According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Minnesota Twins completed their first trade ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline, moving Nelson Cruz to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Well… the Twins made their first move of what looks to be many. The belief is there’ll be many other players moved before the July 30 trade deadline. Minnesota hasn’t performed well this season and they have a few attractive assets for contending teams.

The Trade:

Twins get: RHP Joe Ryan, RHP, Drew Strotman

Rays get: Nelson Cruz, RHP Calvin Faucher

Twins:

Before diving into how well the Twins did on this trade, let’s all take a second out of the day to thank Cruz for three awesome years. He might have been the best free agent signing in team history. His impact on the field was immense but also impacted the community off the field.

With Cruz gone, the Twins will need a few players to step up and fill his large shoes. He was the best offensive player on the team and Minnesota’s already struggled at times offensively.

Before it was announced that Alex Kiriloff would have season-ending surgery, this move would have benefited Miguel Sanó the most. The best corresponding move would be to call up Brent Rooker, who’s been playing well for the St. Paul Saints.

Now, let’s take a look at who the Twins received in the trade. Joe Ryan is the No. 10 prospect in the Rays’ farm system and is currently in Tokyo pitching for Team USA.

Ryan is a 6-foot-2, 205 lb. right-handed starting pitcher. Since being drafted in the seventh round in 2018, Ryan has moved up the ranks in the minors. In 48 starts, he holds a 15-8 record and an ERA of 2.70.

This season in Triple-A, he’s 4-3 and has an ERA of 3.63. One of the more impressive stats is the idea that he’s holding his opponents to a batting average of .175 and a whip of 0.79.

Ryan has four pitches in his arsenal, those being the fastball, slider, curveball and changeup. His best two pitches are his fastball and slider. His fastball sits between 92-96 MPH and his slider is in the mid-80s.

Drew Strotman is the Rays’ No. 17 prospect and is a 6-foot-3, 195 lb. right-handed pitcher. Much like Ryan, Strotman has climbed up the ranks rather quickly after being drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 MLB Draft. Though he did miss a season in 2018 after having Tommy John surgery.

In 42 career starts, Strotman has a 12-8 record and an ERA of 3.12. This season in Triple-A, he’s 7-2, with an ERA of 3.39. He’s less of a strikeout pitcher and will give up a good amount of walks.

However, he does have five pitches in his arsenal, which are his fastball, cutter, slider, curveball and changeup. He added the cutter last year when baseball was shut down and it’s become his best secondary pitch.

Both players may end up helping the Twins this season if they continue to sell. With the trade being official, Ryan is now the Twins’ No. 6 prospect and Strotman is No. 13.

As much as it hurts to lose Cruz, the Twins added two talented starting pitching prospects for a player who’s a two-month rental.

Grade: A

Rays:

For the Rays side of the deal, it’s pretty simple. It hurts to lose two talented starting pitching prospects, but you’re receiving one of the best hitters of all time. Cruz continues to defy father time, playing at a high level in his 17th season at 41 years of age.

This season he’s hitting .294 with 19 home runs and 50 RBIs. He’s also contributed to 2.1 wins above replacement and made the All-Star Game for the seventh time in his career. Tampa Bay is second in the AL East with a record of 58-39.

Last season they fell short in the World Series and will be hungry to change that this season. Their offense has struggled and adding Cruz to the mix will only make it better. This season they’re 14th in the league in home runs and 25th in batting average at .231.

They’re probably not done making moves, but this will only make them better and potentially put them over the edge to win the World Series.

The Twins’ also traded Calvin Faucher, who’s struggled this season in Double-A. In 19 games, he holds a record of 1-1 and an ERA of 7.04. Faucher will probably be a forgotten name in the trade, with the other three players having much more success. However, Tampa Bay does a great job developing pitching prospects and may find a way to turn around the former 10th round pick.

Grade: A