Minnesota Twins: Regrading the Trades for Relievers from 2019

Last summer before the Trade Deadline, the Minnesota Twins pulled off two trades for relievers. We revisit those trades and gave the deals updated grades.

The Minnesota Twins made two trades last season to help shore up the bullpen, bringing in Sergio Romo from the Miami Marlins and Sam Dyson from the San Fransisco Giants. Both trades had vastly different outcomes for the team, so let’s get into it.

Minnesota Twins Trade No. 1

The Trade: 

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Minnesota Twins receive: RHP Sergio Romo, RHP Chris Vallimont (prospect), and a Player to Be Named Later (became cash)

Miami Marlins receive: 1B Lewin Diaz (prospect)

Grades at the Time:

Grade at the Time for the Twins: A

Grade at the Time for the Marlins: B

Overview:

At the time of the trade, this was seen as a pretty even trade for both teams. The Twins received a very good reliever with half a season left on his current deal as well as a prospect with some upside. The Marlins were able to find a solid prospect in the middle of a good season for an expiring contract.

The trade looks even better for the Twins now. Romo put up a 3.18 ERA over 27 games and then were able to re-sign him for a solid deal for 2020 as well. Vallimont was a solid add as a prospect who is now ranked No. 28 in the team’s prospect rankings.

For the Marlins, Diaz was in the middle of a season hitting 19 homers with a solid .297 batting average as a mid-level prospect for the Twins. He continued to mash there with eight homers in 30 games and is now their 7th rated prospect.

This deal worked out well for both teams. The Marlins dumped an expiring contract in the middle of a good season and got a top ten prospect, while the Twins found a decent prospect and a very good set-up man for a couple of years.

New Grades:

Grade for the Twins Now: A+

Grade for the Marlins Now: B+

Minnesota Twins Trade No. 2

The Trade:

Minnesota Twins receive: RHP Sam Dyson

San Fransisco Giants receive: OF Jaylin Davis (prospect), RHP Kai-Wei Teng (prospect), RHP Prelander Berroa (prospect)

Grades at the Time:

Grade at the Time for the Twins: A

Grade at the Time for the Giants: B+

Overview:

This trade seemed like a win for the Twins, but went south for the team very quickly. The Twins gave up three prospects: one who was excellent at AAA, but didn’t have a home in the majors (Davis), and two young lower ranking prospects with upside (Teng and Berroa) for an excellent reliever with a possible year and a half of control in Dyson.

Well, Dyson spent almost the rest of the season injured and didn’t play well at all for the Twins before being shut down for the rest of the year. He then proceeded to have his option dropped by the Twins after domestic violence accusations and is out of baseball.

For the Giants, Davis made his MLB début, (it wasn’t great) but he’s expected to be one of their fourth outfielders and is their 11th ranked prospect (per Fangraphs). Teng was excellent in five starts of A ball and is their 19th ranked prospect (Fangraphs). Berroa struggled but is still 17th (Fangraphs).

If the Giants knew about Dyson’s injury pre-trade, this was underhanded and looks bad for them, but either way this trade couldn’t be worse for the Twins. The only thing saving them from an F is that they didn’t give up any one too important. The Giants got a steal.

New Grades:

Grade for the Twins Now: D-

Grade for the Giants Now: A-

It’s easy to see now which was the better of the two trades, but for the Twins it was still a solid first year of trades. It’ll be interesting to see what Falvey and Levine do next.