MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins bolstered their bullpen ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline by acquiring All-Star closer Jorge López in a deal with the Baltimore Orioles for four pitching prospects.
The 29-year-old López is in the middle of a breakout season, with a sparkling 1.68 ERA and 19 of his 20 career saves.
“Just completely life-changing. I’m just really thankful for the Orioles and what they’ve been doing, and I’m glad it’s coming to a new chapter with Minnesota Twins,” López said on a conference call with reporters before a scheduled flight to Minnesota. “They’ve got a really good group, and I’m going to do anything I can to keep competing.”
López joins a Twins team that had a 3.84 relief ERA entering Tuesday night’s game against Detroit, with Jhoan Duran the lone late-inning option who has been consistently reliable this year. Griffin Jax has been a find after his conversion from a starting role in 2021, but Emilio Pagan was recently moved into lower-leverage situations and Tyler Duffey has an ERA (4.57) almost two runs higher than his cumulative total of the previous three seasons.
The surprising Orioles are in the mix for an AL wild card, just 2 1/2 games out of the final spot entering play on Tuesday. But they traded slugger Trey Mancini to Houston as part of a three-team deal on Monday before shipping López to the AL Central leaders.
“This team, it was a little different than the last two, and I mean it a lot. These guys really take care of business, and that really taught me a lot,” López said. “I feel emotional, and I hope for success for everyone to just keep going.”
Baltimore received minor league pitchers Cade Povich, Yennier Cano, Juan Nuñez and Juan Rojas from Minnesota in the deal. Only Cano has major league experience.
The Twins under…