We have a couple of days to go before the 2026 MLB trade deadline, but that’s not stopping the Minnesota Twins from making deals. Yesterday, they made a move to acquire left-handed reliever A.J. Minter from the New York Mets. Now they pull off another deal, acquiring starting pitcher Dean Kremer from the Baltimore Orioles. Let’s break down the trade, including updated rest-of-season odds for the Twins.
Kremer was in his seventh season with the Orioles and had spent his entire career in Baltimore before this trade. Before this season, Kremer had a 4.26 ERA in 671.2 career innings. This year, he had a long injury layoff and has struggled to get into form since. The 30-year-old right-hander has a 6.50 ERA through seven starts. The Twins are hoping better baseball is in his future, and there’s evidence in their favor; Kremer is striking out a fair number of hitters and isn’t giving up much hard contact on average, despite allowing a whopping 12 home runs in 36 innings. He’s owed roughly $1.7 million for the rest of the season and is arbitration-eligible for the final time next year.
In exchange for Kremer, the Orioles received outfielder Jhomnardo Reyes, according to Dan Hayes. Reyes, an 18-year-old prospect from the Dominican Republic, was recently promoted from rookie ball by Minnesota. Over 193 plate appearances in the Florida Complex League, the 6-foot-3 outfielder had a .950 OPS, showing great walk-taking ability along with seven home runs and 14 stolen bases. He’s one heck of a flier for the Orioles, who will be patient with a talent of Reyes’ caliber. From a Baltimore perspective, getting that kind of talent for a 30-year-old with a 6.50 ERA is a win.
The Twins rotation is headlined by Joe Ryan and Taj Bradley, who have both been excellent, but the rest has been forgettable. Veteran Bailey Ober is struggling, while youngsters Zebby Matthews and Connor Prielipp are having a difficult time getting their feet under them at the big league level. Kremer figures to take the rotation spot of one of the two youngsters, who will return to AAA to work on their craft.
The Kremer trade hasn’t made a big impact on Minnesota’s current playoff odds. Heading into Friday’s game against the Mariners, Minnesota was 55-55 and just outside the postseason picture. Currently, they hold the third-best odds to win the AL Central at +500, behind the leading Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians. They’re a long shot in World Series odds at +6000, 14th in the league, and are ninth to win the AL. But it is becoming clear that the Twins are soft buyers at the very least, which gives a bump to their odds. And we still have roughly three days to go before the trade deadline. Perhaps they’re not done just yet.
