Twins Trade Nick Gordon to Marlins for Left-Handed Reliever Steven Okert

[Parker Hageman]

With roster jockeying coming down to the last minute before pitchers and catchers report, the Minnesota Twins flipped out-of-options Nick Gordon for left-handed reliever Steven Okert from the Miami Marlins.

Image courtesy of Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

For the price of a player who was unlikely to make the roster, the Twins added another arm to their growing bullpen staff, the 32-year-old Steven Okert from the Marlins.

Nick Gordon had something of a breakout year as a utility player for the Twins in 2022, posting a .272/.316/.427 slash in 136 games. More importantly, he filled spots in the outfield and infield and even threw 3 2/3 innings of garbage-time relief that season, proving his value as a highly versatile component. A foul ball off his shin in May of last year resulted in a fracture that limited him to just 34 games. 

Without options remaining and younger prospects pushing for playing time, Gordon’s spot on the roster was precarious heading into the 2024 season. Perhaps an indication of their views on his role, the Twins took him to arbitration, where the 28-year-old sought a $1,250,000 contract for the coming season. The three-judge panel ruled in the Twins’ favor, earning a $900,000 salary. 

The Miami Marlins are acquiring outfielder/infielder Nick Gordon via trade with the Minnesota Twins per source. Miami is sending relief pitcher Steven Okert to the Twins in return.

— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) February 11, 2024

Okert had been a fixture in Miami’s pen over the last three seasons. His ERA was an inflated 4.45 in 2023, but the underlying numbers suggest that he is better than that. His strikeout rate (29.6%) was the highest of his career, while his walk rate (9.7%) was the lowest. He had an elevated home run rate (3.9%) and a near .300 BABIP. 

A fastball/slider arsenal, Okert has been formidable against lefties but has fared well against either side.

The Twins likely envision Okert's slider as a suitable weapon the organization can incrementally improve upon. From the far left side of the rubber, Okert's release point comes closer to the first base line than most, giving hitters a tough angle to see pitches. Combine that with a slider that has over 10 inches of horizontal movement and it is easy to see why left-handed batters have struggled. He has been in the high-end of throwing the pitch in the zone, so there is likely more chase and swing-and-miss potential available with some adjustments.

He's set to make $1.1 million in 2024, which makes this move virtually a wash financially. The Marlins have much more roster space for Gordon; the Twins have more for a left-handed arm like Okert. Though he's appeared in six different MLB seasons, Okert still has three years of team control left, should the Twins want him for that long.

More to come.

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[notoriousgod71]

I like how one of his player comps on baseball ref is Danny coulombe, who we previously released. Now we trade an actual player for him (not that I'm a Gordon fan at all).

That said, okert should be a nice addition to the bullpen. I certainly feel better about him as LHP 2 instead of funderburk.

[Reptevia]

Now all the offseason machinations finally make sense!  It was hard to see it at times, but now that we have the complete picture, it all makes sense. 

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

LOL,  for a team that has just kind of thrown a bullpen together,  we seem to want to try to build an elite bullpen by accumulating as many options as possible.  Not sure how we can carry them all.  

[Cory Engelhardt]

His numbers do look solid. Is this going to come down to he vs Thielbar? Or instead, is he the 2nd lefty in the bullpen over Funderburk? Lots of guys do have options

[mnfireman]

That settles the Gordon/Castro debate many have been involved in...

[Jocko87]

Not the Marlins lefty we wanted, he is the Marlins lefty we got. Wish he had options but loading the pen with ML arms is a strategy, I guess.  This at least moves the flexibility back to the position player side, pending another move. 

Probably a pretty decent return for Gordon, they were likely waiting for the arbitration ruling to come in low for better trade value.  

Probably a decent fit for the fish too.  Good luck Nick.

[Jocko87]

Just now, mnfireman said:

That settles the Gordon/Castro debate many have been involved in...

Many who?

[JesusisLord7]

I think we need more depth for left handed relief. But more importantly we need to pave a way for a player like Austin Martin who I think offers more upside than Nick Gordon. I've never seen Okert play ever but the numbers aren't bad and he is a veteran arm at a position that we lacked depth. No complaints here. Wish Nick Gordon all the best in Miami. 

[FlyingFinn]

11 minutes ago, notoriousgod71 said:

Now we trade an actual player for him (not that I'm a Gordon fan at all).

I don't mind this fix to the Coulumbe mistake. Gordon was obviously not in the plans for opening day anyway. 

 

4 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

His numbers do look solid. Is this going to come down to he vs Thielbar? Or instead, is he the 2nd lefty in the bullpen over Funderburk? Lots of guys do have options

2nd lefty over Funderburk. An injury could even mean three lefties at times. 

[mnfireman]

4 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

Many who?

You're right, it was probably more of a Gordon/Martin argument.... Castro was gonna play no matter what.

[awmonahan]

Glad to see the utility player pool scaled back, with an MLB arm in return. Not flashy, but necessary. I'm curious what, if anything, this does for our OF back-ups. I'm still hoping for that right handed bat.

[DJL44]

If you look at the organization the Twins need another LH relief pitcher more than they need another lefthanded outfielder. Okert is slightly above average and that's pretty good for a 2nd lefty reliever.

This frees up a spot on the roster for Larnach or Martin or a different free agent addition.

Good luck to Nick Gordon in Miami. 

[Danchat]

I didn't expect the Twins were going to add so many relievers (that all happen to be in their mid 30s) this offseason, but I'm not complaining, as relievers are fickle enough that it's wise to give yourself more options than needed. Okert gets the strikeouts, but looking through his gamelogs he had a poor final two months after having a strong start to the year. I like that they've added another lefty as we nearly ran out of them last year.

I was surprised Gordon was tendered in the first place and I didn't expect him to be on the team for long, but now it's over. It's a disappointing result for the former 1st rounder, but at least he had one pretty solid year in the majors. We'll see if he can carve out a bench spot successfully in Miami.

[PseudoSABR]

Right handed outfield bat incoming.

[Fatbat]

Shrewd move. Trading redundancy for a need.  Good luck Nick!! 

[DocBauer]

Wow. I saw Gordon getting moved, but this actually more than I expected. Okert has a great career BA/against, great WHIP, and over 10 K per IP. Over 50 IP each of the last two years.

The Twins needed another LH pen arm besides Headrick with Moran out foe the season and anybody else sitting at AA or lower. Personally, I'd be tempted to keep 3 port side guys in the pen. 3 of 8 sounds like a good plan to me. And I think Funderburk is ready, is good, and should have a spot. But these things do tend to work themselves out.

Love the pen depth. Best opening day pen and  best depth I can remember in years!

IMO, this move is followed by a RH OF still sitting and waiting. I just don't know if it's the speed and defense of Taylor or a corner power bat like Duvall or Pham, etc. $5-7M on a 1yr probably gets something done?

This team is starting to come together. And the depth most everywhere is excellent.

[DJL44]

As a personal note, post here if you see Gordon jerseys or shirseys on clearance at the pro shops. I have relatives with that last name who would probably want a Gordon Twins jersey at a discount.

[nicksaviking]

Keep the phone lines open with Miami, but good move. Gordon was redundant and I like this guy better than the other guys picked up this offseason.

But that puts 15 relievers on the 40 man. Only 18 bats. That seems like a bad ratio. Weiss seems the easiest to remove by far, but don't do it for another roster filler hitter. 

[DocBauer]

1 minute ago, nicksaviking said:

Keep the phone lines open with Miami, but good move. Gordon was redundant and I like this guy better than the other guys picked up this offseason.

But that puts 15 relievers on the 40 man. Only 18 bats. That seems like a bad ratio. Weiss seems the easiest to remove by far, but don't do it for another roster filler hitter. 

Love the pen depth, and there are some non-roster guys that might help as well.

But I think Weiss is the next name off that list for an OF. Not sure who else you'd release at this point.

[TopGunn#22]

Good trade !!  More depth in the bullpen and a lefty with an excellent K rate to boot.  Good luck Nick Gordon.  

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

8 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

Wow. I saw Gordon getting moved, but this actually more than I expected. Okert has a great career BA/against, great WHIP, and over 10 K per IP. Over 50 IP each of the last two years.

Love the pen depth. Best opening day pen and  best depth I can remember in years!

This team is starting to come together. And the depth most everywhere is excellent.

I fully agree.  I think the front office saw how beneficial it was to have the great depth by SP and Hitters last year.  Quality MLB players make a huge difference on winning games.  

Bullpen - Duran, Thielbar, Jax, Stewart, Topa, Jackson, Okert,   

Then Staumont (possible 60 day) Alcala,  Funderburk plus the options we have in AAA and I will be curious if we are able to pass through a couple more options throw waivers tomorrow in possibly Duarte, (soon to be) Weiss and Balazovic to add to Jensen, Bowman.  

Pretty Clear Varland will remain a starter option.  

[nicksaviking]

10 minutes ago, PseudoSABR said:

Right handed outfield bat incoming.

I hope not. Unless they're also trading Kepler.

They won't be signing or trading for a GOOD right handed outfield bat, they'd only be getting one as a 4th OF. This team can't suffer more roster filler or just like last year they'll end up throwing games away early in the year while they let the aging vet bats stink up the joint while the more talented players are being wasted in St. Paul.

[DocBauer]

W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	ERA+	FIP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9

 

12

9

.571

3.70

228

2

30

0

0

0

194.1

148

86

80

27

80

7

220

16

1

6

813

116

4.20

1.173

6.9

1.3

3.7

10.2

 

Sorry it's a little off, but that's his ML career line. I'd take that any day, all day, for a 2nd LH arm in the pen.

[Mike Sixel]

Interesting! And likely good. I'm surprised they got a guy they can plug in right away. 

No one that complained about the bullpen being ignored last year can do so this year. 

[PseudoSABR]

7 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I hope not. Unless they're also trading Kepler.

They won't be signing or trading for a GOOD right handed outfield bat, they'd only be getting one as a 4th OF. This team can't suffer more roster filler or just like last year they'll end up throwing games away early in the year while they let the aging vet bats stink up the joint while the more talented players are being wasted in St. Paul.

Adam Duvall or MAT don't have a place on this team as a part time options? Isn't there TV money incoming?

Yeah, no thanks to Kyle Garlick or Jake Cave. 

[notoriousgod71]

43 minutes ago, mnfireman said:

That settles the Gordon/Castro debate many have been involved in...

Castro still should not be the primary center fielder for the 100+ games we'll need someone out there.

[Jocko87]

29 minutes ago, Danchat said:

I was surprised Gordon was tendered in the first place and I didn't expect him to be on the team for long, but now it's over. It's a disappointing result for the former 1st rounder, but at least he had one pretty solid year in the majors. We'll see if he can carve out a bench spot successfully in Miami.

I kinda figured he was tendered for this exact purpose.  He's still good enough to trade for a small piece instead of just letting him go for nothing.  Just have to go through the process.

[Twins_Fan_For_Life]

I wouldn't be surprised if one of those relief arms is included in a trade for a right-handed Outfield bat

[PseudoSABR]