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Minnesota Twins: 4 players the Twins should have traded for at the deadline

By Chris Schad

TORONTO, ON - JULY 26: Marcus Stroman #6 of the Toronto Blue Jays talks to teammates in the dugout prior to a MLB game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre on July 26, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - JULY 26: Marcus Stroman #6 of the Toronto Blue Jays talks to teammates in the dugout prior to a MLB game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre on July 26, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – MAY 31: Felipe Vazquez #73 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on May 31, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – MAY 31: Felipe Vazquez #73 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on May 31, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /

Felipe Vazquez

The Twins did a decent job of bolstering their bullpen at the trade deadline (with Sam Dyson‘s debut notwithstanding) and they were able to get away with not paying much to acquire both Dyson and Sergio Romo. That left meat on the bone when it came to going after another bullpen arm and one target should have been Pittsburgh Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez.

On a Pirates team that has to be kicking itself for its mistake made at the 2018 trade deadline, Vazquez has been a bright spot. The 28-year old has posted a 1.87 ERA and recorded 21 saves for Pittsburgh this season and has seen a massive jump in his K/9 (14.1 in 2019) and strikeout-to-walk (6.18) ratios.

For a team that has issues getting out of tough situations without a walk or a home run, this seemed to be an obvious fit, but again the Twins had to give up their precious prospects to get it done. While the Twins didn’t want to give up Lewis or Kirilloff, they could have still floated former first-round picks Nick Gordon and/or Trevor Larnach to get a deal done.

However, with two more years remaining on Vazquez’s deal, the Pirates decided that this is not the time to replace Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow.

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