The Twins have made another move to try to hang around in the 2026 race, and this one sends a breakout prospect out the door.
Minnesota acquired right-hander Dean Kremer from the Orioles in exchange for outfield prospect Jhomnardo Reyes, according to several reports. It comes one night after the Twins picked up lefty reliever A.J. Minter from the Mets, a sign they’re taking a measured approach after going into sell mode at last year’s deadline.
The timing makes the intent pretty clear. Minnesota is 3.5 games behind the surging White Sox in the AL Central, and Kremer gives them something they badly need: rotation stability. Rookie left-hander Connor Prielipp is already nearing a career high in professional innings at 82.2, and right-hander Zebby Matthews has a 5.64 career ERA since arriving in the majors two seasons ago.
Reyes was the prize for Baltimore, and the kind of prospect who had started to force his way onto the radar. The outfielder missed minor league spring training games because of a minor back injury, but once he got to the Florida Complex League, he hit fast and kept going.
In 49 games, Reyes batted .296/.409/.541 with seven home runs and ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the FCL. By the end of that season, he was promoted to Low-A and appeared in six games with Fort Myers before the trade.
There’s real upside in the bat. Reyes brings above-average bat-to-ball ability and a sharp eye at the plate, though evaluators think he still has a hole at the top of the zone that he’ll need to clean up.
His exit velocity numbers backed up the performance, including a 104.6 mph 90th percentile EV this season, and he showed a feel for driving the ball in the air to his pull side. Defensively, he has the arm strength to fit in right field if his body lets him stay there over time.
For the Orioles, Kremer is a familiar arm with a long track record. The 30-year-old came over in the 2018 Manny Machado trade with the Dodgers and has made 130 career starts across seven seasons in Baltimore, posting a 4.37 ERA. This year has been interrupted by a right quad sprain that kept him out for two months, limiting him to seven starts and a 6.50 ERA.
Even with those results, Kremer has offered one encouraging sign in 2026: he’s striking out hitters at the highest rate of his career. He has leaned more heavily on his splitter, and that pitch has become the best performer in his mix. Kremer works with six pitches and keeps hitters off balance by moving the ball around the zone, finding ways to get results even without overpowering stuff.
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There is still a procedural step left before anything becomes official, and that is the part keeping this story from being complete. Even so, the mere fact that Rutschmans name is now tied to a move of this magnitude will force Orioles fans to reckon with how aggressively the organization wants to keep reshaping the roster, and whether the people making those calls can be trusted with the next phase of the rebuild. [Read more 🡒]
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One possibility being discussed would address a clear need by adding a controllable left-handed starter, the kind of arm that could stabilize the staff beyond this season. It is the sort of deal that would require real prospect capital, and the Orioles have to decide how far they want to go to strengthen the rotation without thinning out the next wave of talent. For a club trying to thread that needle, this is the kind of decision that can shape not just the deadline, but the shape of the pitching staff for some time to come. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Just Helped A Wild Card Rival And Fans Know It
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For the Orioles, the deal is a tougher sell to the fan base because they are still sitting near the wild-card picture themselves and moved a useful bat in the process. Baltimore did bring back three minor-league right-handers in Alex Hoppe, Harrison Kreiling and Brock Moore, though none of them were among Seattles top 30 prospects, which only adds to the feeling that this was a small return for a player who could have helped in the standings race. [Read more 🡒]