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

Nick Anderson has 0.2 career bWAR.

We're calling that a "fleecing"?

I guess I was looking more at his K rate and this fangraphs article earlier in the year https://blogs.fangraphs.com/nick-anderson-is-improbably-excellent/

It looks like he has regressed some since then but still would be nice to have.

Honest question.

Do they make Romo fly up to Chicago tonight, then fly right back to Miami with the team tomorrow night?

Probably, but teams often let starting pitchers fly ahead of the team by a night, and our bullpen is fairly rested. Maybe they let Romo meet the team in Miami.

Love the trade. Yet another savvy move by the Twins FO.

Romo’s reputation as a crafty veteran and great teammate with high leverage experience seems like an excellent fit for the playoff run. Don’t care about low velo, he has a track record of getting outs! Hopefully this is just the first of multiple moves.

Diaz is a fun prospect but would have either been lost for nothing this winter or consumed a valuable 40 man spot at the expense of someone else likely from a position of greater need.

I could have been talked into Diaz for Romo straight up due to the 40 man issue or Diaz for Vallimont for sure. Both plus the PTBNL is wizardry

Vallimont is my favorite piece in the deal.  Romo does little for me

He was drafted in 2018, so no need to be added to the 40 for another year.

Solid trade. Shores up the middle of the bullpen. They’re attached to several other names, so it seems pretty certain that this won’t be their only move. Fear not, Falvey critics.

If the Twins were going to lose Diaz to the rule 5 draft or something along those lines anyways, then there's nothing wrong with a trade like this. I would like to see the Twins make some bigger trades for some impart arms, but it's still early. The Twins will hopefully acquire higher end pitchers over the next few days. Like many others, I will be disappointed if this is the only relief pitcher that they acquire. I"m confident / optimistic that more help is on the way.

I’d make this trade for days. Fair mention, Diaz is playing well this year (for once) and has been at AA for a month. However, I can think of several guys who are 40 man eligible at the end of the year who are farther along or more talented than Diaz. This is a phenomenal trade for the Twins. You add a serviceable reliever, get a good AA starter AND you get a ptbnl all the while clearing a name off the long list of players you have to make a decision on in October. What’s not to love? Diaz was probably the most expendable “blue chip” prospect the twins had.

Not sure who is runnin the show in Miami - they must have REALLY liked Diaz to trade three players for him. 1B/DH types are not hard to find...

Reloading pitching depth is a very underrated piece too if that is indeed what the Mets are after...

I LOVE this deal. Obviously I'm hoping for more trades, but I'm pretty sure I would have pulled the trigger if it had been just a one for one swap for Vallimont.

The twins helped the bullpen, lessened the 40 man crowding, added another decent pitching prospect AND a ptbnl, all for someone who was likely never going to play for the twins anyways because he is so far down the 1B pecking order and quality MLB first basemen are so cheap to come by (see Cron).

This is a relatively small trade, but in a vacuum, it's a definite win in my book.

I think this is a good move if it's not the only move they make. Some how, they get a interchangeable prospect, and lotto ticket, AND a bullpen addition for a guy who may or may not be a MLB player ever.

I am much more excited about the minor league pitcher than I am about Sergio

Right now, Romo is the second best option in the 'pen. If Taylor Rogers gets a six-out save on Tuesday and the Twins have a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth on Wednesday, he should be the guy to get the ball, especially if there are two or three RH hitters due up for the opposition. 

 

I truly hope that the Twins add a better relief pitcher than Romo and that they add a lefty who can get out hitters from both sides of the plate. By itself, this is a decent move with little cost in prospects. I hope there is at least another bigger move in the next four days. 

(Stringer Bell, this isn't a response directly to you. I was just starting to type something like the following when yours popped up and yours is similar to what a number of others have expressed.)

Yet, Romo is 17 of 18 in save opportunities this year and Rogers is 15 of 20. Romo also has more experience as a closer over his career. Rocco has also shown a willingness to use his best reliever in high leverage situations. Romo is also a righty, which many teams seem to prefer as the closer. 

All that to say, I won't be surprised if Romo slides in to something closer to the traditional closer role, with Rogers slipping back to the guy who gets used in the high-leverage situation. Not saying I agree or disagree with that approach, just saying it could well happen.

(And frankly, that's a debate for only three more games, because there will be someone else on board by Thursday to change the conversation. Over the last two years, Falvey and Levine have made more than an average number of July trades. There's no reason to think that won't happen again.)

(Frankly, part 2: To some extent, this is a typical Falvey/Levine trade. They haven't made "big splash moves," but rather "nudge the needle" moves. Last year it was "get rid of impending free agents." This one is a "get rid of 40-man question marks" move.)

Lol. Some of y'all are hilarious. "I'd rather have Belisle." Really?

He has 17 saves. No he's not great. But he's better than what we have, and we gave up a guy we would have possibly lost as Rule V and got a decent pitching prospect on top of it. This can't be their only move though. 

I think we’ll be seeing Romo get the 9th inning most days with a lead (esp with RHB due) and Rogers pitching in the 7th or 8th as the “fireman”. It’s kinda weird that he has a 14% swinging strike rate but a k per 9 under 9. The league as a whole has a k per 9 of 8.8.

I think we’ll be seeing Romo get the 9th inning most days with a lead (esp with RHB due) and Rogers pitching in the 7th or 8th as the “fireman”. It’s kinda weird that he has a 14% swinging strike rate but a k per 9 under 9. The league as a whole has a k per 9 of 8.8.

I guess I agree because the alternative is to put him in a role where he needs to put out a fire. He was fourth last year in inherited runners scored. He won’t see many inherited runners coming in at the start of the ninth inning.

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.