Players A to Z, Brendan Harris

In 2010, the Twins used Brendan Harris as a utility infielder, mostly as a third baseman. Halfway through the season Minnesota demoted the infielder to AAA, from whence he did not return. After hitting poorly in the minors, he may never return to the majors, although the Twins do owe him $1.75 million for 2011. Harris arrived in Minnesota with Delmon Young and Jason Pridie, part of a trade that sent Jason Barlett and Matt Garza to the Rays. The Twins acquired a shortstop one year older than Bartlett, but seemingly with more power after Harris posted a .286/.343/.434 slash line in 2007. There should have been warning signs for the Twins, however. Harris was 26, and for the first time in his career played a full season at the major league level. Secondly, Harris never played shortstop well. No matter the length of the season, FanGraphs has Harris with a negative fielding WAR every year. That’s probably the main reason, despite good minor league hitting numbers, his previou...