Dean Kremer Made Himself An Integral Piece For The Minnesota Twins

When the trade deadline came around for the Minnesota Twins this year, the priority was to bolster the team with talent, a big change from their fire sale in 2025. 

At the time, their biggest need was more pitching to add to their staff that lacked some depth. Minnesota explored a variety of options, but did not make a splash — though they did make some key additions that helped the team down the stretch.

The Twins added two proven relief arms, right-hander Jeff Hoffman and southpaw AJ Minter, to strengthen their bullpen. Those two players excelled in their second half tenure with the Twins. Minnesota also acquired a starting pitcher, which appeared to be a wild card of an acquisition, but the deal absolutely worked out for the Twins in the end.

Dean Kremer, who the Twins acquired from the Baltimore Orioles days before the trade deadline, had struggled prior to the trade in an injury-riddled first half in Baltimore. Kremer had made seven starts with the Orioles, pitched poorly, but changed things around once he arrived in Minnesota. In fact, he ended up presenting himself as a solid piece for the Twins going forward.

Before the trade, Kremer owned a 6.50 ERA across 36 innings where he had allowed 26 earned runs. In 10 starts with the Twins after he was acquired, he posted a 3.48 ERA in 54 ⅓ innings pitched, as he held opposing hitters to a .189 batting average. 

When Kremer was acquired, the Twins saw themselves in the midst of a postseason push. They remained in contention until the final couple of weeks of the season in what was a disappointing end to the year, but Kremer did his part in providing the Twins with a consistent starter in their rotation.

Considering his poor start to the season, at the time of the acquisition, it seemed questionable that Kremer would be the Twins’ only addition to their starting rotation at the deadline. But in the end, the 30-year-old found his stride with a new home.

After debuting in 2020, Kremer became a consistent starter in 2022 and was integral to the Orioles’ rotation for a number of seasons. From 2022-2025, Kremer made a combined 106 starts, giving the Orioles consistent innings with a solid ERA each season, as his ERA was never 4.20 or higher. 

Though those numbers worsened with the Orioles in 2026, Kremer’s ability to turn things around the way he did speaks volumes for the Twins, who now trust Kremer to be an important piece of their rotation in 2027. Kremer is set to be a free agent at the end of the season.