Joe Nathan

On Tuesday morning, the Minnesota Twins revealed that their closer, Joe Nathan, had a torn ligament in his throwing arm and would likely be shut down for the 2010 season.

The subsequent barrage of texts, tweets, and comments from White Sox fans were overwhelmingly celebratory.

As one Sox fan friend of mine put it, "Hell yeah!"

Joe Nathan has a torn ulnar collateral ligament.

At best, it’s partially torn, and he’ll be able to avoid surgery and pitch through the pain this season, albeit with a seriously diminished skill-set due to the injury.

What I’m Reading

• Uh-oh. Looks like “Broken” Brandon Webb might be starting the year on the DL. Yes, even after spending the past year on the DL.

• And how about Joe Nathan? Might be too early to tell, but this isn’t a good sign for the hopeful Twins.

Whenever your star closer breaks camp to have his surgically-repaired elbow looked at, all the excitement surrounding the start of a new year comes to a screeching halt.

The joy of finally having outdoor baseball in Minnesota again is replaced with the fear that they will suffer a similar fate as the Mets in their new ballpark. 

Closers are a volatile bunch.  It’s a fantasy mantra and a good one.  So, for those who participate in dynasty leagues, how do the rankings fall?  How far do you push up a younger closer who has proven capable?  How far do you drop a veteran who may only have a year or two left?  Let’s take a look:

This offseason the Minnesota Twins were not only beleaguered with the task of making several key roster moves in hopes of finding the right fit for the 2010 season, but with another critical move for their franchise as well—to outdoor baseball. In Minnesota, and even around the MLB community, the  exhilaration and restlessness for opening day is like never before. 

But have the Twins stepped up to the task and made the right key moves to ensure that their opening season won't be washed into the Mississippi Rivers? 

Few players have been as consistently dominant as Twins' closer Joe Nathan the past six seasons.

His ERA has never been above 2.70, and last year’s 2.10 was the second highest of the stretch. His WHIP has never been above 1.02. Only once was his BAA above .187. Only once did he record fewer than 77 strikeouts. He has had at least 36 saves every year. He’s just consistently been one of the best closers in the league.

While there is still volatility in all of the rankings, I think the closer rankings are the ones with the most potential to change.  Where does Billy Wagner fit in now that he’s going to be a closer?  Should Carlos Marmol, Bobby Jenks, or Trevor Hoffman be considered a top option?  Where do we value 2009 breakouts David Aardsma and Ryan Franklin?

These are all questions that we’ll try to answer as we take a look at how my rankings currently stand (remember, I’m still fine tuning my projections so keep in mind that these are fluid):

The Minnesota Twins cannot afford to trade Joe Nathan.

Period.

Not now. Not later this offseason. Not at any point before next year’s trade deadline, if at all.

Everyone is asking the the question : What to do with Joe Nathan?