The Twins have acquired outfielders Delmon Young, Jason Pridie and infielder Brendan Harris from the Rays for starting pitcher Matt Garza, shortstop Jason Bartlett and reliever Eduardo Morlan. Delmon Young is the centerpiece of this trade for the Twins who needed some offense to off-set the loss of Torii Hunter. Young finished 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting last season and he has a howitzer for a throwing arm often intimidating runners. The 22-year old, right swinging Young played in all 162 games for the Rays last season and he was 186 for 645 (.288 avg, .724 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 13 homers, 93 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Young has now played in 192 games in his major league career and he is 226 for 771 (.293 avg, .738 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 16 homers, 103 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Young played some center field for the Rays last season but he will probably play left field for the Twins. He also is very high maintenance so it will be interesting to see how he fits in with the Blue Collar Twins. Brendan Harris was mis-cast as a shortstop for the Rays because that’s where they needed him to play. He will likely play second base for the Twins where his glove won’t hurt them as much. Harris played in 137 games for the Rays last season and he was 149 of 521 (.286 avg, .778 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 12 homers and 59 RBIs. Harris has now played in 189 games in his major league career and he is 172 of 631 (.273 avg, .749 OPS) with 82 runs scored, 15 homers and 68 RBIs. Harris is a solid player who should help the Twins. 24 year old Jason Pridie was the last player the Twins received from the Rays. He played in 134 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 159 for 524 (.303 avg, .839 OPS) with 89 runs scored, 14 homers, 66 RBIs and 26 stolen bases. This was a trade that will likely help both teams.

The Twins have signed R.A. Dickey to a minor league contract. Dickey last pitched in the majors in 2006 with the Texas Rangers. Dickey has pitched in 77 games (33 starts) in the majors and he is 16-19 with 2 saves, a 5.72 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. He specializes in the knuckle ball so it will be interesting to see who gets the job of catching him if he makes it up to the Twins.

The Twins have signed OF Jon Knott, OF/1B/3B Howie Clark and C Eli Whitehead to minor league contracts. Knott is 29 years old and he swings from the right side. He played in 7 games last season for the Orioles and he was 3 for 14 (.214 avg, .797 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. Knott has now played in 19 games in his major league career and he is 6 for 31 (.194 avg, .652 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 5 RBIs. Howie Clark is a versatile 33 year old lefty swinger. He played in 31 games last season with the Blue Jays and he was 10 for 49 (.204 avg, .543 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Clark has now played in 130 games in his major league career and he is 77 for 294 (.262 avg, .685 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 3 homers and 25 RBIs. Eli Whiteside last played in the majors in 2005 with the Orioles. Whiteside has played in 9 games in his major league career and he is 3 for 12 (.250 avg, 500 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. Clark and Knott might have a chance to make the Twins roster at some point but if Whiteside is up someone got hurt and the Twins will suffer.

The Twins have let catcher Chris Heintz go after releasing him earlier this week. The Twins just felt that with Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond ahead of him that he would never get to play unless one of them were injured. He played in 24 games for the Twins last season and he was 14 for 56 (.250 avg, .538 OPS) with 0 runs scored and 7 RBIs. Heintz has now played in 34 games in his major league career and he is 19 for 82 (.232 avg, .535 OPS) with 1 run scored and 9 RBIs.

The Twins have acquired Craig Monroe in a trade with the Cubs for a low level minor league prospect. Monroe played in 122 games last season for the Cubs and Tigers and he was 86 for 392 (.219 avg) with 53 runs scored, 12 homers and 59 RBIs. Monroe will likely start in left field for the Twins with Jason Kubel moving to DH. Monroe has now played in 722 games in his major league career and he is 628 for 2,449 (.256 avg, .749 OPS) with 338 runs scored, 104 homers and 388 RBIs.