Go-Go Gone

Twins trade Gomez to Brewers for shortstop Hardy:

With one swift move, the Twins addressed two important needs today, trading center fielder Carlos Gomez to the Brewers for former All-Star shortstop J.J. Hardy.

The move gives the Twins a shortstop to replace free agent Orlando Cabrera and clears up an outfield logjam.

Don't know how much of player Hardy is these days, but I'm relieved that we won't have to watch (and wince) through another year of Gomez's futility as a hitter.

Sisyphus Adds:
Here are the numbers:

J.J. Hardy (age 27)
.......G AB R 2B 3B HR RBI SB AVG SLG
2007 151 592 89 30 1 26 80 2 .277 .463
2008 146 569 78 31 4 24 74 2 .283 .478
2009 115 414 53 16 2 11 47 0 .229 .357

Carlos Gomez (age 24)
.......G AB R 2B 3B HR RBI SB AVG SLG
2008 153 577 79 24 7 7 59 33 .258 .360
2009 137 315 51 15 5 3 28 14 .229 .337

J.J Hardy is also one of the better defensive shortstops based on this scientific study (note that it has Derek Jeter rated dead last defensively and Orlando Cabrera in the middle of the pack).

I endorse the trade. Even if Hardy plays more like he did last year than he did in 2007-2008, he will still be an improvement. With the emergence of Span, Gomez is expendable. The Twins now have six players with 20+ home run potential, Morneau, Cuddyer, Kubel, Mauer, Young (I said potential) and Hardy.

UPDATE-- Brewers fan Learned Foot e-mails to add:

Write it down now: if the Twins bat JJ Hardy before Mauer or Morneau in the lineup (ideally, #2 before Mauer rather than #3 after him) and he stays healthy, he will have a .290 / 20-25 HR season.