Twins Trade Graterol to Dodgers for Kenta Maeda in Blockbuster Deal

I smell David Ortiz all over again. The one pitcher that should have been off limits is gone. At least we got a #3 for him. That is something. 32 as the season starts. I would have rather went with Grateral to help us. Not a fan of the trade. 

The Rays connection with Chaim Bloom does make me wonder if he sees something in Graterol.  

I like the deal quite a bit, actually. Graterol is likely not going to be a starter capable of 180+ innings until 2022.

I think someone has said this over the last 120+ years of MLB, that if both sides have a sick feeling over a trade, then it's probably a great trade for both sides...?

This is the trade we have advocated...high impact...high risk?

Trust in FalVine........

YouTube Kenta Maeda highlights....were eyeballing a STUD!

This trade is going to bite us in 2 years, and Maeda will produce 4.25-4.50 in ERA in AL at best. Graterol will hold his own in year 1 and have a more productive year 2-4 than Maeda. This seems a desperate move, and is largely due to the other 3 meh/putrid signings of bailey, hill, and Chacín. I hate these moves, and we are kicking the can down the road in blocking our other young starters with all these #4 and #5s. Maeda will be a low 3 to high 4 only during year 1 and part of year 2, while Bailey won’t make it through this year and will perform like a 5, and I think hill will be with us for 1-2 weeks max (Chacín will never make mlb roster this year)

Another move that looks focused on raising the teams floor. At some point Falvey is going to have find a way to raise the ceiling of the starting rotation, since that is the glaring weakness that is going to kill us in the playoffs.

To be worth it they have to expect him to pitch enough innings to reach his incentives, which add up to $13,150,000 per year. For another $7 million they could have had Ryu and kept Graterol. They must not think very highly of Graterol.

Maeda makes $13.15M as a full time starter, and Bailey makes $7 million. Together that adds up to more than Ryu is making.

Would you trade them both for Ryu? I would have thought yes.

Ryu is guaranteed for four years though and these guys are not. But is Graterol worth the cost of insuring Ryu's contract?

Maeda isn't even younger than Ryu. I guess they just like Maeda better. I trust they know more than I do but it seems odd.

I hate to see the Twins lose a potentially great arm in Graterol, but I'm okay with this trade. As others have pointed out, it's unlikely that Grateroll would have been a big factor on the team this year (okay, that's still debatable ...) but if the team is serious about contending this year, and more importantly advancing in the playoffs, then I think getting an above average starter like Maeda is a savvy move. Starting to look forward to this upcoming season very much!

If you want quality from another team you have to give up some value to get it. Also, I do not accept that Chacin in a lock for a starting job with Twins. We will see how he does in Spring Training and how the Dobnyk does too. 

... vs Gibson making 10 million and Perez 6 million...

Says it all right there.

I hate this deal. Maeda just isn’t that good. He doesn’t throw a ton of innings. He gets some Ks, but has had ERAs north of 4 in the NL 2 of the past 3 years. If we’re looking at WAR (and some other things) Pineda and Bailey we’re both better last year. This guy may not even be in the rotation if Hull gets healthy.

The Dodgers thought so highly of him that they didn’t give him any playoff starts in 2019. He’s had struggles and been shuffled back and forth between the rotation and pen multiple times throughout his career.

This just isn’t a needle mover, and it cost a guy who, at minimum, looked to be a dominant back end reliever at age 21, who has absolutely carved every level at which he’s spent significant time. Oh, and he’s been clocked at 104.

We have enough middle of the road starters. We don’t need one of those. We need a guy who can lock down the Yankees in a playoff game. Come playoff time, we just traded one reliever for a worse reliever.

Maeda will produce 4.25-4.50 in ERA in AL at best. 

If you actually believe this, I've got an ocean-front timeshare in Vegas that we need to talk about

Man, I'm not sure I like this trade for the Twins. I know I hate it for LA and love it for the Red Sox.

I'm not sure the Red Sox did so well in this trade. I realize one of their big goals was to shed salary, but it doesn't seem like that got a big haul in return for Betts and Price. Then again, I don't know much about this other prospect that got from the Dodgers. Anyway, best of luck to Brusdar in Fenway.

How many #3 starters does one rotation need?

Boston & LA made out like bandits but MN got shafted. If they were thinking about trading Graterol why did they tell everyone they were going to put him in the BP. Even if they saw something that they liked in Maeda, Graterol is worth almost 2 Maedas. Gonsolin   + a throw in would`ve been a better match. I was placing my hopes on Graterol to be our future ace, I don`t mind that they traded away Graterol but not for a solid #3. We just helped Boston & LA out of their problems so they can better their chances to win it all, while we`re still not improved that much & gave away a part of our future. We had already given David Ortiz to Boston for nada isn`t that enough!!!

 Let`s check out this deal

LA gets all-stars Bets & Price + $$$

Boston gets future great CF & ace

MN gets a 31 year old pitcher that didn`t make the play-off roster

What a gut punch! I`m so bummed that I can`t bring myself to continue read TD articles

Love this trade!  Maeda is not a 3rd or 4th starter.  He is more of a #2. 

No way he's a #2. At best a #3.

If you actually believe this, I've got an ocean-front timeshare in Vegas that we need to talk about

Why not? He's going from the NL to the AL and he's been a 4 something ERA pitcher most of his MLB career. Not at all out of the realm of possibility.

I hate this deal. Maeda just isn’t that good. He doesn’t throw a ton of innings. He gets some Ks, but has had ERAs north of 4 in the NL 2 of the past 3 years. If we’re looking at WAR (and some other things) Pineda and Bailey we’re both better last year. This guy may not even be in the rotation if Hull gets healthy.

The Dodgers thought so highly of him that they didn’t give him any playoff starts in 2019. He’s had struggles and been shuffled back and forth between the rotation and pen multiple times throughout his career.

This just isn’t a needle mover, and it cost a guy who, at minimum, looked to be a dominant back end reliever at age 21, who has absolutely carved every level at which he’s spent significant time. Oh, and he’s been clocked at 104.

We have enough middle of the road starters. We don’t need one of those. We need a guy who can lock down the Yankees in a playoff game. Come playoff time, we just traded one reliever for a worse reliever.

Exactly.

You were able to determine Graterol is a dominant back end reliever in a sample size of 14 innings? That's impressive, man. I realize there are a lot of prospect lovers on this site, and I'm sorry for your loss. I hope y'all can forgive Falvine by opening day. 

100% with you, man.

Rubbing your hands together and cackling while looking at an overflowing bag of prospects is fun when the team is BAD. And I understand that after many years, it's a hard habit to break for some.

When your team's going for a World Series Championship and signs guys like Josh Donaldson, you have to refocus on the major league squad. Step away from the Pensacola Wahoos everyone, and look at the guys in Minneapolis for a change!