Minnesota Twins: Grading the Twins trade deadline moves (and non-moves) one month later
By Chris Schad
Not making a trade for Marcus Stroman
Stroman since deadline: 1-1, 4.91 ERA in five starts
Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen became the Twins’ ultimate foil at the trade deadline, as he seemingly went from seller to buyer overnight. With the Mets’ sudden turnaround since the deadline, it seems like he made the right decision, but that doesn’t excuse the Twins from what went down in the Marcus Stroman sweepstakes.
When the deadline rumors began to pile up, there was a rumor that gained steam that the Twins were interested in a package deal with the Toronto Blue Jays that would send Ken Giles (who has allowed two earned runs in seven innings since the deadline) and Stroman to Minnesota.
Once Giles’ elbow issues became a factor, that seemed to dissolve, but planted the seeds for a potential deal for Stroman. According to The Athletic’s Dan Hayes, Toronto general manager Ross Atkins asked for either Royce Lewis or Alex Kirilloff in exchange for Stroman and the Twins balked.
Although the Twins felt they could put together an attractive offer that was more in their price range, they never heard back from Atkins, who shipped Stroman to the Mets for two prospects (Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods Richardson) who weren’t even in Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects list.
The strange part is that it seems like the Twins asked the Jays to reach out, but got ghosted before he was shipped to New York. For what it’s worth, Stroman has just one quality start since becoming a Met (and the Mets are 4-1 in those starts), but probably would have added insurance in case the starting rotation completely fell apart.
Next. Projecting a Twins postseason rotation. dark
With Stroman under control for next season however and three starters due to be free agents, the Twins should have tried harder to land the right-hander.