Twins land Dean Kremer in trade with Orioles

The Minnesota Twins are adding rotation depth ahead of Monday’s trade deadline. Minnesota is acquiring right-hander Dean Kremer from the Baltimore Orioles, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, capping a turbulent season that began with him being surprisingly optioned to the minors before Opening Day.

The move comes as the Twins push to stay above .500 and add pitching help down the stretch, though it lands at an odd time for Kremer, whose value has cratered amid a rough 2026 season. In return, Baltimore is getting outfielder Jhomnardo Reyes, Minnesota’s No. 24 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

Kremer has struggled badly this year, posting a 6.50 ERA and 1.36 WHIP with a 1-4 record through just seven starts. His season was further complicated by a significant right quadriceps strain that sidelined him for nine weeks, an injury that limited him to only two starts before the layoff and briefly pushed him to Triple-A Norfolk for the first time since 2021.

The struggles mark a sharp departure from Kremer’s track record in Baltimore. Since his 2022 breakout, the 30-year-old had established himself as a reliable back-end starter, posting a 3.95 ERA with a 20.6 percent strikeout rate and a 39.9 percent ground-ball rate across parts of five seasons. Originally acquired by the Orioles from the Dodgers as part of the 2018 Manny Machado trade, Kremer became one of the longest-tenured players in the organization, tossing 599 1/3 innings across 109 appearances between 2022 and 2025 before this season’s decline.

For Baltimore, the return brings in a promising 18-year-old power bat. Reyes signed with the Twins out of the Dominican Republic in January 2025 and has quickly emerged as one of the more exciting hitters in their farm system, batting .359/.481/.719 across 21 games during his stateside debut in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League this summer.

The trade continues a busy stretch for Minnesota, which brought in reliever A.J. Minter from the Mets just one day earlier in exchange for prospects Bruin Agbayani and Billy Amick. The Twins are also taking on the remaining balance of Kremer’s salary, roughly $1.7 million for the rest of the season, on top of absorbing about $3.37 million owed to Minter.