Young was traded by Tampa Bay to Minnesota on Wednesday night as

part of a six-player deal that sent right-hander Matt Garza to the

Rays.

In a swap of promising youngsters that's been discussed for

weeks, the Twins also gave up starting shortstop Jason Bartlett and

minor league pitcher Eduardo Morlan while acquiring shortstop

Brendan Harris and minor league outfielder Jason Pridie.

The deal was first reported by ESPN.com's Keith Law.

"I've grown up a lot over the last couple of years," Young

said on a conference call with the Minnesota media. "I'm getting

older and wiser. It's going to happen with some players when you

are 18 years old, thrown into the world with a little money in your

pocket."

While many in baseball have been waiting for Minnesota to make a

blockbuster deal, this wasn't it. The Twins are involved in trade

talks involving ace Johan Santana, who can become a free agent

after next season.

Young, though, was runner-up for AL Rookie of the Year this

season and gives Minnesota an athletic replacement for All-Star

Torii Hunter -- at least in the lineup if not in center field.

A seven-time Gold Glove winner, Hunter agreed to a $90 million,

five-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels last week, leaving

the Twins in dire need of a proven outfielder.

"Coming into the offseason our first priority was to improve

our offense," new Twins general manager Bill Smith said. "We took

a hit last week when Torii left, but Delmon Young has been the guy

we've been targeting since the end of the season. We feel he is the

best bat available, and we're excited to get him."

In addition to the Young deal, the Rays are also close to a multiyear deal for reliever Troy Percival, ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney reports.

Young hit .288 with 13 homers and 93 RBIs in his first full

major league season, though he walked only 26 times with 127

strikeouts. He also had 38 doubles and 10 steals.

Young, however, has a hotheaded history for a 22-year-old. The

first overall pick in the 2003 draft famously flipped his bat into

the chest of a Triple-A umpire in 2006 and received a 50-game

suspension for that. He got a three-game ban in 2005 for bumping an

umpire in Double-A.

He also argued with Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon during a

late-season game after he was removed for not running out a

grounder.

But Young has unquestionable talent, possessing a rocket arm

from his natural spot in right field. He also played center as an

injury fill-in, appearing in all 162 games and compiling 16

outfield assists.

"He's got one bad incident on his record. He made a terrible

mistake," Smith said. "We've done a lot of work on his makeup,

and we've had an awful lot of people tell us he's a very good

teammate, he's a fierce competitor, he wants to win, and he's the

first one to arrive at the ballpark every day."

Garza gives the Rays, who need help for their rotation, a

legitimate starter. One of the game's top prospects, Garza went 5-7

with a 3.69 ERA in 16 appearances, 15 starts, for Minnesota after

he was called up right before the All-Star break.

"He's a guy we project to get a lot better quickly," Rays

executive vice president Andrew Friedman said. "We feel like we

strengthened two areas of need, shortstop and starting pitching."

Garza was excited after speaking with Friedman.

"He's ready to roll. That's what I like to hear. He made me

feel at home, and all I can feel is that things are pointed on the

up and up," Garza said from his home in Fresno, Calif. "It'll be

fun to see how it plays out."

Upset by his exclusion from the Opening Day roster in the

spring, Garza threw 15 straight scoreless innings after he was

promoted from Triple-A this year. He also made 10 appearances for

Minnesota in 2006.

Friedman expects Bartlett to be the Opening Day shortstop and

Garza to fit nicely next to Scott Kazmir and James Shields, two

other young starters. The other two spots in the rotation will be

open to competition in spring training.

"The trade is about the present, not the future. We're a better

ballclub because of this deal," Friedman said. "To get good young

players you have to give up something good, and that's what we

did."

Garza was Minnesota's first-round draft pick in 2005, and the

hard-throwing righty out of Fresno State breezed through the minors

to earn time with the Twins the following season.

His velocity reaches the mid-90 mph range, but the 24-year-old

has frustrated his coaches and managers the past two years by

relying too much on his fastball without mixing in enough off-speed

and breaking pitches to be effective in the majors.

He is 8-13 with a 4.47 ERA in 26 appearances -- including 24

starts -- with the Twins. He has issued 55 walks in 133 innings, and

opponents have hit .297 against him.

The good news for Garza is that Tampa Bay plays at Minnesota

only twice in 2008, April 16-17. He is 1-10 with a 5.91 ERA in 13

career appearances at the Metrodome.

The Bartlett-for-Harris shortstop section of the swap gives the

Twins a 27-year-old in exchange for a 28-year-old. In his first

full season as a starter, Harris hit .286 with 12 homers, 35

doubles and 59 RBIs in 521 at-bats. From 2004-06, he played for

three teams: the Cubs, Expos/Nationals and Reds.

"You've got to produce," Harris said. "It's an offensive game

now. Everybody's got to pull their weight at the dish. At the same

time, I view myself as a solid defensive player."

Bartlett was a late bloomer who finally became a regular when he

was called up in June 2006. He gave the lineup a legitimate spark

that year and batted .309 in 333 at-bats for a playoff-bound team.

Like many of the Twins, though, he slumped in 2007 and finished

with a .265 average, five homers, 43 RBIs and 23 steals in 510

at-bats. He made 26 errors. Harris had only 11 errors last season.

Pridie, a center fielder, was taken by the Twins in the 2005

winter meeting draft. When he didn't make the team out of spring

training he was returned to Tampa Bay and spent the past two

seasons in the minors.

Friedman called the right-handed Morlan "one of the best young

bullpen prospects out there."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.