MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL, MN – The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have completed a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, acquiring right-handed pitchers Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman in exchange for designated hitter Nelson Cruz and right-handed pitcher Calvin Faucher.
Ryan, 25, has made 12 appearances (11 starts) for Triple-A Durham so far this season, going 4-3 with a 3.63 ERA (57.0 IP, 23 ER), 10 walks, 75 strikeouts and a .175 opponent batting average. The 6’2”, 205-pound right-hander was selected by the Rays in the seventh round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of California State University, Stanislaus. Ryan was part of the Rays’ 60-man player pool and spent the 2020 MLB season at the club’s alternate training site in Port Charlotte, Florida. He is ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the Rays’ system, per MLB.com.
Strotman, 24, has spent the 2021 season with Triple-A Durham, going 7-2 with a 3.39 ERA (58.1 IP, 22 ER), 33 walks, 62 strikeouts and a .235 opponent batting average in 13 games (12 starts) for the Bulls. The Sunnyvale, California native was selected by the Rays in the fourth round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of Saint Mary’s College of California and has gone 12-8 with a 3.12 ERA (179.0 IP, 62 ER), 72 walks and 171 strikeouts in 42 career minor league games (37 starts). He is ranked as Tampa Bay’s 17th-best prospect according to MLB.com and earned New York-Penn League Midseason All-Star honors with Hudson Valley in 2017.
Cruz, 41, played in 85 games for the Twins this season, hitting .294 (87-for-296) with 13 doubles, one triple, 19 home runs, 50 RBI, 35 walks, a .370 on-base percentage, a .537 slugging percentage and a .907 OPS. The 2021 American League All-Star was signed by the Twins prior to the 2019 season and played in 258 games for Minnesota, hitting .304 (284-for-935) with 45 doubles, one triple, 76 home runs, 191 RBI, 158 runs scored, 116 walks, a .386 on-base percentage, a .598 slugging percentage and a .984 OPS.
Faucher, 25, has pitched in 19 games for Double-A Wichita this season, going 1-1 with a 7.04 ERA (30.2 IP, 24 ER), 24 walks and 42 strikeouts. The Chula Vista, California native was selected by the Twins in the 10th round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of California, Irvine. He spent parts of four seasons in the Twins’ minor league system, going 11-7 with a 4.64 ERA (159.0 IP, 82 ER), 85 walks and 178 strikeouts.