Remember when Joe Ryan became the first Twins pitcher in five years to pitch a complete game shutout? It happened Thursday. That wouldn’t have been possible if not for the Twins shipping Nelson Cruz to the Rays in 2021 as part of a trade that MLB Trade Rumors has called the No. 1 trade deadline return of any MLB trade from 2017 to 2021.
Coming off a AL Central title in the shortened 2020 season, the Twins struggled out of the gate in 2021 to a 9-15 record. With several offseason signings flopping and injuries taking their tole, the Twins front office started moving salaries, including Cruz.
Cruz was traded, along with reliever Calvin Faucher, to the Rays for Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman. Strotman has since been DFA’d while Ryan has gone on to be a stud for the Twins.
Ryan had a 3.55 ERA and a 13-8 record in 2022 and has followed it up with a 2.98 ERA and a 8-4 record so far in 2023, including Thursday’s complete game shutout against the Red Sox.
Cruz was a bit of a bust for the Rays seeing his batting average drop nearly 70 points, from .294 with the Twins to .226 in Tampa, while the Rays lost in the ALDS to the Red Sox.
Twins pitching has also benefitted from MLB Trade Rumors’ No. 4 Trade Deadline Return, which is the 2018 deal that sent Eduardo Escobar to the Diamondbacks for Gabriel Maciel, Ernie De La Trinidad and Jhoan Duran. Maybe you’ve never heard of the first two names, but Duran has blossomed into one of baseball’s best relievers with a 1.75 ERA since his debut in 2022.
So while the Twins’ front office is often the butt of jokes about trading Brent Rooker, Spencer Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Taylor Rogers and others for the likes of Tyler Mahle, Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan, they do some some quality trade wins under their belts.
