Jorge Lopez

The Twins on Tuesday traded for All-Star closer Jorge López from the Orioles on the final day before MLB's trade deadline. In exchange, the Orioles will ...

From the Orioles end, this really is about the future and not about a team in the AL wild card hunt in early August. Unlike Trey Mancini, traded Monday to the Houston Astros, López cannot be a free-agent at season’s end. He posted a 9.22 ERA in 10 games for the Twins, but had a 1.90 ERA and three saves in 20 games at Triple A this year. And he, like Mancini, is both productive on the field and beloved in the clubhouse. As a big leaguer, he allowed 17 hits and 11 walks while striking out 14 batters in 13 2/3 innings. Given his past arm troubles, the Twins have rarely pushed Duran this season as he acclimates to a new role. The Twins on Tuesday traded for All-Star closer Jorge López from the Orioles on the final day before MLB’s trade deadline.

MINNEAPOLIS -- At last, some needed relief help is on the way -- and it comes in the form of one of the best back-end relievers in baseball this season.

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Just completely life-changing.”","type":"markdown","__typename":"Markdown"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"jorge-lopez-trade-with-twins\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.7":{"contentDate":"2022-06-15T02:22:30.702Z","description":"Jorge López gets Teoscar Hernandez to strike out swinging for the final out in a 6-5 win for the 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play","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"jorge-lopez-trade-with-twins\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.7.tags.8":{"slug":"international-feed","title":"International Partner feed","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"jorge-lopez-trade-with-twins\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.7.tags.9":{"slug":"eclat-feed","title":"Eclat feed","__typename":"Tag"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"jorge-lopez-trade-with-twins\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.8":{"content":"Following López's transition to full-time relief, his stuff has ticked up in a big way, as his primary pitch, the sinker, jumped from an average of 95.3 mph in 2021 to 97.8 mph this season, and all of his other offerings also bumped up by roughly two miles an hour. "There are a lot of things -- talking and expectations -- that’s tough, but as a player, you don’t get distracted by those things. "You just go out there and compete. Fulmer, on the other hand, is a rental, as he’ll be bound for free agency following the ‘22 season. With López in the mix to throw ninth innings for the Twins and Fulmer available as another setup option, the Twins can now more freely deploy Duran in the most important situations and take some pressure off Jax. And just for me, another blessing. “I think it allows a few guys to maybe settle into some different roles that could really help us,” president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. \n","providerName":"Twitter","providerUrl":"https://twitter.com","type":"rich","width":550,"__typename":"ExternalEmbedContent"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"jorge-lopez-trade-with-twins\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.5":{"data":{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"jorge-lopez-trade-with-twins\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.5.data","typename":"ExternalEmbedContent"},"type":"oembed","__typename":"ExternalEmbed"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"jorge-lopez-trade-with-twins\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.6":{"content":"The 29-year-old López doesn't have a lengthy track record, considering he only converted to full-time relief this season following six uneven seasons as a starter for the Brewers, Royals and Orioles. But his move to the bullpen has made him one of the best late-inning performers in baseball this season, as he was Baltimore's sole All-Star in '22 and owns a 1.68 ERA, 54 strikeouts and 19 saves in 48 1/3 innings across 44 appearances.\n\n\"It’s something you don’t expect, but at the same time, you see that coming,\" López said. Just put yourself in the position where you can just stay positive, and you can do this. \n\n","providerName":"Twitter","providerUrl":"https://twitter.com","type":"rich","width":550,"__typename":"ExternalEmbedContent"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"jorge-lopez-trade-with-twins\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.9":{"data":{"type":"id","generated":true,"id":"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"jorge-lopez-trade-with-twins\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.9.data","typename":"ExternalEmbedContent"},"type":"oembed","__typename":"ExternalEmbed"},"$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({\"locale\":\"en-us\",\"slug\":\"jorge-lopez-trade-with-twins\",\"type\":\"story\"}).parts.10":{"content":"Fulmer, on the other hand, is a rental, as he’ll be bound for free agency following the ‘22 season.

The Orioles have traded All-Star closer Jorge Lopez to the Twins. Get more details on the swap at MLB Trade Rumors.

The 6’4″ righty has had a far more impressive showing in Triple-A St. Paul, working to a 1.90 ERA, 28.1% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate in 23 2/3 innings with the Saints. That should prove pivotal when looking to bolster the rotation and perhaps further deepen the bullpen and the bench in the final hours leading up to the deadline. He’s not particularly young for the level, but it’s an impressive K-BB profile even if the bottom-line ERA has been inflated by a .362 average on balls in play and a 55.2% left-on base rate. Obviously, both he and Nunez are extremely long-term plays, as neither figures to sniff the Major Leagues for several seasons. He’s made 16 starts with the Twins’ Class-A Advanced affiliate this season, pitching to a 4.46 ERA but a far more impressive 31.8% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 44.3% ground-ball rate. Thus far in 2022, Lopez has tossed 48 innings with a 1.68 ERA, a 27.6% strikeout rate, an 8.7% walk rate and an enormous 60% ground-ball rate that ranks fifth in baseball among MLB relievers. That’s the first time in Cano’s career that he’s managed to string together a run of solid command, however. He began heavily favoring his sinker over his four-seamer, watched both his ground-ball rate and velocity make substantial jumps, and tossed 8 1/3 innings with just two runs, a 10-to-2 K/BB ratio and a 66.7% grounder rate. Much like Duran and Jax, Lopez gives manager Rocco Baldelli the flexibility of knowing he can cover more than one inning, if needed. The former second-round pick and top prospect never took off as a starting pitcher but has been outstanding since moving to the bullpen on a full-time basis late last season. Right-hander Juan Nunez and lefty Juan Rojas are the other two names in the deal, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Lopez gives the Twins a power-armed closer to pair with flamethrowing rookie Jhoan Duran and breakout righty Griffin Jax at the back of what has been an otherwise awful bullpen.

Minnesota is battling to hold on to its slim lead in the AL Central, while Baltimore is letting its postseason hopes slip away.

Cano is a 28-year-old righty from Cuba who signed with the Twins back in 2019. When your team reaches August with a winning record, is 2 1/2 games out of a playoff spot and has a break-even run differential even while playing in baseball's toughest division. I imagine the Orioles' clubhouse having a rally-the-troops scene tonight straight out of "Major League," except Adley Rutschman may be too young to play the role of Tom Berenger. I guess that didn't sit well with GM Mike Elias, so he picked up the phone and shipped out the standout performer from the most productive position group on his roster. He sports a 4.46 ERA over 16 starts this season in High-A. He works in the mid-90s with his sinker and also throws a slider and changeup. While a player making a sudden leap as Lopez has done might raise some regression-related red flags, there is a solid argument that his improvement is based on real changes to his skill set and approach. I mean, look at this table from baseball-reference.com. The Orioles' relievers don't just lead the majors in wins above average, they've almost lapped the field. That in itself justifies the deal's prospect return, which is four pitchers, none of whom were highly ranked organizational prospects entering the season. In its place, he's ramped up the frequency of his sinker and slider, which have paired well together. Lopez, meanwhile, has arguably been the most improved player in baseball this season. In the end, the Twins rank second-to-last in save percentage.

The All-Star Orioles closer is on the move for four prospects.

Although he hit a rough patch right at the start of July and has taken six losses overall, it’s also the case that him locking down games late is part of why the O’s are where they are. We already saw before the season that Elias is unafraid to deal right out of his bullpen. Povich checked in at #22 on the MLB Pipeline ranking of the Twins system as well as on the FanGraphs ranking. López is one more unlikely success story for the Elias Orioles. He simply wasn’t any good as a starting pitcher and the transformation into an All-Star reliever was phenomenal to watch. He’ll leave the O’s this season having posted a 1.68 ERA and 0.972 WHIP in 44 games. It is August, the Orioles are 2.5 games out of a wild card spot, and the Orioles have traded their closer, Jorge López, for prospects. These are the kinds of guys Elias really seems to like to target in trades - other teams mid-round pitcher picks when Elias was himself loading up on position players. Cano, 28, has appeared in ten games at the MLB level for the Twins this season. The fact does remain that the Orioles need to collect some pitching prospects who could potentially be back-end-of-the-rotation guys. These guys have been pitching in the Florida Complex League. Well, that’s at least a step above the Dominican Summer League. Both are striking out a lot of guys. He was the Twins third round pick in the 2021 draft. Mike Elias did not stop with the trade of Trey Mancini. If the team is going to continue to exceed expectations, they’re going to have to do it without one of their best relievers to date.

That was all the selling Baltimore did, however, standing pat with other trade candidates such as Jordan Lyles, Dillon Tate and Anthony Santander. The Orioles ...

It’s a lot of tears, because we worked so hard to get to this point.” But Elias' remarks on Monday made the moves of López and Mancini almost expected in retrospect -- the former a revelatory reliever and the latter in the final guaranteed year of his contract. As Mancini’s comeback from cancer took hold of the sporting world, López had a keen sensitivity. I think Bautista, when he's out in there in the eighth inning or ninth inning at times, he has shown that. The Orioles showed they aren’t shy about remaking their bullpen, trading high-leverage relievers Cole Sulser and Tanner Scott to the Marlins on the eve of the regular season. Baltimore executed its second Deadline deal on Tuesday, moving All-Star closer Jorge López and cash to Minnesota in exchange for four pitchers.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins badly needed pitching and weren't afraid to part with multiple promising minor leaguers to get it.

The Twins sent right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long, who was at Double-A Wichita, to the Tigers for Fulmer. He was a sixth-round draft pick in 2019. “This team, it was a little different than the last two, and I mean it a lot. The 29-year-old López is in the middle of a breakout season for the Orioles, with a stellar 1.68 ERA and 19 of his 20 career saves. “I think he would have loved to stay as well.” Including 2021 first-rounder Chase Petty, who went to the Reds for Gray, the Twins have now traded four of their first five picks from last year's draft. “I feel emotional, and I hope for success for everyone to just keep going.” It’s exciting for the people upstairs in the room who are pulling all of these discussions together and making these things happen. “We wanted to try to find a way to supplement it.” Mahle will help shore up a rotation that has been ravaged by injuries, with Bailey Ober, Josh Winder, Chris Paddack, Kenta Maeda and Randy Dobnak all sidelined. He previously split his time between starter and reliever, but full-time focus on a late-game role has served him well. Despite their injuries and flaws, the Twins were adamant about adding to their first-place club. “It’s exciting for the people in the clubhouse.

The Minnesota Twins bolstered their bullpen on Tuesday when they acquired relief pitcher Jorge López from the Baltimore Orioles in a MLB trade deadline ...

He was a starting pitcher before finding a role as the closer in Baltimore this season -- a position that earned him his first All-Star honor. The players heading to Baltimore in the trade deadline deal are LHP Cade Povich, RHP Yennier Cano, RHP Juan Nuñez and LHP Juan Rojas. Hoping to extend its one-game lead in the AL Central, Minnesota has acquired All-Star reliever Jorge López from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for four pitching prospects.

Lopez, a first-time all-star this season, has a 1.68 earned-run average and has converted 19 of 23 save opportunities this season.

Fulmer is 32-43 with a 3.90 ERA in 178 career appearances (89 starts) for the Tigers over six seasons. Fulmer, 29, is 3-4 with a 3.20 ERA and two saves this season for the Twins' American League Central rivals. That thing, I think, really helped me to improve and know myself and have that to lock in and come to the game and keep learning through the game. I know they’ve got a really good group, and I’m going to do anything I can to keep competing and (have) the mindset to get to the World Series.” Mahle is 5-7 with a 4.40 earned-run average this season for the Reds and is under contract through next year. “I’m just really thankful for the Orioles and what they’ve been doing, and I’m glad (I’m) coming to the new chapter with the Minnesota Twins. Just to (have that) happen is something really special.

Mahle, 27, is 5-7 with a 4.40 ERA in 19 starts this season and has 114 strikeouts and just 39 walks in 104 1/3 innings pitched. The 29-year-old ...

The 22-year-old Povich, a third-round pick in last year's draft, is 6-8 with a 4.46 ERA in 16 starts at high-A Cedar Rapids this season. Just can't wait to get to this team and do the same thing.'' "Just put yourself in the position where you can just stay positive and you can do this, so I'm really thankful for all the hard work we did. He previously split his time between starter and reliever, but the full-time focus on a late-game role has served him well. "I feel emotional, and I hope for success for everyone to just keep going.'' Lopez 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.

Jorge Lopez, an All-Star for Baltimore in 2022; Tyler Mahle, who was 4-7 as starter for the Reds; and Tigers reliever Michael Fulmer bring needed pitching ...

One topic Correa hasn't yet discussed with the Twins, though, is his long-term future in Minnesota. Correa has options for the next two seasons, and there was some speculation the Twins might want to trade him at the deadline and not risk losing him for free in the offseason. In 29-year-old Lopez, the Twins gain a 2022 AL All-Star with a 1.68 ERA and 19 saves in the midst of his first full-time closer role of his seven-year career. Fulmer is an Oklahoman and was a first-round pick in 2011, just like Twins starter Dylan Bundy. Mahle and Sonny Gray were in the Reds' rotation together from 2019-21. Correa's priority was protecting "untouchable" Miranda, who just won the AL Rookie of the Month award after hitting .353 in July. Mahle followed in the afternoon before Fulmer had the unique experience of walking from Target Field's visiting clubhouse to the home one — with gathered media filming his every step — fewer than two hours before his former team faced his new team. "It feels a lot better, no other way to put it than that," said Derek Falvey, president of baseball operations.

It's trade deadline day in Major League Baseball and the Minnesota Twins have reportedly upgraded their bullpen by acquiring Baltimore Orioles right-handed ...

The 29-year-old Lopez has a 1.68 ERA with 19 saves in 48 innings this season, and has struck out 54 batters while allowing just 30 hits. Povich, the No. 22 prospect in the organization, according to MLB Pipeline, appears to be the key cog for the Orioles. The 22-year-old was a third-round pick by the Twins in 2021 and he's put up huge strikeout numbers this season, fanning 107 batters in 78.2 innings at at High A Cedar Rapids. He's also under team control for 2023 and 2024, so the Twins can expect Lopez to be a key member in the bullpen this year and the two years that follow.