Filed under: Nationals, Twins, MLB Trade Deadline

Desperately seeking bullpen help, the Twins paid a price for it Thursday by obtaining All-Star closer Matt Capps from the Nationals for highly regarded catching prospect Wilson Ramos and left-hander Joe Testa.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported Capps will step in as the Twins’ closer, bumping another former Nationals reliever, Jon Rauch, back into a setup role. Minnesota also will get cash in the deal to help pay the remainder of Capps’ $3.5 million salary this year.

While the Twins obviously made the move in an effort to win in 2010, it should pay dividends for both teams down the road. Capps will be arbitration-eligible and thus still under the Twins‘ control in 2011, and Ramos gives the Nationals a potential replacement for Ivan Rodriguez.

As long as Joe Mauer remains behind the plate in Minnesota, Ramos wasn’t going to have a chance to crack the lineup there, so the Twins were willing to part with him in a trade that could have present and future benefits.

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