Minnesota Twins to acquire Kyle Farmer from Cincinnati Reds

Depending upon which way you choose to evaluate the world, Kyle Farmer was one of the better hitters the Cincinnati Reds rolled out during the 2022 season. Of course, mitigating factors mitigated the heck out of many of his peers, as trades and injuries decimated the rest of the active roster all year, but Farmer was one of the few stalwarts who toughed things out from Opening Day through season’s end.

He was also entering his second year of arbitration eligibility this offseason, and according to MLB Trade Rumors was estimated to command a salary of just shy of $6 million for 2023. Given how frugal - and how rebuilding - the Cincinnati Reds are, the idea of moving the 32 year old (with so many upcoming middle infielders in the system) was always going to be a storyline this winter.

As it turns out, that story got written early, as the Reds have cracked a deal with the Minnesota Twins to send Farmer to the AL Central. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal was on the news this evening, the very deadline for teams to announce their tenders and non-tenders.

It appears they’ll be getting 25 year old Casey Legumina from the Twins, per The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans.

Legumina, 25, was drafted out of Gonzaga in the 8th round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Gonzaga, and promptly needed Tommy John surgery thereafter. He’s been on a steady path up the minors since then, however, and offers a potential four-pitch mix when healthy. Though he’s started the majority of his outings in the minors, he’s likely slated for a bullpen or swingman role with his current repertoire.

We’ll surely have updates as we continue to gauge what the Reds managed to get in return for Farmer, who wraps his Reds career with a .708 OPS, 85 OPS+, and 172 career harvested ribbies.