training of 2006 as a Rule 5 pick.

Twins players for several weeks had expected the club to deal for either Young or B.J. Upton.

Young, 22, hit .288 last season with 13 homers and 93 RBI and is considered one of the better young hitters in the game. Harris, 27, hit .286 with 12 homers and 59 RBI.

While surprising, this is actually a safe play for the Twins as they attempt to shore up their outfield with the loss of Torii Hunter. You take a pitcher the casual fan has not seen much of, lacks the buzz of Francisco Liriano and add a young bat to the lineup with a strong outfield arm in the process.

Without being too negative, he has been known to be a little bit of a hothead - not Elijah Dukes hotheaded, but enough to have some baggage - so maybe Minneapolis will mellow him out a bit.

Just to be sure though, the clubhouse attendants might want to make sure that the umpires are reminded to double check their gear before they take to the carpet at the Metrodome.

(Image from: SPTimes.com)