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The Minnesota Twins have several players of interest this summer, but the club has yet to make their most coveted bat, outfielder Josh Willingham, available, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports:
#Twins have yet to put Josh Willingham on trade market, source says. He is in high demand, esp. after Carlos Quentin extension. @MLBONFOX
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 23, 2012
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal adds that if the Twins were to entertain a trade of Willingham, they would "want a major return."
The signings of Encarnacion and Quentin made Willingham even more attractive as a trade candidate; right-handed power is in short supply. Yet, Willingham’s contract is so reasonable, the Twins would want a major return.
Rosenthal and Morosi note that the extensions handed to Carlos Quentin and Edwin Encarnacion, players that were potential trade targets for contenders this summer, seemed to have increased the demand for Willingham.
The 33-year-old has hit at a clip of .271/.384/.551 with 22 doubles, 23 home runs and 68 RBIs over 332 at-bats this season.
Meanwhile, Tim Brown of Yahoo! reports the Twins are listening on first baseman Justin Morneau. However, if Minnesota is to trade him, they’d want a "big-league player in return and for teams to take on Morneau’s full contract (about $20 million through 2013)."
This may prove too much to ask for a 31-year-old with an extensive injury history that’s struggled over the past two seasons.
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Should the Twins shop Josh Willingham?
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