The Minnesota Twins have acquired RHP Kenta Maeda, C Jair Camargo and cash considerations from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for RHP Brusdar Graterol, OF Luke Raley and a 2020 Competitive Balance Round B Draft Pick.
The Twins need a starter. They have Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi, but in the ALDS, they struggled when they had to send out Randy Dobnak to pitch Game 2. They added former Dodgers Homer Bailey (LA pays his salary) and Rich Hill in the offseason, but they aren\’t anything special. Maeda is a solid 3rd-4th starter who can strikeout batters. He comes with Camargo, a young catching prospect who will not be a top 30 prospect in Minnesota\’s system, per MLB Pipeline. Injuries have been an issue for Maeda, as he has only qualified for the ERA title once in four seasons. At age 31, Maeda is still under contract for four more seasons and is owed juts $3 million per season.
Maeda, 31, had a 4.04 ERA with 169 strikeouts and a 3.95 FIP in 153.2 innings for the Dodgers in 2019. In his MLB career, all in Los Angeles, Maeda has a 3.87 ERA with 641 strikeouts and a 3.71 FIP in 589 innings.
Camargo, 20, had a .236 batting average with four home runs, 41 RBIs, five stolen bases and a .642 OPS in 316 Plate Appearances for Single-A Great Lakes in 2019. In his minor league career Camargo has a .250 batting average with 11 home runs, 95 RBIs, 15 stolen bases and a .671 OPS in 726 Plate Appearances.
The Dodgers recently traded for former MVP winner Mookie Betts and former Cy Young winner David Price. They cost a lot of money, so the Dodgers need to shed salary. After acquiring Price, the Dodgers have four rotation locks in Price, Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler and Alex Wood. Add in prospects Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin, plus swingman Ross Stripling and the rotation is set. They trade Maeda and get Graterol, who can throw over 100 miles an hour and will be a big bullpen piece, plus a draft pick and an extra prospect. Graterol enters the system as their 4th best prospect, and is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the 53rd best prospect in the MLB.
Graterol, 21, debuted in 2019, striking out 10 batters in 9.2 innings, allowing five earned runs for a 4.66 ERA. In the minors for AA Pensacola and AAA Rochester, Graterol had a 1.92 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 61 innings.
Raley, 25, had a .302 batting average with seven home runs, 21 RBIs, four stolen bases and an .878 OPS in 138 Plate Appearances for AAA Rochester in 2019. In his minor league career Raley has a .288 batting average with 46 home runs, 178 RBIs and 21 stolen bases, plus an .833 OPS in 1525 Plate Appearances.
CarterHud 