Who might the PTBNL be?

If Craig Monroe ends up making the Twins roster, which looks very likely at this point, the Twins will have to send a player to the Cubs to finalize the trade. There's been a bit of speculation on who that might be, but the general consensus is that it will be a low-level prospect, without much of a future in the pro's.

Bleed Cubbie Blue believes that the PTBNL in that trade could be Tim Lahey, in which it would allow the Cubs to demote Lahey to Triple-A at the end of Spring, instead of giving him back to the Twins. Lahey, 26, is a right-handed relief pitcher who was taken with the first pick of the Rule V Draft. The only thing is that Lahey has really held his own this spring. Here are his results:

1. 3/1 - vs. Angels - 1 IP
2. 3/3 - vs. Mariners - 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K
3. 3/5 - vs. Diamondbacks - 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB
4. 3/7 - vs. Mariners - 1 IP, 2 BB
5. 3/10 - vs. Brewers - 1.1 IP, 1 K
   
6. 3/13 - vs. Padres - 1 IP
7. 3/15 - vs. White Sox - 1.1 IP, 1 BB, 1 K

Obviously, nothing spectacular. His K/BB ratio is not great, but I doubt he'd carry that over to the season (at least letting it stay that low). He would definitely benefit from some seasoning in Triple-A, but if not, I think he'd post decent numbers for the Cubs this season.

He has a low-90's fastball, a hard sinker and a solid slider. He's a former catcher who's still new to pitching, but he could be a solid reliever when all is said and done.

The Twins don't have a lot of room in Rochester, which may make it an easy decision to make that kind of trade, but I'm sure the Twins would love to have him back in the organization.

Nonetheless, I think it was an interesting scenario.

Here's a good article on Lahey from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette (Lahey is from Worcester, Massachusetts).