BOSOX BRING IN VALENCIA FOR DEPTH
The Boston Red Sox acquired third basemen Danny Valencia from the Minnesota Twins for outfielder Jeremias Pineda.
What does it give the Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox promptly sent Valencia back to Triple-A after acquiring him, so he is clearly organizational depth for Boston. As a player who hit 15 homers with 72 RBI last season, Valencia is a solid (if not stellar) talent at the hot corner and may still have some upside. Moroever, Boston lost some depth at the position when they traded {P Kevin Youkilis} to the White Sox. That said, Valencia isn't really a star or a threat to push young starter {P Will Middlebrooks}.
What does it give the Minnesota Twins
Pineda is a speedy table-setter type of center fielder (he's batting .421 and has 14 steals in 36 games in the minors), so he's a nice long-term prospect for a Twins team that seems to be making an investment in team speed lately. That said, Pineda isn't close to the majors (as he's currently toiling in Rookie League ball). More short-term, this move opens the door for {P Tsuyoshi Nishioka} to get another chance in the bigs (with the once-highly-hyped infielder called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move).
Fantasy impact
The only player this deal helps fantasy-wise is Nishioka, who takes Valencia's spot on the active Twins roster. He may get a chance to push light-hitting {P Brian Dozier} at shortstop down the stretch, but don't expect too much. Valencia may push his way into a bench role for Boston if he performs well enough in Triple-A for a September call-up (but again, is blocked by Middlebrooks at third base). Pineda may have some long-range keeper value in time, but that won't likely be for while.
