The Twins made their intentions loud and clear ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline: they’re buying.
Minnesota landed right-handed reliever Tommy Nance and international bonus pool space from the Toronto Blue Jays, according to ESPN’s Alden González and Jeff Passan. In return, the Twins sent minor leaguer Ryan Sprok to Toronto, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. It’s the kind of move that signals a team trying to stay in the race, not one preparing to step aside.
Nance, 35, arrives with a solid track record this season. He owns a 3.82 ERA with a 24.5% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and .230 opponent batting average across 33 innings.
He’s no stranger to the majors either, with five years of big-league experience under his belt. The right-hander spent the last three seasons with the Blue Jays after earlier stops with the Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins.
Over 159 career innings, he has a 4.25 ERA, a 25.3% strikeout rate and a 9.4% walk rate.
There are some warning signs in the underlying numbers, but also enough to see why Minnesota wanted him. His expected ERA sits at 4.37 and opponents have hit .257 against him, both marks that are below average.
Still, he’s been tough to square up, posting a 36.4% chase rate, a 35.9% hard-hit rate and a 46.7% ground-ball rate. That mix gives him a chance to matter for a bullpen that has been a major problem all season, with Minnesota’s relief corps ranking last in MLB in ERA at 5.28.
Nance has leaned heavily on three pitches this year: a high-80s slider 37.7% of the time, a mid-80s curveball 34.8% of the time and a mid-90s sinker 27.8% of the time.
The Twins could still move him later if they fade from contention, but for now the message is pretty straightforward. Minnesota is trying to win this season. The club is one game behind the Seattle Mariners for the third AL Wild Card spot and two games back of the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central.
Nance won’t solve everything on his own, but he gives the Twins another arm to work with. Minnesota also added right-handed reliever Woo-Suk Go from the Detroit Tigers earlier in the week.
To make room on the 26-man roster, the Twins will need to cut someone loose. The likely candidates are Travis Adams, Mike Paredes, Eric Orze or Kendry Rojas, all of whom still have minor-league options remaining.
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