At the beginning of the week, Twins’ left handed pitcher Francisco Liriano threw the first no hitter of the 2011 season, and trade rumors involving Liriano have heated up since then.

ESPN’s Jayson Stark said today that if the Twins keep on “sliding”, Liriano’s “no-no” could wind up as a big trade chip in July. Even though Liriano struggled at the beginning of the season, his “no-no” came after he worked with the team’s pitching coach, Rick Anderson, on his mechanics and release point.

“He still has really good stuff,” said one executive team. “But he’ll never be a real strike-thrower because he has a very inconsistent delivery. He doesn’t land in the same spot. And his release point is all over the map. But I’m sure there will be some people out there who think, ‘We can fix this guy.’ There will be countless teams looking for pitching in July. And all it takes is one pitching coach who says, ‘I can fix him.’ But personally, I don’t know.”

During the offseason, there were rumors that the Yankees were inquiring about the possibility of acquiring Liriano. The Yankees decided to go with veterans Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon and more recently Carlos Silva (as insurance) to fill the back-end of the rotation, but Phil Hughes‘ injury could heat up the Liriano trade talks again.

Before Liriano’s “no-no” he had a 9.13 ERA in his first 5 starts. Now he is 2-4 with a 6.64 ERA in 32.2 innings. Also, the 27-year old pitcher can become a free agent after the 2012 season. He was 14-10 with a 3.62 ERA in 191.2 innings throughout 31 starts in 2010 with the Twins.