Minnesota Twins: Looking at the Lance Lynn and Zach Duke trades

Twins acquire RHP Chase De Jong and infielder Ryan Costello

Mariners acquire LHP Zach Duke and cash

This trade likely won’t move the needle much around MLB. However, this is a good deal made by the Minnesota Twins front office as De Jong has a chance to make a real impact down the road. Although he has been a starting pitcher throughout the majority of his Minor League career, his future could lie in the bullpen.

De Jong has been solid to this point of his Minor League career. The 24-year-old has a 3.80 ERA with 89 strikeouts and 34 walks innings pitched during this season for the Mariners Double-A affiliate. However, he has an unspectacular 6.6 strikeouts per nine innings across 120 1/3 during this season.

The thing that stands out about his stats is his ability to limit walks. He has hovered between 2.5 and 3.0 walks per nine innings during his time in the Minors and should continue that success as he develops. However, to say De Jong’s performance was brutal during his short time in the Majors would be an understatement.

He appeared in seven games, four starts, surrendering 20 earned runs in just 28 1/3 innings pitched during the 2017 season. De Jong walked 13 batters while striking out only 13 and allowed a staggering five home runs during his brief stint in MLB.

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Without question, De Jong still needs time to develop and become a more complete pitcher. He has a chance to develop into a back of the rotation type of pitcher. Costello, on the other hand, has a long road ahead of him in order to reach MLB.

The 22-year-old has 578 plate appearances while playing in 145 games during his Minor League career. Although he has a solid .285 career batting average, Costello has done most of his damage against younger competition in the Minors.

The Central Connecticut State University product is hitting .266 with 16 home runs and 70 runs batted in while playing in Low-A ball. He has 82 strikeouts with a respectable 51 walks with 42 total extra-base hits on the season.

Defensively, Costello has played both corner infield positions during his brief time in the Minors. After struggling with .938 fielding percentage with five errors while playing the hot corner, Costello has shifted over to first base primarily during the 2018 season. He has been solid, if not unspectacular, and does show some pop from the left side of the plate.

However, as a player drafted in the 31st round, the odds are stacked against him reaching the Majors. That being said, Minnesota has had tremendous success in developing players in their Minor League system and Costello could benefit from the tutelage he will soon receive.

All in all, Minnesota did well in acquiring four intriguing prospects for two players who don’t figure into the future for this team. The Twins are not far from being a real threat in the American League and trades like these can help keep the window of contention open longer. However, only time will tell if any of these players will make an impact in the Twin Cities.