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Grading all of the Minnesota Twins Trade Deadline Deals (and No-Deals)

By Otto Johnson

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Jose Berrios delivers against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning of a Game 2 of the doubleheader at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Jose Berrios delivers against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning of a Game 2 of the doubleheader at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Minnesota Twins
Josh Donaldson of the Minnesota Twins fields the ball in the ninth inning of the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Target Field on July 24, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. /

Minnesota Twins Trade Deadline Non-Move No. 3: Holding on to 3B Josh Donaldson

Grade: B

I can’t fully grade this without knowing what the Twins were offered for him, but we do know that the Twins would have had to eat a lot of salary. By keeping Donaldson (and a few of the other players I’ll mention), the team still has an outside shot at competition in 2022. That’s worth a B, especially when Donaldson provides value both in terms of production and entertainment.

Minnesota Twins Trade Deadline Non-Move No. 4: Holding on to RHP Kenta Maeda

Grade: A

Selling on Kenta Maeda right now would have been a bad move. He’s having a tough, injury-filled season, and though he was starting to bounce back, the Twins still would have been selling low. With two and a half years of control remaining, holding onto Maeda (at least until his value rebounds) was the best choice.

Minnesota Twins Trade Deadline Non-Move No. 5: Holding on to Byron Buxton

Grade: B-

Trading Byron Buxton right now while injured would have meant taking a loss in terms of value, but definitely less of loss than trading Maeda. Buxton has said he wants to complete his career here and is still young enough to last through a re-tooling, but if he doesn’t re-sign, the team may have missed a golden opportunity.

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