Twins trade targets: Marco Scutaro

Toronto Infielder Marco Scutaro / AP Photo

With the MLB non-waiver trade deadline approaching this Friday, the Minnesota Twins are reportedly in discussions with a number of teams to acquire help for the stretch run.

Numerous players have been mentioned as being on the Twins' radar, including Pittsburgh's 2B Freddy Sanchez, and Oakland SS Orlando Cabrera and RP Michael Wuertz. A report in the Toronto Sun suggested that the Twins were recently asking about another player in an effort to upgrade the team's troublesome middle infield, Blue Jays' SS Marco Scutaro.

Although Scutaro may not be available until the Roy Halladay situation clears itself up, Scutaro would certainly be an upgrade to a middle infield which, as Aaron Gleeman pointed out Monday,

"Twins second basemen have batted .186/.272/.234 in 410 plate appearances and their shortstops are at .238/.301/.328 in 405 trips to the plate, which combined gives the team an embarrassing, MLB-worst .212/.286/.281 line from the middle infield."

Scutaro turns 34 at the end of the season and is 8-year MLB veteran. A late-bloomer, Scutaro became a semi-regular MLB player in 2004 at age 28 with the Oakland Athletics, who claimed him off waivers from the New York Mets the previous off-season. He was an average hitter with the A's, but had a memorable 2006 ALDS against the Twins, hitting .333 with 6 RBI in Oakland's three-game sweep. He was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays after the 2007 season for two minor leaguers and finished his Oakland career with a .262/.321/.387 line with 28 HR and 162 RBI over 1,702 plate appearances.

With the Jays in 2008, Scutaro played regularly, albeit all over the field, seeing time at all four infield positions and three games in left field. He amassed 592 plate appearances and hit .267/.341/.697 with 23 doubles, a triple, 7 HR, and 60 RBI. His strikeout to walk ratio was 65:57. 

Thus far in 2009, Scutaro is hitting .288/.383/.431 in 464 plate appearances. He has collected 30 doubles, a triple, 8 HR, and 45 RBI, and has improved his strikeout to walk ratio to 61:48. He has primarily played at shortstop, save for two games spent at second base. He is currently in the midst of a career year in his free agency season.

On the defensive ledger, Scutaro's 2009 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) is estimated at 6.5 runs above average at shortstop this season. By way of comparison, Nick Punto's shortstop rating is -1.0, and Brendan Harris's figure is -1.2. Of the other middle infielders in the mix, Pittsburgh's Freddy Sanchez is 4.2 at 2B, and Oakland's Orlando Cabrera is -7.9 at short. 

According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, Scutaro is in the final year of a 2-year, $2.65M contract signed prior to the 2008 season. He is due an additional $100k for each 400, 425, 450, and 475 plate appearances this season (thresholds he will surpass by the end of the current week), and will be a free agent at the end of the season. Regardless of Scutaro staying or going at the deadline, it is likely Toronto will attempt to re-sign him in the off-season.

On the surface, Scutaro is a lower-cost solution than acquiring Cabrera (due $4M this season) and Sanchez (due $6.1M this season with $8M option for 2010). Scutaro's defense is superior to Cabrera's, Punto's, and Harris's at short, and his performance at the plate is much better than any of the Twins' current options has been able to generate. Still, Toronto may not be in a position to move Scutaro until the 11th hour on Friday, given the Halladay situation. Also, he will be a classic "rent-a-player" who is highly unlikely to re-sign here after the season.

Still, the Twins would be wise to pursue Scutaro. Assuming the cost of Sanchez and Cabrera (Oakland reportedly asked for AAA 3B Danny Valencia in return, according to this piece from Joe Christensen) is too high, Scutaro would be a solid option to play every day at short and have Harris take the lion's share of at-bats at 2B until Mark Grudzielanek is ready to play in mid-August. Sanchez is the better fit for this team, but the Twins will likely be scared away by both his salary and the cost to acquire him. Marco Scutaro would be a nice addition to a team which desperately needs help up the middle.

White Sox Series, part 1: Glen Perkins provided the Twins exactly what they needed on Monday night, pitching 7 innings and allowing 3 runs in the Twins' 4-3 victory over the White Sox in the series opener. Perkins rebounded nicely from the one-inning disaster last week in Oakland and kept the Sox in check.

Matt Guerrier and Joe Nathan were both perfect in their outings out of the bullpen for the Twins.

At the plate, Michael Cuddyer's 2-run homer in the 6th inning provided the difference. The Twins' other two runs were unearned as they took advantage of Chicago's three errors.

Game two is Tuesday night at the Dome, as Chicago's Mark Buehrle goes to the mound for the first time since his perfect game last Thursday and faces Minnesota's Scott Baker.