Hardy Traded To Orioles For Pitchers
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Infielders J.J. Hardy and Brendan Harris are Baltimore-bound after being traded to the Orioles by the Minnesota Twins.
In exchange, the Twins will receive two pitching prospects -- minor-leaguers and right-handed pitchers Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey. In the trade, Baltimore also received $500,000 in cash.
Hardy played 101 games for the Twins in 2010 and batted .268 with six homers and 38 RBIs. He became "expendable" when the Twins won negotiating rights to Japanese free agent shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Miller said the Twins are expected to sign the middle infielder to a three-year deal worth between $9 and $12 million soon.
The Twins released the below stats on the two acquired pitchers:
Hoey, 27, was 2-0, 3.16 (31.1 ip, 11 er) with 17 walks and 38 strikeouts in 24 appearances with Double-A Bowie last season. The right hander was promoted to Triple-A Norfolk in July, where he went 4-0, 3.38 (21.1 ip, 8 er) with 17 walks and 32 strikeouts in 18 appearances. He was originally selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 13th round of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft.
Jacobson, 24, was 8-1, 2.79 (71.0 ip, 22 er) with 24 walks and 67 strikeouts in 34 appearances for Single-A Frederick in 2010. He was originally selected by the Detroit Tigers in the fourth round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of Vanderbilt University.
The trade talks are going down at the league's winter meetings which end Thursday with the Rule 5 draft, mostly made up of minor league veterans left off 40-man rosters. Currently, the Twins now have 38 players on their Major League roster.
The Twins also selected left-handed pitcher Scott Diamond from the Atlanta Braves in the Major League portion of the Rule 5 draft in Orlando, FL.
Diamond, 24, posted a combined 8-7 record with a 3.46 ERA in 27 starts for the Atlanta Braves Double-A and Triple-A affiliates. The 6-foot-3 left-hander was signed by the Braves as a non-drafted free agent, August 23, 2007, according to the team.
