Trevor Richards Was a Truly Inexplicable Deadline Pickup for the Twins

[Nick Nelson]

He's pitched okay, but that's not really the point.

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

At the end of July, as contending teams across the league hustled and haggled to upgrade their rosters for the stretch run, the Minnesota Twins mostly stood pat, amid reports of continuing ownership-imposed spending limitations.

Their lone move: adding a mediocre veteran reliever named Trevor Richards from Toronto, in exchange for a nondescript minor-leaguer. That was it--the only lever pulled by a team in playoff position, with championship aspirations. At the time, it looked like just about the lowest-wattage move imaginable, and the team's usage of their newly-acquired reliever since then only cements it as such.

In being charitable to the Twins front office, which has generally done a great job building this club into an elite one, I tried to convince myself there was more than meets the eye with Richards. The 31-year-old has performed barely above the replacement level, accumulating an almost impressively low 0.8 fWAR in nearly 300 innings over the past four-and-a-half years. Among 50 relievers with 200 or more innings pitched over that span, his 4.91 ERA ranked dead last. But maybe the front office saw something in him that compelled them to target the right-hander. A specific usage or pitch mix tweak that might unlock a new level?

Now that he's been on the roster for three weeks, nothing of that nature has become apparent. Richards has pitched fine, with seven scoreless outings in eight appearances. But it's more the team's usage of the reliever that serves as an indictment of this trade. In their sole move at the deadline, the Twins acquired a pitcher whom they don't seem to trust or have any interest in using, outside of mop-up duty. 

The meltdown at Wrigley Field, when Richards came in to relieve an injured Joe Ryan and gave up three runs in an egregiously erratic showing, is the big blemish on his record. I'm not going to hold it against him too much, since entering a game cold in the third inning without warning is a cruel circumstance for any reliever. 

But I have to ask: Why was he the guy they chose there, just one week into his Twins tenure? Did they feel that the experienced vet would be better equipped to handle the assignment versus someone else? If so, it clearly didn't work out. 

It was a meaningful situation, with the Twins still leading 2-1 when Richards entered the game. Five walks and two wild pitches later, they were down 4-2, in what eventually became a lopsided loss. Richards hasn't pitched in a spot that qualifies as high-leverage, aside from that one. Since he was acquired on Jul. 30, his Average Leverage Index is sixth among Twins relievers, behind even Ronny Henriquez.

Sunday's game against Texas really hammered home the shameful reality that Minnesota's only pickup at the trade deadline -- as a bona fide championship contender -- was a player that they don't even trust. With a 4-0 lead in the seventh inning, Rocco Baldelli opted to turn to Jorge Alcalá, who'd appeared twice in the previous three days, rather than Richards, who hadn't pitched in four days. We all saw how that went. Baldelli was more comfortable going to Richards as his first reliever the following day, with the Twins already down three runs. 

The lack of confidence is understandable, when you look past the fact that Minnesota actively sought him out for some reason. His decent overall results so far with the Twins are made possible by a .143 BABIP, and his tendency to completely lose control of where he's throwing the ball makes him impossible to count on when virtually anything is at stake. His last three appearances have all come with the team at a deficit.

So, what is Richards's purpose here, exactly? Not to pitch meaningful innings, we know that. Is it to lessen the burden on Minnesota's top relievers, to prevent fatigue or attrition in September and October? That didn't happen on Sunday. Dispatch left-handed hitters with his reverse splits? He's faced as many righties as lefties, and besides, the Twins already already have two southpaws in Caleb Thielbar and Steven Okert who've proved useful for little except matchup-based usage--though the situations in which Baldelli trusts Thielbar also seem to be few in number.

Three weeks later, it really isn't clear what motivated the Twins to bring in Richards at the deadline, other than to have him serve as one of the lowest-leverage relievers in a bullpen that could definitely use help at the top. Is Richards a better option for this role than a readily-available Quad-A type, like Scott Blewett? Perhaps, but it's far from a given. The fact that it's even in question lays bare how truly sad Minnesota's deadline showing was. And unfortunately, the most serious comeuppance may still lie ahead.

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[NYCTK]

Front office did a bad job building the bullpen and did nothing to address it when it was obviously wasn't working. Ownership sucks, front office is failing. At least the players are trying...

[Fire Dan Gladden]

I said it at the time and I will say it again:

Everyone knew the Twins were not going to spend any money, so they went out and made the cheapest trade possible so ownership could say to the fans "Hey, we made a move.  We are trying."

That move just goes in line with all of the efforts ownership is making to show the fans the just do not give a s**t about the success of the on-field product

[Doctor Gast]

Quote

With a 4-0 lead in the seventh inning, Rocco Baldelli opted to turn to Jorge Alcalá, who'd appeared twice in the previous three days, rather than Richards, who hadn't pitched in four days.

It seems like Baldelli is purposely sitting Richards out. In this case, it seems it was a double mistake on Baldelli's part because Alcala who has had surgery & been on the IL for about a year should be monitored & limit his outings to non-consecutive & 1 inning IMO.

[LA Vikes Fan]

I think you're right; it was a little of both. I would add one other possible consideration - where the FO thinks this team is in terms of contention to go more than one playoff round. My premise is that acquiring a deadline reliver is typically a short term move for the season at hand. Most of the traded relivers are on expiring deals, older, or have injury histories. Usually, it's 2 of the 3.  You have to give up real prospects to get a good one so it is only really worth it if you think strengthening the bullpen has a chance to take your current roster over the top into a deep playoff run. 

I think the FO evaluates this team as a year away from a deep playoff run. I agree by the way. As a result, I don't think they were willing to trade a quality prospect for any short term guy like Tanner Scott, Luis Garcia, Carlos Estevez ,Andrew Chafin, or any one else. Is Richards more valuable than what the Twins gave up? Probably. Is he going to take them to a better playoff position or help a deeper playoff run? Nope. 

I think the FO wants to run with the team we have so they can see the holes, see if any of the young (and Cheap) guys can fill those holes, patch any remaining over the winter, and see if next year can be the first year of a longer run of contention. IF that's the plan, paying a prospect cost for a good reliever who isn't likely to be on your team in 2025 doesn't make a lot of sense. Maybe you pick up a guy who gets released for salary reasons that you don't have to take on and thus doesn't cost anything (see Hector Neris), but that's it. By the way, pitching Steven Okert when Varland, Winder, and even Dobnak are in AAA also doesn't make a lot of sense. Actually no sense. But that's a topic for another thread.  

[Craig Arko]

Can’t disagree with this; it was a weird move.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means. 

Quote

the Twins front office, which has generally done a great job building this club into an elite one

The Twins are on pace to win 90 games—and there are nine other teams on a 90-win pace or better.

Now throw in Houston and Atlanta, and that makes 12 teams. So, 12 teams out of 30. That’s 40% of the league right there. Elite.  

[CRF]

Richards is the biggest nothing burger trade, that this FO has made since they've been in charge. It's embarrassing. 

[Jocko87]

12 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

I said it at the time and I will say it again:

Everyone knew the Twins were not going to spend any money, so they went out and made the cheapest trade possible so ownership could say to the fans "Hey, we made a move.  We are trying."

That move just goes in line with all of the efforts ownership is making to show the fans the just do not give a s**t about the success of the on-field product

And I've said a hundred times, money doesn't explain this one.  Nick is correct with all the things he laid out, this is odd.

The oddest thing about it is that Richards isn't a minimum salary player, not close.  Right after the deadline, I put together a quick list of relievers who moved with less salary than Richards.  In about 5 minutes I had 30 names.

Why would they get one guy at 2.1m when 3 minimum salary guys would look fantastic right now?  It ain't money.

Higher prospect cost, to be sure, but we will never miss top 50 team prospect Jay Harry.  (I just jinxed it, multiple TD articles inbound)  Couple guys out of the top 30, maybe one top 20, and we are cooking right now.

This one ain't about money, it's quite peculiar, but it ain't about money.  Not everything is about the money.

[Brandon]

Seems like part of the problem is not trusting Richards in higher level situations. We need more good relievers and he has done well since that one appearance outlined in your article.  Blasting Richards isn’t helpful as he isn’t the problem.  With us needing another reliever it’s time for Varland to make the switch.  It’s definitely short sighted for the Twins ownership to not give anything for the Twins to get a reliever at the deadline.  Good news there is another reliever available in Hector Neris or even Diekman.  We have options that are affordable.  It’s your move front office what are you going to do?

[Parfigliano]

14 minutes ago, CRF said:

Richards is the biggest nothing burger trade, that this FO has made since they've been in charge. It's embarrassing. 

It reeks of desperation.  A do something to be seen as doing something move.

[thelanges5]

San Diego went out and got 4 relievers. We are seeing the difference in action play out literally before our eyes. 
 

SD pushed their chips in and are the hottest team since the deadline. Twins stood pat and here we are. 
 

No Stewart, Topa and Varland needed due to the lack of SP depth. Maybe Paddack can come back to the pen?

[Guest]

It's too soon to quibble with a 1.1 WHIP over 9 IP and no HRs.  If they had all the arms they planned on in ST, we'd be in a different place.  They don't.  If they had last year's budget instead of this years, they could've done what SD did.  They don't.  Here we are, deal with it.

[bean5302]

I think saying the F.O. has done a generally good job building the club into an elite contender is awfully generous. 
2017, inherited team, 85 wins, squeaked into the playoffs, booted immediately
2018, under .500, missed the playoffs.
2019, 101 win season
2020, Lost wildcard
2021, under .500, Missed playoffs
2022, under .500 Missed playoffs
2023, 87 win team, lost 3-1 vs. Astros in 2nd round of playoffs.
2024, 90 win projection, might make playoffs as a wildcard
The only team which you could say was an "elite contender" is honestly 2019, though last year's rotation and the later year additions of Royce Lewis and Matt Wallner with a resurgent Max Kepler sure added some feeling to it.

I think Richards was acquired as a pure depth move and a hedge against Thielbar (who had been near DFA) and Funderburk (who'd struggled and was injured) due to the "reverse splits" logic. It wasn't a move the Twins needed to make, but I do believe Falvey has a tendency to get distracted with every shiny object he sees. Part of me believes it was just a PR thing. They didn't want the optics of being the only team in all of MLB to not make any moves so they just did something.

[DJL44]

It's another deadline where they recognized a need and completely failed to address it. The non-move is costing them games right now and will be more exposed in the playoffs.

[Vanimal46]

Up until the final minutes of the trade deadline, we were the only team to not complete a trade during that week. This was a trade just to make a trade. 

[Mike Sixel]

5 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Up until the final minutes of the trade deadline, we were the only team to not complete a trade during that week. This was a trade just to make a trade. 

Agreed. And they have at least two pitchers in the minors better than him. I'm very disappointed in the FO handling of the back end of the roster this year. 

[August J Gloop]

They like pitchers with truly unique pitches they feel they can maximize. Richards has a comedy changeup. Not even remotely hard to explain. 

You can quibble with the details or disagree that it's a good move, but the very idea that this is hard to understand is silly. 

Obviously they should have added more at the deadline, but the Richards move makes real actual sense. 

[August J Gloop]

54 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

It reeks of desperation.  A do something to be seen as doing something move.

This is such an odd statement. Do you honestly think they're sitting around the trade table going "guys, we're gonna get ROASTED if we don't just make some sort of trade?" And then they agree that yes they'll totally get roasted if they don't make a trade, any trade and just what, take the next deal that pops up in the OOTP sim?

And that these same image obsessed straw men would then look at such a minor and public impactless trade and think 'yep! That will get the monkey off our back. We can rest now.' 

[Parfigliano]

15 minutes ago, August J Gloop said:

This is such an odd statement. Do you honestly think they're sitting around the trade table going "guys, we're gonna get ROASTED if we don't just make some sort of trade?" And then they agree that yes they'll totally get roasted if they don't make a trade, any trade and just what, take the next deal that pops up in the OOTP sim?

And that these same image obsessed straw men would then look at such a minor and public impactless trade and think 'yep! That will get the monkey off our back. We can rest now.' 

Yes.

[Jocko87]

1 hour ago, thelanges5 said:

San Diego went out and got 4 relievers. We are seeing the difference in action play out literally before our eyes. 
 

SD pushed their chips in and are the hottest team since the deadline. Twins stood pat and here we are. 
 

No Stewart, Topa and Varland needed due to the lack of SP depth. Maybe Paddack can come back to the pen?

I have been thinking that Baltimore might be a better comp, especially considering they did nothing at the deadline last year to much consternation of the masses.

There is a legitimate reason to let the in house options play out in the top 20 roster spots.  This is messing around with the bottom 6 and there has been plenty of churn. Not as much of it has worked out unfortunately.  I would have preferred a much more significant add in this range.

[Nick Nelson]

1 hour ago, August J Gloop said:

They like pitchers with truly unique pitches they feel they can maximize. Richards has a comedy changeup. Not even remotely hard to explain. 

You can quibble with the details or disagree that it's a good move, but the very idea that this is hard to understand is silly. 

Obviously they should have added more at the deadline, but the Richards move makes real actual sense. 

They brought in his "comedy changeup" so he can throw in low leverage while they're losing? Cool. While equipped with that changeup he's been one of the worst relievers in baseball over the past 5 years. 

[Brandon]

48 minutes ago, Nick Nelson said:

They brought in his "comedy changeup" so he can throw in low leverage while they're losing? Cool. While equipped with that changeup he's been one of the worst relievers in baseball over the past 5 years. 

Other than that 1 appearance he has been unscored upon.  I would like to see him in a little higher leverage situation though.  But like I said before they need to get one of the three remaining options 

[USAFChief]

21 minutes ago, August J Gloop said:

Links please. Sonny and Kenta are busy not (yet) living up to the contracts they signed with other teams. Unless 25 Mil is the going rate for 30 ER in 48 IP since the ASB. 
And as sad as it is to see, Kenta is done. Detroit will have to eat the back half of that contract. 

 

Again, you seem to want to prove a different point than the statement you make with your headline. It's easy to explain why the front office made this trade. They see something they can exploit and something they can fix. You disagree and that's fine, it's your website. In this case though you're both overreacting and incorrect. 

You're overreacting because the Richards pickup isn't a bad move. They have room at the backend of their pen to develop a pitcher. Richards already strikes out a ton of batters. The issue is with walks and homers. They might be able to fix that just in better use of his pitches. 

You're incorrect because he's never been one of the worst relievers. In fact the midpoint FIP for whole teams relief corps over the last 5 years? 4.22. Richards FIP for his career? 4.29. He's been below average for sure, but hardly even close one of the worst. So again, the move is easy to explain. It's not super exciting and in the context of no other deals, not even inspiring. But there's an analytical view that makes this make a lot of sense as a move. Certainly not one I'd have made, but I can see how they settled on it. 

"Develop a pitcher"?

In two months??

That's absurd.

Besides which, they're trying to reach the postseason. Even if you could somehow erase years of results and reinvent a 30 plus year old junkballer--which nobody else coukd do--you think they have room to do that NOW?

[TheLeviathan]

The blame for this rests squarely with ownership.

I don't blame Rocco for distrusting these guys, but he doesn't make the roster.  He's got two (barely, really just 1) functional starters and three functional relievers.  Ownership blocking the FO from adding has really crippled this team and is overburdened the talent we have.

[Nick Nelson]

43 minutes ago, August J Gloop said:

Again, you seem to want to prove a different point than the statement you make with your headline. It's easy to explain why the front office made this trade. They see something they can exploit and something they can fix. You disagree and that's fine, it's your website. In this case though you're both overreacting and incorrect. 

You're overreacting because the Richards pickup isn't a bad move. They have room at the backend of their pen to develop a pitcher. Richards already strikes out a ton of batters. The issue is with walks and homers. They might be able to fix that just in better use of his pitches. 

You're incorrect because he's never been one of the worst relievers. In fact the midpoint FIP for whole teams relief corps over the last 5 years? 4.22. Richards FIP for his career? 4.29. He's been below average for sure, but hardly even close one of the worst. So again, the move is easy to explain. It's not super exciting and in the context of no other deals, not even inspiring. But there's an analytical view that makes this make a lot of sense as a move. Certainly not one I'd have made, but I can see how they settled on it. 

The idea that they're trying to "develop" a 31-year-old pitcher and 7-year MLB veteran in two months while in the thick of championship contention is an amazing stretch of logic, but you're entitled to your opinion! 

[chpettit19]

2 hours ago, August J Gloop said:

Links please. Sonny and Kenta are busy not (yet) living up to the contracts they signed with other teams. Unless 25 Mil is the going rate for 30 ER in 48 IP since the ASB. 
And as sad as it is to see, Kenta is done. Detroit will have to eat the back half of that contract. 

 

Again, you seem to want to prove a different point than the statement you make with your headline. It's easy to explain why the front office made this trade. They see something they can exploit and something they can fix. You disagree and that's fine, it's your website. In this case though you're both overreacting and incorrect. 

You're overreacting because the Richards pickup isn't a bad move. They have room at the backend of their pen to develop a pitcher. Richards already strikes out a ton of batters. The issue is with walks and homers. They might be able to fix that just in better use of his pitches. 

You're incorrect because he's never been one of the worst relievers. In fact the midpoint FIP for whole teams relief corps over the last 5 years? 4.22. Richards FIP for his career? 4.29. He's been below average for sure, but hardly even close one of the worst. So again, the move is easy to explain. It's not super exciting and in the context of no other deals, not even inspiring. But there's an analytical view that makes this make a lot of sense as a move. Certainly not one I'd have made, but I can see how they settled on it. 

According to Fangraphs:

2021 Richards RP FIP: 4.20
120 out of 191 relievers with at least 40 innings

2022 Richards RP FIP: 4.32
165 out of 203 relievers with at least 40 innings

2023 Richards RP FIP: 4.24
134 out of 198 relievers with at least 40 innings

2024 Richards RP FIP: 4.60
139 out of 167 relievers with at least 40 innings

Solidly in the bottom half of relievers every season. Not many guys ranking in those areas get to stick around for 4 years or have contenders trade for them. 108 relievers have at least 160 innings from 2021 through 2024. Richards ranks 91st in FIP. Don't think it's too big of a stretch to say he's been amongst the worst relievers in baseball according to your chosen FIP stat.

[Riverbrian]

Buyers Buy and Sellers Sell. Doing nothing is standing still. 

I've heard Thad Lavine actually say in reference to trade deadlines that "doing nothing is standing still" while being interviewed a few years back.  

I thought he was exactly right when he said it and I think he is still exactly right. Doing Nothing is indeed standing still. 

Yet... here we are... two deadlines in a row. Trevor Richards is the sum of two deadlines in a row of Twins teams in contention. 

I don't who is attaching the shackles but the front office has clearly been shackled and chained by something  or someone either self imposed or by superiors... something ain't right. 

The quotes afterwards were about how much they like their team and money had nothing to do with it. OK... let's assume that's true. Did they like their team on August 3, 2023... 3 days after the deadline when they selected the contract of Dallas Kuechel or August 4, 2023... 4 days after the deadline when the pulled Jordan Luplow off the waiver wire. Did they like their team on August 9, 2024... 9 days after the deadline when Joe Ryan and Brooks Lee hit the IL or on August 13th when Byron Buxton flamed that hip leading to a DL stint. 

Buyers Buy... Sellers Sell. Your team on August 1 can be much different on September 20th let alone August 3.   

 

[IndianaTwin]

Attention Twins Acquisitions: You have three weeks to prove your worth.*

/s

 

*See also: Santana, Carlos; Margot, Manuel; Topa, Justin, et. al.

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, Riverbrian said:

Buyers Buy and Sellers Sell. Doing nothing is standing still. 

I've heard Thad Lavine actually say in reference to trade deadlines that "doing nothing is standing still" while being interviewed a few years back.  

I thought he was exactly right when he said it and I think he is still exactly right. Doing Nothing is indeed standing still. 

Yet... here we are... two deadlines in a row. Trevor Richards is the sum of two deadlines in a row of Twins teams in contention. 

I don't who is attaching the shackles but the front office has clearly been shackled and chained by something  or someone either self imposed or by superiors... something ain't right. 

The quotes afterwards were about how much they like their team and money had nothing to do with it. OK... let's assume that's true. Did they like their team on August 3, 2023... 3 days after the deadline when they selected the contract of Dallas Kuechel or August 4, 2023... 4 days after the deadline when the pulled Jordan Luplow off the waiver wire. Did they like their team on August 9, 2024... 9 days after the deadline when Joe Ryan and Brooks Lee hit the IL or on August 13th when Byron Buxton flamed that hip leading to a DL stint. 

Buyers Buy... Sellers Sell. Your team on August 1 can be much different on September 20th let alone August 3.   

 

They've added significant payroll at the deadline one time under this ownership across three GMs..... Draw your own conclusions....