Article: Twins Trade Lewin Diaz for RHP Sergio Romo, 2 Minor Leaguers

[Darius]

What an uninspiring trade. People are excited about adding a FIP near 4 to the back end of an already unstable pen? Mike Morin’s was 4.20 (Morin actually has a higher WAR on the season - .2 to .1).

 

Meanwhile, the lead is down to one single game. Not only is this move not enough, it’s way too late (I guess we had to wait for the market to get set on Sergio freaking Romo?).

 

There better be more coming.

 

Also, Diaz was OPSing .950 at AA while being nearly 2 years below average age. This wasn’t really a throw away guy like some are making it seem. Rule 5 is a valid point if they couldn’t make room, but he’s looking like a real nice player.

Edited July 28, 2019 by Darius

[gunnarthor]

It's not a bad trade but it doesn't really move the needle either. But Romo is a solid bullpen option that we should have confidence in. That's not nothing.

[jokin]

 

Initially the article only stated Romo in the trade and not Valimont or player to named later. I don't think that Diaz for Romo would have been a good trade. I deleted my post after more info was added. Nick Andersson would have been nice to have right now but the Marlins got him for a prospect who hasn't done much for us yet so if it would have been Romo for Diaz straight up we would have been fleeced two out of three IMO.

 

The Twins are chock full of 1Bs and OFs and not enough 40 man spots, while the Marlins are blessed with an abundance of pitchers in their farm system. The Twins should have pushed harder with the Ms to get more immediate major league help- Anderson would have been a nice throw in, Smith should have been brought up for a more robust deal. At least they were/are talking with one of the right teams to get a good deal from.

 

Regardless, on first impressions, the Twins still made a good deal here- but not nearly enough unless there're more impactful moves coming.

[jokin]

 

What an uninspiring trade. People are excited about adding a FIP near 4 to the back end of an already unstable pen? Mike Morin’s was 4.20 (Morin actually has a higher WAR on the season - .2 to .1).

Meanwhile, the lead is down to one single game. Not only is this move not enough, it’s way too late (I guess we had to wait for the market to get set on Sergio freaking Romo?).

There better be more coming.

 

Yep, This third-tier-type deal should have been do-able in early June.

 

But to be fair, Romo has been:

FIPping at 1.79 over his last 15 games... with a

0.61 ERA, and a

K/BB of 12/1, K/9 of 7.4 and a

WHIP of 0.89.

 

Over the exact same time frame, Morin's:

FIP is 5.28

5.40 ERA

K/9 of 3.09!

WHIP of 1.11

 

The Twins did their homework, and identified a playoff-experienced veteran riding a "Hot-Hand", that can potentially provide some "stability" to the pen; and, who they can possibly ride for maybe 2 months>>>

and only gave up a guy they likely were going to be unable to protect, anyway.

 

But yeah, there better be better names than Romo on the roster by next Wednesday night.

[KirbyDome89]

 

Yeah I love the deal. I don't get why people don't like it.
He's clearly better than our worst reliever, and for net prospects exchanged, we gave up very little.

I think people are letting perfect be the enemy of good.

If this is all they get, it's not enough and they should be ripped.
But that's independent of THIS trade. This trade in no way prevents them from continuing to improve the roster.

"He's clearly better than our worst reliever." 

 

That's why the move isn't popular. The goal is to improve the bullpen. The easiest way to do that is to add to the top and push everybody down, not vice versa. Sure, they have a few more days to add actual impact arms, but that doesn't mean anybody needs to like the Romo addition. If nothing else the deadline continues to creep closer and the Twins have yet to make a significant move. 

[Mr. Brooks]

"He's clearly better than our worst reliever."

 

That's why the move isn't popular. The goal is to improve the bullpen. The easiest way to do that is to add to the top and push everybody down, not vice versa. Sure, they have a few more days to add actual impact arms, but that doesn't mean anybody needs to like the Romo addition. If nothing else the deadline continues to creep closer and the Twins have yet to make a significant move.

So no move will be acceptable to you if the player isn't better than Taylor Rogers?

I hope they get 1 arm that is as good as, or better than Rogers, but IMO, expecting 3 guys better than Rogers isn't reasonable.

[stringer bell]

 

So no move will be acceptable to you if the player isn't better than Taylor Rogers?
I hope they get 1 arm that is as good as, or better than Rogers, but IMO, expecting 3 guys better than Rogers isn't reasonable.

Maybe this is splitting hairs, but as far as I'm concerned, the Twins need to get two guys better than their previous second-best option. Rogers, Romo and a third reliable arm would make this club much better protecting leads and allowing the offense to do its thing. Further, I'd certainly like the next acquisition to be a better option than Romo, who I expect to be OK, but not a world beater.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Maybe this is splitting hairs, but as far as I'm concerned, the Twins need to get two guys better than their previous second-best option. Rogers, Romo and a third reliable arm would make this club much better protecting leads and allowing the offense to do its thing. Further, I'd certainly like the next acquisition to be a better option than Romo, who I expect to be OK, but not a world beater.

This is exactly how I feel about it as well. I'm not looking for another Rogers - though that'd be nice, it may be unrealistic - but I want someone significantly better than Duffey, May, and even a step better than Romo (who is now the second-best arm in the pen).

[LanceJS]

The FO reputation is under the radar moves. This fits in precisely with the off season signings of Cron, Schoop and Gonzalez. Those work nicely. I feel the same as many...this can’t be the only deadline trade, but to think the Twins MUST make the big splash just because it garners the big headlines is foolish.

[HrbieFan]

Love adding a cagey veteran to the pen. We need experience for pressure situations and hopefully he can give some wisdom to the young guys in the pen.

[Soft Tosser]

I guess it's all about the spin rate on his slider and good control of his breaking balls.  His experience will be important as well in the pen. If he can hold his own as he has in Miami, should give Rogers what he needs in avoiding overuse.

[yarnivek1972]

Love adding a cagey veteran to the pen. We need experience for pressure situations and hopefully he can give some wisdom to the young guys in the pen.

That is supposed to be one of the roles of the veteran catcher on the roster.

 

Which brings up a completely unrelated topic. How comfortable should the Twins be with only Garver and Astudillo as catchers next year? They have combined for fewer than 200 games caught at the MLB level. Veteran MLB catchers aren’t particularly hard to find and stash at AAA however.

[ashbury]

The Twins are chock full of 1Bs and OFs and not enough 40 man spots, while the Marlins are blessed with an abundance of pitchers in their farm system. The Twins should have pushed harder with the Ms to get more immediate major league help- Anderson would have been a nice throw in, Smith should have been brought up for a more robust deal. At least they were/are talking with one of the right teams to get a good deal from.

 

Regardless, on first impressions, the Twins still made a good deal here- but not nearly enough unless there're more impactful moves coming.

This pretty closely tracks how I'm viewing it, after a night's sleep. A week ago I was saying I don't mind an overpay, because 40-man adds are looming and it's a false economy to haggle too much.

 

I just didn't expect to overpay for Sergio Romo.

 

And, it's an overpay, tacitly acknowledged by both sides, due to the inclusion of "an arm" and the ever-popular PTBNL, in return for what looks like a good bat.

 

Maybe I'm mis-under-estimating Vallimont, but the one scouting report I saw says his fastball sits in the low-90s, not mid-. A draftee from a small college, he's unlikely to have any significant impact in the majors. Which... can be said of nearly every pitcher drafted, but there are shades of likelihood. I'm going with "just an arm" until I see reason to change my mind about that. Maybe the coaches at Ft Myers or Cedar Rapids spotted something when he pitched against them that made them report, "he's just the kind of guy we could get an extra 3 MPH from".

 

I doubt that Diaz would have been a key as part of a package to making a bigger trade, so I guess I have to wait until after the deadline to try to infer whether this was the right use of him as a trade chip. If another trade does happen, involving us giving up as "a sweetener" a player I prize more, I'd have to wonder. That's really the only reason I care.

 

I want careful preservation of assets, I want aggressive use of those assets now - it's a fine line.

[AZTwin]

Miami absolutely loved Diaz. Not sure many other teams would value him the same. Mets certainly wouldn’t have. Restock a position they’re interested in has some benefits

[ScooterDance]

Feels like a lot of you are conflating “this trade” with “overall deadline”.

 

This is a good trade. We bolster our own with a legit mlb arm. We get a flier and PTBNL. For a really solid, but ultimately depth piece.

 

By itself this is a case of trading surplus for an area of need. A prospect for a veteran PLUS a prospect.

 

It’s clear Falvey is turning over every stone he can. It’s likely that more moves are coming. Independent of that, this is a *good trade*.

 

The overall outlook will of course look better if we land one or more better arms. But whether or not we land better arms has nothing to do, IMHO, with whether this is a good baseball trade for our favorite 25.

[rdehring]

I like the trade, although would have liked it better if Romo were left handed.

 

Have thought for awhile that the Twins need to make two moves for the pen.  One is for a top late inning guy who will be around for longer than this year.  The second could be a veteran rental, preferably a lefty.  Will Romo fill this second slot?  Or are two more moves on the horizon?  

 

Love how Diaz has been hitting this year, yet see him on the bubble of whether or not he would make the cut and get added to the 40-man.  The way I see it, there are 11 or 12 good candidates to add with anywhere from 6-8 at the most spots that will be available.  So up to half those prospects may be at risk come the Winter meetings, unless moved elsewhere.  Hopefully, a few more will move to new homes before Wednesday.   

 

Getting a good prospect like Villamont, who is in his second year, seems like a fair trade considering that the Twins needed to thin their group of 40-man eligible players.  Adding the PTBNL evens out the added risk of Vallimont being further away from making it.  Getting Romo seems like a big win for the Twins...at least to me. 

 

Don't know why there is a PTBNL involved?  That often happened in the past with August trades where player X couldn't be moved until after the season.  Don't know why it happened last night other than the deal was done quickly and the Twins wanted time to scout certain players.  Does anyone know any other reason why a PTBNL would be included?

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I like the trade, although would have liked it better if Romo were left handed.

I feel the opposite. Despite Cleveland closing the gap, I want some focus put on the postseason along with also winning regular season games.

 

And Romo lines up really well against the Yankees and Astros, particularly the Yankees.

[MMMordabito]

 

I wouldn't have hated Diaz for Vallimont straight up.

 

 

Maybe the Twins wanted Vallimont, but the Fish said, "Well, then you have to take Romo off our hands." 

 

"If we're going to take Romo, then you have to give us someone else ... One of these guys .... We'll give you a few days to think about it." 

 

Vallimont = Rule 5 Eligible 2021

 

Good move.

[rdehring]

 

I feel the opposite. Despite Cleveland closing the gap, I want some focus put on the postseason along with also winning regular season games.

 

And Romo lines up really well against the Yankees and Astros, particularly the Yankees.

Totally agree with your points, Brock.  They were among the reasons I like this trade.  I also believe the Twins need to add a lefty to their pen, someone who can come in for a couple tough left handed hitters.  All I was saying is it would have been nice had Romo also filled that need as I now fear if they only do one more move it won't be for a lefty.

[Doctor Wu]

My first thought was: why trade for Romo when Belisle was available. Okay, that's a stretch, and a poor comparison, but like many others I'm hoping that this is not the only bullpen addition that the Twins make this month. I didn't view Romo as the playoff-type stopper that we need in the pen, but on further reflection I like the idea of getting a veteran with playoff experience, and his track record in that respect is good, Plus, he certainly HAS been pitching very well in the past month or so. If he's riding a hot streak, let's make sure his seat is a comfortable one.

[jmlease1]

The range of opinions on this trade are kind of fascinating. You've got people calling Romo now the 22nd best arm in our MLB bullpen and others saying he's just better than the worst option in our bullpen. You've got people calling this an overpay because of Diaz's future value and seeing little value in Villamont, while others are thinking it's good value because they see a small downgrade to Villamont and us losing Diaz in the offseason due to the 40-man crunch.

 

I think it's a decent, but not transformative addition. Feels like Romo is a  replacement for Blake Parker, someone who can hammer RH hitters, maybe step into the overrated closer role and add some veteran presence to the pen. 

 

It shouldn't be the end, but it's a good start.

 

 

[jorgenswest]

I feel the opposite. Despite Cleveland closing the gap, I want some focus put on the postseason along with also winning regular season games.

 

And Romo lines up really well against the Yankees and Astros, particularly the Yankees.

Where is the support for lining up well against the Yankees? They crush righties as a team with a team OPS+ of 120 and are league average hitters against lefties at 101. Yankee right handed batters have been destroying right handed pitching at 133. In the last series weren’t lefty AAA call ups Smeltzer and Thorpe pretty effective?

 

I think Romo helps the team in the regular season schedule of AL central but costs the Twins the game in the playoffs.

 

This doesn’t change their need for a late inning right handed reliever that can put out a fire or a pitcher that can get a left handed hitter out in the middle innings. I am worried it changes their motivation to go find those two pitchers.

[Mike Sixel]

I like this a lot more than when it was first announced, and it was only Romo coming back. It's a fine, not exciting, idea to trade minor league depth for an ok RP and a minor league pitcher. Just do two more things....

[Monkeypaws]

17 saves. At the least, it takes pressure off Rogers, and puts the 2 inning save to bed.

 

There wasn't anybody else in the Twin bullpen to trust with a save opportunity.

 

Now there is.

[bird]

 

I'm guessing that poster was referring to the Nick Anderson trade from this past winter.

 

 

Which hardly qualifies as a fleece job.

[Tom Froemming]

Here's what pitching guru/mad scientist Kyle Boddy, founder of Driveline baseball, had to say: 

https://twitter.com/drivelinebases/status/1155346225010360320

So we know Vallimont is a guy familiar with and open to the kind of pitching instruction the Twins seem to be gravitating to.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Totally agree with your points, Brock.  They were among the reasons I like this trade.  I also believe the Twins need to add a lefty to their pen, someone who can come in for a couple tough left handed hitters.  All I was saying is it would have been nice had Romo also filled that need as I now fear if they only do one more move it won't be for a lefty.

I suspect we see one of three things happen to fix the LHP situation, in order of likelihood:

 

1. The team lets it run with Thorpe or Smeltzer and hopes for the best

2. Trade for a starter, bumping Perez to the bullpen

3. Trade for another LHP

 

With Rogers as your best bullpen piece, picking up one more good reliever allows Rogers to play in more of a lefty specialist role (put him in against a tough lefty late in a game but then leave him in for 2-3 more outs because he's that good), which mitigates the need for a dedicated LH specialist (though it'd still be nice to have one).

[bird]

 

I think there’s a distinction between two minor leaguers, and a minor leaguer plus a PTBNL. The PTBNL doesn’t always result in a player? It’s a minor point.

 

The PTBNL will be a 145 pound 16 year old kid from the D.R. that will eventually make Luis Arraez look like a soccer player. That's how these things always play out.

[USAFChief]

The PTBNL will be a 145 pound 16 year old kid from the D.R. that will eventually make Luis Arraez look like a soccer player. That's how these things always play out.

you never know how these things turn out. It might be that the player to be named later is David Arias, later named David Ortiz.

[rdehring]

I don't know if Baldelli was consulted prior to finalizing this deal.  But when talking about it last night, I became aware that Romo spent time with the Rays recently when Rocco was there.  So he knows Romo and should have inside knowledge of what Romo can do for the Twins.