Today Justin Morneau was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates to try and help them continue their push towards an NL Central crown. It's a very bittersweet day for Twins fans, while they are happy to see Morneau get a shot at the postseason for the first time since 2006, but are sad to see one of the faces of the franchise for the past decade leave. What's really sad for Twins fans is the path Morneau was on before he took the dreaded right knee of John McDonald to the head on July 8th, 2010. It's safe to say he may have been on his way to Cooperstown one day.
In 2010 Morneau was in the midst of his best season yet and likely on his way to his 2nd MVP award. He was hitting .345 with 18 homeruns and 56 RBI. He had an on base of .437, he was slugging a robust .618 and had an OPS of 1.055. He had an OPS+ of 187! He also had 102 hits in just 81 games. He seemed to have taken his game to an even higher level than we had seen yet, and he hit 140 homers and drove in 549 RBI in the 5 seasons prior to 2010. NBC Sports' Aaron Gleeman tweeted earlier today that from 2006-2010 Morneau hit .298/.372/.528 and since suffering the concussion he has hit .256/.316/.412, obviously he has dropped off dramatically since suffering his concussion.
While his average hasn't gotten back up to where it once was, his power seems to be back. He hit 19 homers last year and has 17 this year with a month still to go. He is going to a much more hitter friendly park in PNC versus Target Field and that should help him continue to hit with power like he has this month.
I see why the Twins made this move, but I am not a fan. Yes, Morneau will be a free agent after this season. Yes, he isn't what he used to be. Yes, Mauer needs to play more games at first. Yes, with Herrmann and Pinto they can now allow Mauer to not catch as often. Did Morneau really have much value? Obviously not, since the Twins only got a 4th outfielder at best when they are stacked with outfielders and a reliever who hasn't been a top prospect since 2007. Why not sweeten the deal for the Pirates and get a better prospect? Why not send them even more bullpen help? Eat more of Morneau's salary? I think if you are going to move someone who has been such a big part of the franchise for the last decade, you need to bring something back fans can get excited about and this deal doesn't excite me. I'm more excited about the lefty we added for Butera from the Dodgers back on July 31st and we gave them essentially a guy who can only catch and not even hit Double-A pitching.
Morneau will always be one of my favorite Twins of all time. He was a class act and proved it with his letter to the fans he sent out shortly after the trade today. I'll always remember his swing because it is so unique. Love how wide eyed he gets when he sees a pitch he likes and then takes a huge hack giving him his unique finish of his swing where he has just one hand on the bat as it whips around his head. Before his injury he truly had a chance to finish as maybe the best power hitter in Twins history, and I'll always wonder what could have been had he avoided that knee on July 8th, 2010.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987
In 2010 Morneau was in the midst of his best season yet and likely on his way to his 2nd MVP award. He was hitting .345 with 18 homeruns and 56 RBI. He had an on base of .437, he was slugging a robust .618 and had an OPS of 1.055. He had an OPS+ of 187! He also had 102 hits in just 81 games. He seemed to have taken his game to an even higher level than we had seen yet, and he hit 140 homers and drove in 549 RBI in the 5 seasons prior to 2010. NBC Sports' Aaron Gleeman tweeted earlier today that from 2006-2010 Morneau hit .298/.372/.528 and since suffering the concussion he has hit .256/.316/.412, obviously he has dropped off dramatically since suffering his concussion.
While his average hasn't gotten back up to where it once was, his power seems to be back. He hit 19 homers last year and has 17 this year with a month still to go. He is going to a much more hitter friendly park in PNC versus Target Field and that should help him continue to hit with power like he has this month.
I see why the Twins made this move, but I am not a fan. Yes, Morneau will be a free agent after this season. Yes, he isn't what he used to be. Yes, Mauer needs to play more games at first. Yes, with Herrmann and Pinto they can now allow Mauer to not catch as often. Did Morneau really have much value? Obviously not, since the Twins only got a 4th outfielder at best when they are stacked with outfielders and a reliever who hasn't been a top prospect since 2007. Why not sweeten the deal for the Pirates and get a better prospect? Why not send them even more bullpen help? Eat more of Morneau's salary? I think if you are going to move someone who has been such a big part of the franchise for the last decade, you need to bring something back fans can get excited about and this deal doesn't excite me. I'm more excited about the lefty we added for Butera from the Dodgers back on July 31st and we gave them essentially a guy who can only catch and not even hit Double-A pitching.
Morneau will always be one of my favorite Twins of all time. He was a class act and proved it with his letter to the fans he sent out shortly after the trade today. I'll always remember his swing because it is so unique. Love how wide eyed he gets when he sees a pitch he likes and then takes a huge hack giving him his unique finish of his swing where he has just one hand on the bat as it whips around his head. Before his injury he truly had a chance to finish as maybe the best power hitter in Twins history, and I'll always wonder what could have been had he avoided that knee on July 8th, 2010.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987