Minnesota Twins: Grading the Twins’ trade for Sergio Romo

The Minnesota Twins finally swung a trade for a reliever to kick off their deadline moves, but did they come out of the deal as winners?

Breakdown:

The Minnesota Twins are considered as one of the top teams in the market looking for relief help going into the Trade Deadline. The only question for the team was when would they start making moves, and that question was answered tonight. The Twins reached a deal with the Miami Marlins to send Sergio Romo and two minor leaguers (P Chris Vallimount and a player-to-be-named later) for 1B Lewin Diaz. Lewin Diaz ranks out as the 30th best prospect in the Twins’ system (per MLB Pipeline).

Players headed to Minnesota:

Sergio Romo has been on top of his game all year, turning in a 3.58 ERA and 17 saves. In addition to that, he has also struck out 33 batters in 37.2 innings while pitching for a team with poor defense and low run support. He is a former All-Star (2013) and has lots of playoff experience from his days with the Giants. Chris Vallimount is a 5th round pick from 2018 who has a 3.16 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP between Low A and High A for the Marlins. The Twins organization is very high on the young pitcher, per Dan Hayes of the Athletic.

Players on their way out:

The Minnesota Twins shipped out Lewin Diaz, one of the rising prospects in the system, one who had hit .309 at Double-A Pensacola. He had jumped from the Rookie League to Double-A in just three years and is only 22 years old. He has decent power and a good glove but cannot play any other positions.

Grade for the Twins: A

The Twins pulled a solid relief pitcher with lots of playoff experience from the Marlins as well as a solid projectable prospect who could be a boost for a farm system that isn’t deep on pitching. Vallimount is doing well enough that he could be the more important part of the trade going forward. The Twins shouldn’t be done making additions, especially to the bullpen, but this is a big win for the team.