Twins acquire Matt Capps
By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com
MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins have acquired closer Matt Capps and cash from the Nationals in exchange for catching prospect Wilson Ramos and left-handed pitching prospect Joe Testa.
Capps, 26, has 26 saves and a 2.74 ERA for the Nationals this season. He
has around $1.3 million remaining of his $3.5 million salary and will be under the Twins control for 2011 as an arbitration-eligible player.
The deal helps to bolster the Twins’ bullpen, which recently lost one of its late-inning options when Brian Duensing was moved into the rotation. Capps will likely fill the role of closer, under the assumption that manager Ron Gardenhire decides to move Jon Rauch back into a set-up role.
Ramos, who had been labeled as the Twins’ No. 2 prospect, was batting .241 with five home runs and 30 RBIs for Triple-A Rochester this season. Ramos had been considered to be the Twins’ best trade chip since Spring Training when the club signed Joe Mauer to an eight-year, $184 million extension. Ramos was a late scratch from Rochester’s lineup on Thursday night, fueling further speculation that a trade was in the works.
Kelly's Corner 
Give up Ramos for Capps? Seems a bit strong. I would have rather the Twins invested more to try and get Lee a couple weeks ago (Ramos was on the mariners radar too) – who is a lockdown top of the rotation pitcher.
Capps is good, but if you compare the stat lines between him and Rauch this year they really aren’t that different.