Minnesota Twins Activate Newly Acquired Starter, Set First Start Date

Ahead of their Sunday series finale against the Seattle Mariners, the Minnesota Twins added pitcher Dean Kremer to their active roster and optioned reliever Jack Anderson to Triple-A St. Paul.

The Twins acquired Kremer from a trade with the Baltimore Orioles on Friday in exchange for 18-year-old outfield prospect Jhomnardo Reyes. After clearing some space on the 40-man roster for him, he now joins the team in the midst of their road trip.

While the Twins are buyers this time around at the trade deadline, the deal for Kremer doesn’t necessarily move the needle for them in the pitching realm. Instead, Kremer’s addition gives the Twins an arm that can be relied on to take on a good chunk of innings.

Kremer has been a bona fide innings-eater for the Orioles over the course of seven seasons. From the 2022-2025 seasons, Kremer has combined to post a 3.95 ERA and a 4.15 FIP in roughly around 600 innings.

However, things have dropped off for Kremer in the 2026 season. Across 36 innings in seven starts this year, Kremer has posted a 6.50 ERA, allowing 26 earned runs. Statistically, he is on pace to record his worst numbers since the 2021 season.

Kremer enters the mix in Minnesota as a starter, and will seemingly replace Zebby Matthews in the rotation, who was optioned to Triple-A on Saturday morning after turning in a solid start on Friday night in Seattle.

The 30-year-old right-hander boasts a legit splitter as the anchor to his pitch repertoire, one that gathers a strong swing-and-miss rate and is complemented by a cutter. He does not throw hard, hovering around the lower-90’s in mph.

The potential is there for Kremer to regain a similar form in the Twins’ final months of the season. Historically, August and September have been Kremer’s better months in his career. 

Recently, Minnesota has lacked internal starting options, as their rotation depth has only gotten slimmer. Mike Paredes is on the injured list. Pablo López, Mick Abel and David Festa all are out for the season with injuries. 

If the Twins are all-in on buying at the trade deadline, they will seemingly look to continue shopping in the starting pitcher market. With about 24 hours to go until the deadline, the clock is ticking. But for now, the addition of Kremer gives them an arm to rely on.

Kremer is set to make his first start with the Twins on Wednesday against the Kansas City Royals. He is under team control until the end of the 2027 season.