Yesterday, the Minnesota Twins had a big day. The team unveiled their new uniforms, tendered contracts to every player possible, and made a deal to send Gio Urshela to the Angels. They weren’t done though, sending prospect Casey Legumina to the Cincinnati Reds for Kyle Farmer:
The #MNTwins are acquiring INF Kyle Farmer from the Reds and sending RHP Casey Legumina to Cincinnati, per source, as first reported by @Ken_Rosenthal, @DanHayesMLB and @ctrent.
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) November 19, 2022
Farmer can play the middle infield, having spent most of his time at SS the last two seasons.
Grading the Minnesota Twins’ trade for infielder Kyle Farmer.
Farmer, who was drafted by the Dodgers, has spent the majority of his major league career with the Reds. He’s a very reliable infielder, playing primarily shortstop, with some second base and third base mixed in. Like with all trades, we offer up a grade for the deal once again.
Minnesota Twins get: INF Kyle Farmer
After moving on from Urshela, the Twins desperately needed some solid depth on the left side of the infield, and they got in Kyle Farmer. Farmer can play all three positions well, and while he’s not an elite defender, he’s very solid at second base, third base, and most importantly shortstop.
Jose Miranda had become the only third baseman on the roster, and outside of Nick Gordon, they don’t have anyone who can play shortstop (and Gordon should really only play there in emergencies). Farmer fills that gap (while also being able to play second, which isn’t a need).
His bat is okay, but very unspectacular. Over the last two years (292 games), Farmer has slashed .259/.316/.400 and averaged 15 homers and 71 RBI. Those numbers aren’t great at all, but they’re very solid for a backup infielder.
He’s 32, doesn’t hit free agency until 2025, and was thought of extremely highly in Cincinnati. He was arguably the Reds’ 2022 MVP and plays with incredible hustle and leadership, so getting him is a huge boon for the Twins.
Cincinnati Reds get: RHP Casey Legumina
To get Kyle Farmer, the Minnesota Twins gave up Casey Legumina, an eighth round pick in 2019. He’s 25, and while he has some good stuff, he struggled a lot at Double-A this past year, which usually isn’t what you want from a prospect at his age.
He posted a 2-6 record, a 4.80 ERA, 1.436 WHIP, and a 92-36 K-BB ratio over 86.1 innings at High-A and Double-A combined, which isn’t good at all. The strikeouts were decent, and for the Reds, it’s understandable why they might have wanted to add him, but for Farmer, they should have been able to get more.
Final Verdict:
My initial reaction to the trade was concern that Farmer was going to be the only move at shortstop. If he was the answer at short, he’s better than some of the free agents, but he’s not a big-league starter by any means.
After taking a step back however, this is a great deal. The team replaced Gio Urshela and Casey Legumina with Kyle Farmer, Alejandro Hidalgo, and about $5 million more money to spend. That’s a huge win, mostly because Farmer can play shortstop when needed.
If the Twins opt against adding another shortstop, then Farmer is a terrible starter. In all likelihood, he’s not. The team is going to add another shortstop, whether it’s one of the four big ones or Elvis Andrus, someone else will join the team and make Farmer a backup. With that in mind, adding a good hustle and leadership guy for middling prospect is a great trade. Grade: A.