Minnesota Twins add reliever Sam Dyson at trade deadline

The Minnesota Twins acquired another reliever from the San Francisco Giants, but was it enough to stay competitive in the American League?

Tensions were high on Wednesday news as the Minnesota Twins inched toward the trade deadline. With almost no smoke to be heard as the 3 p.m. CT deadline had passed, Twins fans were about to take their frustrations out on Twitter until news broke that a trade had been made about 15 minutes later.

In that deal, the Twins added another piece to their struggling bullpen as they added right-hander Sam Dyson from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for three prospects (via Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register). The deal isn’t the flashy one that Twins fans were expecting in advance of the deadline, but Dyson is a solid addition that can get the job done.

The 31-year old was having a solid season for the Giants in 2019, posting a 4-1 record and a 2.47 ERA in 51.0 innings. While Dyson’s strikeout numbers are solid with 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings, his calling card is his control, which has seen the right-hander issue just seven walks this season. He also keeps the ball in the park, allowing just three home runs this year.

Both of those aspects should fit in nicely with the Twins bullpen that recently added Sergio Romo and already has Taylor Rogers at the back end to close out games. Minnesota will also benefit from Dyson’s contract situation, which has him under team control through the 2020 season.

In return, the Twins sent outfielder Jaylin Davis, Prelander Berroa and Kai-Wei Teng to San Francisco. The centerpiece of the deal will be Davis, who has raked at Triple-A Rochester to the tune of a .298/.392/.563 slash line with 25 HR and 67 RBI, but the 25-year old was also buried among a talented crop of outfielders within the Twins system.

Outside of that, Berroa is a 19-year old prospect that has posted a 5.40 ERA in rookie ball and Teng is a 20-year old who has a 1.60 ERA at Low-A Cedar Rapids.

In the end, the Twins accomplished their internal goal of keeping their top prospects in place through the trade deadline as none of the three going to the Giants are ranked in MLB Pipeline’s top 30 list. With the Cleveland Indians adding Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes and the Houston Astros adding Zack Greinke at the deadline, it remains to be seen if adding Dyson will be the move the Twins needed to get over the hump.