Sorry for the pun. It's pretty good though, right?
Anyway, the Twins were finally able to wrap up the Kenta Maeda-Brusdar Graterol-Mookie Betts saga yesterday, five days after the trade was originally reported. Of course, after the Red Sox made laughingstocks of themselves, the final trade looked a little bit different than what was originally reported.
In the end, the Twins sent young flamethrower Brusdar Graterol, the 67th pick in the 2020 MLB draft, and AAA outfielder Luke Raley to the Dodgers. In exchange, the Twins received starting pitcher Kenta Maeda, $10 million, and a prospect who has not been named yet. While this was supposedly part of the Dodgers-Red Sox Mookie Betts deal, the squad didn't actually make a deal involving Boston.
While the Twins did give up Graterol, who has great potential, I like this trade for Minnesota. The odds of Graterol becoming an impact starter look like they were next to none (with the Twins), and although he could become an excellent reliever, a good starter was more important for the team. The Twins already have a stacked bullpen, and good starters are always more valuable than relievers.
Maeda will immediately step in and be an above-average third starter for the team. He is elite against right-handed hitters (a.k.a. the Yankees lineup) and at limiting solid contact. He's under contract for four more years, at only $3 million in base salary per year, which is an absolute steal for someone who actually has better career numbers (in the same amount of seasons) than Jose Berrios (although he is 6 years older).
With Maeda, the Twins have strengthened their only weakness. The lineup is one of the best in the business, the bullpen is elite, and now the starting rotation has definitively improved. When Pineda and Rich Hill come back, the Twins will essentially have 5 guys who deserve a top-3 rotation spot on most teams. And that's not even counting Homer Bailey, who may end up being an effective pitcher in his own right. Every team will use 10-15 guys to start a game over the course of the season, and with Bailey, Jhoulys Chacin, Dobnak, Smeltzer, and Thorpe, the Twins will be in excellent position in the spot starts. All in all, the front office has impressed me again, and just made a strong off-season stronger.
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