UPDATED: Minnesota Twins trade José Berríos to Toronto Blue Jays
ST. PAUL -- The Minnesota Twins have traded starting pitcher José Berríos to the Toronto Blue Jays for a pair of top prospects, kicking off what is expected to be a busy deadline day for the club.
The Twins got a pair of top-100 prospects in return for their ace, landing shortstop Austin Martin, No. 16 overall per MLB Pipeline, and right-handed pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson, No. 68 overall, from Toronto.
It’s a strong haul in exchange for the 27-year-old starting pitcher, who is under contract for one more season and has been the picture of durability throughout his Twins career.
After his last start, Berríos had expressed his affection for Minnesota and talked about how he “(wanted) to keep doing that for hopefully six, seven, eight more years.” But he has also talked about his desire to hit free agency before and since past attempts to lock in the starter long term hadn’t produced an agreement. Trading him ahead of the deadline allowed the Twins to maximize the return for him.
Martin, 22, immediately becomes one of the Twins’ top prospects. The shortstop/outfielder is ranked just behind Royce Lewis (No. 13) overall in MLB Pipeline’s last rankings. The Vanderbilt product was the No. 5 overall pick in last year’s draft and has hit .281 with a .424 on-base percentage at Double-A, drawing 37 walks in 55 games.
Woods Richardson would slot in as the Twins’ No. 3 prospect on Pipeline’s list, ahead of current top pitching prospect Jordan Balazovic. After being selected by the Mets in the second round in 2018, he was dealt to the Blue Jays as part of the return for Marcus Stroman.
Woods Richardson is currently in Tokyo competing at the Olympics, but is likely to head to Double-A Wichita. With Double-A New Hampshire, he had a 5.76 earned-run average.
