By Joe Christensen, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) –
MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins traded lefthander Francisco Liriano to the Chicago White Sox late Saturday night for pitcher Pedro Hernandez and infielder Eduardo Escobar.
Both players will be added to the Twins 40-man roster and assigned to Class AAA Rochester.
The move came three days before the nonwaiver trade deadline. It wasn’t surprising that the Twins traded Liriano, a pending free agent. It was just surprising where he landed.
Liriano was scheduled to pitch Sunday’s series finale against Cleveland, but the White Sox jumped ahead and got him with a trade within the division.
The Twins traded within the division last season, too, on their way to a 99-loss season. On Aug. 15, they traded left fielder Delmon Young to the eventual AL Central champion Tigers, and 10 days later they sent designated hitter Jim Thome to the Indians
This is the seventh trade between the Twins and White Sox, the last coming, April 30, 1986 when the Twins acquired Juan Agosto and Kurt Walker for Pete Filson.
Liriano, 28, went 3-10 with a 5.31 ERA this year for the Twins.
Players still can be traded in August, but they must first be placed on waivers. The Twins knew players such as Carl Pavano, Matt Capps and even Justin Morneau likely would clear waivers based on their big salaries. But Liriano is making just $5.5 million and almost certainly would be claimed, which is why the Twins were expected to take the best offer they could before Tuesday.
Hernandez, 23, got traded from the Padres to the White Sox last December in the deal that sent Carlos Quentin to San Diego. The lefthander from Venezuela made one start for the White Sox this year, giving up eight runs in four innings at Boston on July 18.
In 15 appearances between Class AA and Class AAA, including 14 starts, Hernandez went 8-2 with a 2.94 ERA.
A scouting report from last winter’s Baseball America Prospect Handbook reads, “His prospect status began to take hold when his fastball velocity began to creep up halfway through the 2010 season.
“He now touches 95 (miles per hour) on occasion, sits in the low 90s and works both sides of the plate with a riding fastball. Batters don’t see the ball well against the short and stocky Hernandez, which helps his low-80s changeup play up. … Hernandez may not have a deep enough repertoire to start in the big leagues, but he could grow into a nifty southpaw reliever.”
Baseball America had Escobar ranked as Chicago’s 10th-best prospect after the 2011 season. He batted .195 with no home runs in 82 at-bats for the White Sox this year and .266 with four home runs at Class AAA Charlotte.
Baseball America’s handbook says, “A clone of former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, Escobar advanced from low Class A in 2009 to Triple-A last year. … Escobar is a ballplayer more than a toolkit, the type of guy managers and teammates want the ball hit to with the game on the line. He covers a lot of ground at shortstop but his solid arm isn’t quite enough to pull off all the plays from the hole.”
