MLB Rumors: The Twins Will Trade Joe Nathan

From the length of Ken Rosenthal's latest FOXSports.com column,  he looks to have emptied his notebook in anticipation of taking a few days off.  The biggest news is the apparent willingness of the Twins to deal their closer, Joe Nathan, ahead of his free agent season after seeing Francisco Cordero land a 4-year/$46MM contract from the Reds.

An unheralded part of the Twins success has been a great bullpen led by Nathan.  If the Twins do reload for the next year or two, the team will likely be able to find a good closer from amongst its stable of curent relievers and to replenish the middle relief core from its stable of pitchers in the minors. Regardless of that ability, expect a reliever tacked on to a Santana trade.  The Yankees could add Kevin Whelan or the Red Sox could add Craig Hansen or Manny Delcarmen.  The player would be an under-the-radar type.

He also writes the Twins are close to acquiring a centerfielder, but not Coco Crisp.  Apparently, the Red Sox are asking for the sky.   Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald writes the Red Sox would prefer to make the Twins take Coco Crisp and his two-years at $11MM than six-years of Jacoby Ellsbury.  To gauge Crisp's price, the Red Sox asked for three prospects from the Rangers in exchange for those two years of Coco Crisp, and the Rangers didn't want to give-up any of the three.