Twins successfully maneuver 'unique' Deadline
MINNEAPOLIS -- One thing that was clear entering Wednesday's Trade Deadline was that the Twins needed bullpen help. Something that was less clear was whether they would seize the opportunity to make a splashier acquisition -- perhaps, for a controllable starter -- with both the present and future in mind.
But a trade for a premier starter like Marcus Stroman or Noah Syndergaard ultimately didn't come to fruition in a trade market that Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey characterized as "unique" and "different" in a call with the media following Wednesday's 3 p.m. CT finish line.
With that said, the Twins still addressed their most immediate need for this season's playoff push by acquiring Sam Dyson and Sergio Romo, adding a pair of experienced arms to the back end of a bullpen in need of help. Significantly, they did so by dealing only one of their top 30 prospects, per MLB Pipeline, among the four that they traded away in the two transactions.
"There were a number of players that did have future control that were at least in discussions with us, and I'm sure with a number of other clubs, that ended up staying where they were," Falvey said. "I would say it was certainly different than what I experienced before.
"But I'm just glad we were able to target two guys in the right part of our team that could help us down the stretch."
Dyson and Romo will slot into the late innings and bridge the gap to Taylor Rogers, who had been increasingly relied on for longer appearances and multi-inning saves as Minnesota's bullpen depth had gradually thinned in the weeks leading up to the Trade Deadline. The playoff experience of both Dyson and Romo should also help a young Twins clubhouse.
"Hopefully we can get away from [Rogers] having to go two innings now to save a ballgame," pitching coach Wes Johnson said. "It frees you up to really match up."
Minnesota can now push Tyler Duffey and Trevor May away from higher-leverage situations and into the middle innings. With Zack Littell also appearing to be a solid fit in the middle innings, Ryne Harper able to slot in for matchups and young arms like Lewis Thorpe and Devin Smeltzer showing promise at the Major League level, the acquisitions of Dyson and Romo already make the Twins' bullpen look much deeper on paper.
"I would say that I felt really good about us getting two guys that can solidify our bullpen in those middle innings, or really, in those later innings, in the seventh, eighth, ninth-inning ranges," Falvey said. "That was our goal, primarily."
Minnesota got that help by trading away first-base prospect Lewin Diaz, the organization's No. 30 prospect, to the Marlins for Romo, a player to be named later and right-hander Chris Vallimont, who slots in as the No. 29 prospect in the Twins' system. Power-hitting outfielder Jaylin Davis and low-level pitchers Prelander Berroa and Kai-Wei Teng -- none of them top 30 prospects -- went to the Giants in the Dyson deal.
For all the talk that the Twins needed to add another starter at this Deadline, Minnesota actually owns the second-highest cumulative WAR (11.6) from its starting rotation, per Fangraphs, in the American League. The Twins' starters have also thrown the third-most innings (608 2/3) in the AL, trailing only the Indians and Astros.
That's not to say that a controllable starter wouldn't have helped.
Jose Berrios, Kyle Gibson, Jake Odorizzi, Michael Pineda and Martin Perez have combined for eight innings of postseason experience in their careers. Gibson, Odorizzi and Pineda are due for free agency following this season, potentially leaving Minnesota without one-third of its rotation next year.
But with some reports indicating that top prospects Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff or center fielder Byron Buxton could have come into play in deals for starters, no such deal materialized, especially since the current needs in the bullpen were much stronger than those in a rotation that has been among the league's most consistent.
"We certainly fed into some potential opportunities outside of [relief help] across the board, across our roster, because that's our job and we want to make sure we don't leave any stone unturned," Falvey said. "I would say you never know how close you come on some of the other conversations. There were a lot of them."
With the Twins' window of contention seemingly opening wide and the division crown in the AL Central firmly within reach, the moves at this Trade Deadline gave the club needed help without touching the core of high-ceiling prospects like Lewis, Kirilloff and Brusdar Graterol that could be a factor on the field as soon as next season or even be included in other deals down the line.
But they'll worry about all that later. They have two more months of baseball -- and a hopeful playoff run -- to get out of the way first, with their new relievers in tow.
"I think it is helpful that [trade season] is over in a lot of ways," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "You can just worry about playing baseball games, and that's really what it comes down to. That's our goal here."