Akinori Iwamura

Florida Marlins:

Reports out of Tampa late Tuesday afternoon are that the Rays have dealt second baseman Akinori Iwamura to the Pittsburgh Pirates. It is believed that the Rays will receive reliever Jesse Chavez in return, but the full details of the deal have not yet been released.

Iwamura was hurt early in 2009 and lost his job to surprising All-Star Ben Zobrist. The Rays had been rumored to be shopping Iwamura to a number of teams, including a deal that would have sent him to the Chicago Cubs with Pat Burrell in exchange for Milton Bradley.

The Minnesota Twins may be on the verge of completing a major deal to improve the infield for 2010 and beyond.

Mark Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times is reporting that the Rays are close to dealing second baseman Akinori Iwamura to an undisclosed team.

The Minnesota Twins magical run is over.

After falling to the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series, the players can now head home for the winter and the front-office—lead by General Manager Bill Smith—can begin the work of ensuring the Twins are a contender again in 2010.

The pieces are already in place for a very good ballclub next season.

Perennial All-Stars Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan should all be healthy and ready to contribute.