Twins Trade Graterol to Dodgers for Kenta Maeda in Blockbuster Deal
Feb 04 2020 08:43 PM |
Seth Stohs
in Minnesota Twins
Image courtesy of Geoff Burke, USA Today
The Twins traded one of their top pitching prospects to acquire the veteran pitcher. Hard-throwing Brusdar Graterol is headed to the Dodgers, and then he will be dealt to the Red Sox in the Mookie Betts/David Price trade.Maeda is a 31-year-old right-hander from Japan. In his four seasons with the Dodgers, he has gone 47-35 with a 3.87 ERA in 137 games (103 starts). In 2019, he went 10-8 with a 4.04 ERA. In 153 2/3 innings, he walked 51 and struck out 169 batters.
The Dodgers paid a $20 million posting fee to Hiroshima in 2015. Maeda signed an 8 year, $25 million deal with the Dodgers, receiving $3 million annually. He makes an extra $150,000 each year for making the Opening Day roster. He can earn up to $6.5 million each year based on number of starts. He can also make another $3.5 million each year based on innings pitched. He also receives $1 million for having been traded.
Graterol saw time with the Twins in September 2019 and pitched well. He pitched a scoreless inning in his one playoff appearance. He became very popular prospect when reports surfaced that he was hitting triple-digits upon his return from Tommy John surgery. Last year, after returning from missing three months due to shoulder issues, he hit 104 mph in a game in Pensacola.
At a Winter Caravan stop, pitching coach Wes Johnson said that Graterol was preparing for a role in the bullpen. He could get some time to develop and work more innings, eventually becoming a starter. But many believe his future is in the bullpen.
The Twins Opening Day starting rotation now looks like this: Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, Kenta Maeda, Homer Bailey and Jhoulys Chacin, with Michael Pineda coming back after 39 games and Rich Hill potentially being back in June or July. Of course, Randy Dobnak, Lewis Thorpe and Devin Smeltzer provide much depth. And, the Twins still have top pitching prospects Jordan Balazovic and Jhoan Duran and more.
What are your thoughts? Tom shared his thoughts shortly after the deal was rumored.
More could develop as we learn more about this three, or four, team trade.
Here is what we know, so far, about the overall four-team trade:
- Oldgoat_MN, hybridbear, nclahammer and 4 others like this
300 Comments
I literally am unsure of what to think at this moment. I'm sure I'll find something creative to say later, but right now... well, that was an interesting move.
Falvine made a judgment call and sold high on Graterol. Maybe they think he’s just a reliever. I’m excited that the rotation is getting stronger! It’s go time in 2020!!
This trade will help us this year and maybe a couple after that. But Graterol is a steep price to pay. Not sure if I like this trade or not at this point. I would feel a little better if Maeda was 2 or 3 years younger. He will be 32 in April.
"What about starting pitching?!", we asked. Well, this is how you bring it to Target Field.
Wow.
Twins are in win-now mode, no question. They had an opportunity to acquire an MLB starter by dealing a top prospect, and they did it.
Maeda was 10-8 with a 4.04 ERA last year. He should slot in behind Berrios and Odorizzi perfectly. Good fit. Did the Twins give up too much? Time will tell.
Stupid move for a team desperately trying to develop a top-of-the-rotation arm for the last 20 years.
I'm done with Team Falvine.
Bad deal if Graterol turns out to be a very good starter.If just a reliever than this deal is fine as Japanese pitchers seem to last longer than most.Maeda has been good and helps with payroll over the next few years.High risk, High reward.
I like upgrading the rotation but I would have liked to see the Twins get more for Graterol than Maeda...
How many #3 starters does one rotation need?
Maeda helps win the division but doesn't help us beat the Yankees or Astros or any other good team in the postseason.
Big arm to give up, but the Twins were still in need of starting pitching. 4 years of control.
I think I come down in favor of this deal. At the least, gotta give Falvine credit for courage.
This is all part of the cost of not getting one of the top FA starters.
It hurts, but again, if Graterol is purely a bullpen arm now..... Its OK
I disagree with this assessment. I think there’s a pretty convincing argument that Graterol is (er, was) their second or third best pitching prospect. Personally, I like Duran a lot better. There’s also quite a bit to like about Maeda. He’s probably the best strike out pitcher on the team now other than Rogers. His counting stats are suppressed over the last year or two from pitching mostly out of the bullpen. Conversely, his rate stats might be a bit inflated. He’s a good pitcher—in my opinion clearly better than a fourth starter. Way too early to say who “wins,” but the thinking seems to make sense. It’s definitely a win now move.
First reaction...I'd rather have Joc for what he cost the Angels
Maeda will eat innings Graterol may make headlines
At first glance, don't like it.Doesn't seem like the top arm the Twins should be getting if Graterol is included in a package.Hopefully, management knows that Graterol won't be that ACE starter they so badly need.If that proves to be true, guess this is ok.Just would have liked someone coming back who is both better and younger.
Check out the eighth paragraph. What do I win?
http://twinsdaily.co...a-championship/
We draft high end hitting prospects and trade surplus for impact pitching?
Instead we trade one of our best impact pitching chips for a slightly above league average starter who is now flipping to AL?
Probably good for us this year. Don’t think it gets us over the 0-16 hump though.
I guess we can all just be glad that we weren't the team that ended up with David Price
Exactly. I never thought I would witness an offseason where they sign a free agent for $20+ million AAV, AND trade a top prospect for established pitching. This is what I’ve wanted for years and I’m going to ****ing EMBRACE it!
4 years of a veteran starting pitcher at 3.125 million per year keeps costs down so we can afford the raises coming in and gives us a rotation of Berrios, Maeda, and Pineda at the end of the year so we won't be scrambling like this offseason.
This is what my initial reaction was. They just don’t believe he’ll ever be a great starter
Always hard to argue with someone who has seen a player play much more than you have. Sure I would have hoped we trade from excess like outfielders, but maybe Twins feel BG injury risk or trading for more of a known quantity versus potential.