The Twins take a gamble by shopping their keystone

Sporting News, The, Feb 9, 1998 by Peter Schmuck

The Twins have dangled All-Star second baseman Chuck Knoblauch in front of several contending teams this winter, but at a price that has prompted a couple of the deepest organizations in baseball to back out of trade negotiations.

The Indians balked at a proposed deal that would have diminished their improving pitching staff. The Braves shied away, too, when it became apparent that the Twins wanted enough good young talent to embark on another major youth movement.

Is Twins general manager Terry Ryan being unreasonable? Not at all. Knoblauch is a hot commodity their way back into the middle of the A.L. Central. And that is the only way to justify dealing off one of the last remaining star-quality players on the roster.

Ryan has been holding out for five young players, hoping to restock the roster and re-create the kind of environment in which the Twins flourished at the beginning of the decade.

Remember when the Twins did the unthinkable in 1989 by trading lefthander Frank Viola to the Mets? That deal brought the team five players -- including closer Rick Aguilera and starter Kevin Tapani -- and contributed greatly to the club's 1991 World Series title.

This time, there is even more at sake. The Twin's organization is at a crossroads, and the decision to shop Knoblauch is a high-stakes gamble that could further alienate Minnesota fans already turned off by the club's recent threat to move if local officials don't approve public financing for a new stadium.

Twins management has been forced to walk a small-revenue tightrope while owner Carl Pohlad tries to sell the area on a new state-of-the-art ballpark. The club would love do dump Knoblauch's $6 million salary and satisfy his desire to go to a contending tea, but it must get enough in return to keep fans excited enough about baseball to reconsider their opposition to a new stadium.

Now, it appears, the chances of such a trade have diminished considerably, but there still is one team out there that might be willing to dig deep into its minor league system to make a deal. The Yankees remain in the wherewithal to satisfy the Twins.

The price continues to be a stumbling block, though. The Twins reportedly want pitching prospect Eric Milton, major league starter Ramiro Mendoza, top outfield prospect Ricky Ledee and two other promising players, but they may have to settle for less now that the Yankees are without serious competition in the Knoblauch sweepstakes.

The Yankees strained their player-development system with the ill-advised deal last spring that sent a couple of top prospects to the Padres for the right to sign Japanese pitcher Hideki Irabu. They are understandably hesitant to mortgage another large chunk of their future when the major league roster may be good enough to win the tough A.L. East as currently configured.

Nevertheless, G.M. Bob Watson says trade talks would continue. The Yankees would love to make a blockbuster acquisition that would distance the from the rest of baseball's toughest division, but the price has to be right.

The feeling is mutual. The Twins aren't desperate to deal Knoblauch, who is one of the cornerstones of the club and is under contract for the next four seasons. His salary is high, by small-market standards, but it is looking more and more reasonable as baseball's salary spiral continues unabated.

Ryan has said he is confident that he can move Knoblauch before the Twins open spring camp, but the issue could remain open well into the regular season.

Now that the Indians and Braves have backed off it surely makes it tougher for the Twins to wheel and deal. One major problem: The Yankees would need some of the same prospects they would deal for Knoblauch if they were to put together a package for Mariners ace Randy Johnson.

At it again

Agent Scott Boras is trying to make another end run around baseball rules, and the Major League Baseball Players Association is right behind him.

Boras has been trying to get Phillies draft choice J.D. Drew, the second player selected overall last June, declared a free agent because he played in the independent Northern League last summer. The union has filed a grievance on behalf of the young outfield star, who could command $10 million on the open market, but only about $2 million if he is compelled to play for the Phillies.

It's a matter of principle, according to Boras, but everyone knows it's about money -- the millions and millions that young players and their agents could make by overturning baseball's amateur draft.

Perhaps you can't fault the agent for doing what agents do, but the union should not be along for the ride. This is the same set of lawyers who argued successfully that Major League Baseball bargained in bad faith during the last labor dispute. Now, they are trying to circumvent a Basic Agreement that they helped put in place.

If the union wants to end the draft, there is another set of collective-bargaining negotiations on the horizon. Union officials should go through the proper channels -- either that or stop trying to claim the moral high ground in their running power struggle with ownership.