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Here’s a quick round to get your Thursday rolling…

• Hopefully the first of many trades went down late Wednesday night as the Twins and Rays completed a nice six player deal. The Twins sent SP Matt Garza, SS Jason Bartlett, and RHP Eduardo Morlan to the Rays for OF Delmon Young, IF Brendan Harris, and OF Jason Pridie. The Twins got the “best player” in the deal in the talented Delmon Young. This is a great get by the Twins. They have him under control for five years and while many people will say he had a disappointing rookie year, his underlying numbers suggest superstar if he learns any patience at the plate. Harris could be the starting shortstop (although I think his performance last season was overrated)  and Pridie projects as bench player at the moment. The Rays, however, get the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th best players in the deal. Matt Garza is a solid young pitcher who will probably slot into the third spot in the Rays rotation behind Kazmir and Shields. That is a nice, solid top three if healthy. The Rays also upgrade at shortstop with Jason Bartlett who brings a solid glove, decent bat skills, and good speed. Morlan is a 21 year old relief prospect who has high upside. This is a nice baseball trade as both teams fill some needs. I do give a nice edge to the Rays for acquiring a good pitcher and an upgrade at short along with a hard throwing relief prospect. The Twins do get a potential superstar outfielder who should fit in nicely with Morneau and Mauer. This does leave the Twins needing to acquiring a pitcher who is ready for this season if they do end up dealing Johan Santana.

• In other Rays news, ESPN is reporting that they are close to signing veteran Troy Percival. Percival was a nice comeback story, but he is not a fit for the Rays. Hopefully this is a rumor as there are better pitchers for the Rays to take a chance on. I somewhat see the logic of the Rays here because if Percival gets off to a good start, he is a nice trade deadline candidate. But, again, there are better pitchers out there.

• The Royals signed 34 year old relief pitcher Yasuhiko Yabuta to a 2 year deal (with an option) for 6 million dollars. Yabuta has had a solid 2.80 ERA over the past three seasons with a good strikeouts per nine ratio. It’s nice to see the Royals taking some smart chances. Japanese relievers tend to do well their first few years in the majors. For now, Yabuta seems slated for the 7th and 8th innings. Keep an eye on the Royals with Japanese players. New manager, Trey Hillman, just finished as stint managing in the Japanese leagues.

• Daily Johan Update–It seems that there is speculation in every newspaper around the country. Boston is rumored to have an inside track if they include Jacoby Ellsbury in a deal. For now, it is believed that they are offering Coco Crisp, Jon Lester, and others for Santana.

• Part two of that thought–I think Boston is not that interested in Santana. Part of me thinks that Theo and the boys are just trying to drive the Yankees to the point where paranoia takes over and they fork over anything. This is just a hunch here.

• Last Johan point–The Mets are not trading Jose Reyes for him. Reyes, although he had a lousy last 60 games, is an incredible talent at a good price. I’d be shocked if Omar Minaya actually gave up Reyes without a real replacement available.

• News out of LA has Angels owner Arte Moreno frustrated with the Marlins as they are continuing their reputation as being difficult to deal with. The deal probably gets done once Florida realizes that the Angels are offering the best package. The Marlins do have to be careful that the Angels don’t decide to change course and offer those prospects for Santana (oh, man another Johan reference!).

That’s it for today. Enjoy the day! Fire back.