Minnesota Twins: Grading the Four Trades from the Twins’ Trade Deadline
The Minnesota Twins headed into the Trade Deadline in desperate need of some pitching help to aid their above average offense. The team’s lead in the division has slipped to one game, and the team needed at least one starter and reliever to help put the team back in contention.
The fans were upset, and with a deep group of prospects, they needed to make at least a couple moves. Well, luckily for the team and their fans, the front office, led by Derek Falvey and Thad Levine, went to work.
We grade the four deals the Minnesota Twins made at the Trade Deadline yesterday.
The Minnesota Twins brought back a new starter to put near the top three of their rotation, an All-Star Closer, a backup catcher, and a very strong late inning reliever, and they managed to do it without destroying their farm system. After doing so though, it’s now time to offer up some grades for those deals, starting with the minor league deal.
Minnesota Twins Trade No. 1: Twins find some catching depth
Minnesota Twins get: C Sandy Leon
Once Ryan Jeffers went down, the Twins had to rely on Gary Sanchez and Caleb Hamilton. Both are terrible defenders, and the team needed a little extra depth at the position to help get them through to the point when Jeffers returns.
From the Twins perspective, they were able to get exactly what they needed. Sandy Leon may not be an excellent offensive catcher like he was for a single year in Boston, and he hasn’t put up any noteworthy numbers, but he’s a good defender and a capable option in case another catcher goes down.
Cleveland Guardians get: RHP Ian Hamilton
To get Leon, who has been at Triple-A almost all year, the team gave up Ian Hamilton, a reliever who’s pitched in 15 MLB games in his career. He’s had a stellar year as a 27-year-old in the high minors though, posting a 1.88 ERA, 0.837 WHIP, and a 36-8 K-BB ratio.
Final Grade:
Ian Hamilton isn’t an expensive price to pay to meet a need, as he has no path to playing time here and isn’t overly talented. The Twins could’ve added another catcher who’s more talented than Sandy Leon too, so it’s overall the least exciting and worst trade of the day. Grade: B-
Minnesota Twins Trade No. 2: Twins grab a Rental before the Deadline ends.
Minnesota Twins Get: RHP Michael Fulmer
The Twins’ final move of the deadline was to get Michael Fulmer from their division rival Detroit Tigers. Fulmer, the 2016 American League Rookie of the Year, has excelled ever since turning into a reliever, posting a stellar 3.06 ERA (3.37 FIP) and 112-40 K-BB ratio in 93 games over the last two years.
Sure, he’s walked more batters in 2022 than he had in 2021, and his fastball velocity has dropped slightly, but the only real downside here is that Fulmer hits free agency at the end of the year. He’s been an exceptionally valuable reliever for the Tigers, and he was my No. 9 Relief Pitching Trade Candidate this year.
Detroit Tigers Get: RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long
In order to get Fulmer, the Twins parted ways with Sawyer Gipson-Long, our No. 25 prospect on the Midseason Top 50 Prospects list. He started out hot at High-A this year, but has struggled mightily at Double-A this year. Just take a look at his two stat lines at the different levels.
- High-A: 10 GS, 5-2 W-L, 1.99 ERA, 0.926 WHIP, 52-13 K-BB ratio
- Double-AA: 8 G, 7 GS, 3-4 W-L, 7.17 ERA, 1.381 WHIP, 35-6 K-BB ratio
Gipson-Long is almost 25, and he’s getting hit hard in AA, dishing out 11.0 H/9 while his strikeout rate has dipped to 8.4 K/9. He’s a got the stuff to be a solid starter, but he has a long way to go before he gets there.
Final Grade:
I like Gipson-Long a lot, and he’s a great guy who I wish the best for, but the Twins absolutely fleeced the Tigers here. He doesn’t seem likely to reach his ceiling, and he looks at least two years away from the majors. In return, the Twins got a playoff-caliber reliever who slots in behind Jhoan Duran and Jorge Lopez on the massively improved bullpen hierarchy. Grade: A.
Minnesota Twins Trade No. 3: Twins land an All-Star Closer
Minnesota Twins Get: RHP Jorge Lopez
The first move the Twins made on the big day was swinging a trade for Orioles closer Jorge Lopez. Lopez spent the first six years of his pro career as a starter and struggled before the Orioles made the call to shift him to relief and he’s dominated. He was the No. 2 reliever on the Top 25 RP Trade Target list.
His fastball velocity is up, his control has improved, and he’s striking out far more batters. His Baseball Savant page reads like a dream, suggesting his numbers as a reliever are legitimate. The Twins better hope so.
Unlike Fulmer, Lopez is far from a rental. The 29-year-old is under contract through 2024, so the Twins need the gains he’s made to be for real. That’s definitely not a bad bet to make on the pitcher whose numbers-ERA (1.68), xERA, (2.99), FIP (2.99), xFIP (3.10), 19 saves, and 54 strikeouts in 48.1 innings-are dominant.
Baltimore Orioles Get: LHP Cade Povich, RHP Yennier Cano, RHP Juan Nuñez, and LHP Juan Rojas
To get Lopez, the Twins had to give a bit of a haul, but it wasn’t an overwhelming one. Cade Povich is our No. 16 prospect and is in the middle of a really strong season at High-A. He’s striking out batters at a 12.2 K/9 rate and looks like he’s establishing himself as a legitimate prospect in his first full year of pro ball.
Povich is the headliner in this deal, but he’s still a 22-year-old third round pick in High-A ball. The rest of the pitchers the Twins sent aren’t all that intriguing. Yennier Cano is killing it at Triple-A after being reinvented as a reliever, but he’s been awful at the MLB level for the Twins.
The other two pitchers are still in the Florida Coast League. Juan Nunez is 21 and doesn’t appear to be much outside of his solid season in 2022. Juan Rojas is 18 and has a little more upside, but still isn’t all that great.
Final Grade:
The Twins got an All-Star closer with some risk for two years. It allows Rocco Baldelli to use Jhoan Duran in more than just save situations. For their troubles, all it cost was a pitching prospect with some an upside and three pitching prospects that are unlikely to amount to much. That’s a monumental win. Grade: A.
Minnesota Twins Trade No. 4: The Twins Find a Playoff Starter
Minnesota Twins Get: RHP Tyler Mahle
I first suggested Tyler Mahle would be a good fit for the Twins two months ago, when I offered up some prospective deals to land the Cincinnati Reds’ starter. I then suggested it again six weeks ago to fix the Twins’ biggest need. Then as the third best starter available at the deadline.
I kept it going this week by suggesting that the Twins make a move for him in my Trade Deadline Preview. Then, it finally happened, with the Twins adding Mahle today at the deadline for a package of solid prospects.
Mahle has been stellar over the past two years and immediately slots in as one of the Twins’ Top 3 starters. He’s phenomenal outside of Great American Ballpark, and he’ll be a key starter as the Twins make a run at the playoffs.
Cincinnati Reds Get: INF Spencer Steer, LHP Steve Hajjar, 1B/3B Christian Encarnacion-Strand
In order to get one of the best starters at the deadline, it cost the Twins a haul. We ranked Spencer Steer as the seventh-best prospect in the system, Hajjar is fourteenth, and Encarnacion-Strand is fifteenth.
All three are in the middle of excellent seasons, but they each have flaws. Steer was blocked in the majors by Jose Miranda and Jorge Polanco. Hajjar has real upside, but he’s never pitched past Low-A. Encarnacion-Strand has proven to have an elite bat at A+ and AA, but his glove is a serious work in progress.
Final Grade:
The Twins landed a legitimate Top 3 starter who will be able to start a playoff game (provided the Twins make it there). That’s exactly what they needed. The price was expensive, as Encarnacion-Strand and Hajjar have major talent, but it’s worth it to get a pitcher of Mahle’s caliber for at least a year (and if they can extend him, possibly more).
Next. Twins land Fulmer and León via Intra-Division Deals. dark