The Dodgers and Twins are reportedly in agreement on a one-for-one swap of reliever Brock Stewart for center fielder James Outman. Both players are on the 40-man roster, so there won’t need to be any corresponding transactions.
Stewart hasn’t gotten as much attention as former teammates Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax at the back of Minnesota’s bullpen. He’s a strong late-game weapon in his own right. As with most Dodger pitching targets, he’s very effective on a rate basis but comes with significant durability questions. Stewart is healthy at the moment, and his presence should be a major boost to a floundering L.A. relief group.
The 6’3″ Stewart has fired 34 innings of 2.38 ERA ball on the year. He has struck out almost 30% of batters faced behind an excellent 14.7% swinging strike rate. He pairs that with a league average 7.9% walk rate and has done a good job avoiding hard contact. Stewart leads a five-pitch mix with a 96 MPH fastball and gets big swing-and-miss numbers on both his sweeper and changeup.
It’s a back-end profile. Stewart has picked up 14 holds and only blown one lead all season. Minnesota skipper Rocco Baldelli has used him behind only Duran and Jax on their leverage hierarchy over the past month. This is the second time in the past three years in which Stewart has been an underrated bullpen weapon. He posted a 0.95 ERA with a near-36% strikeout rate in 28 appearances two seasons back.
Health is the drawback. Stewart has appeared in parts of seven MLB seasons. He has never reached 40 innings. He’ll establish a new career-high workload in his first appearance after the trade. Stewart began his career with the Dodgers as a 2014 sixth-round pick. He logged parts of four seasons as a swingman before being lost on waivers to Toronto in 2019. He was out of MLB entirely over the next three seasons, largely because of 2021 Tommy John surgery.
Stewart reemerged with Minnesota in 2023. He was suddenly sitting around 97 MPH after working in the 91-94 range before the surgery. Stewart dominated for a couple months until experiencing renewed elbow discomfort that shut him down in late June. Last season, he was limited to 18 appearances by shoulder problems that necessitated arthroscopic surgery in August. He has been healthy this year aside from a brief season-opening IL stint related to a left hamstring strain.
The atypical career arc and lack of volume have tamped down Stewart’s earning power. He’s playing on an $870K salary that is barely above the league minimum. Stewart will go through arbitration twice more and won’t hit free agency until the end of his age-35 season. While the affordability meant that the Twins didn’t need to trade him, they also presumably felt this was the peak of his value. Stewart’s age and injury history meant there’d be real risk in holding onto him and hoping he’d remain this effective going into 2026.
It’s the first of what should be multiple bullpen acquisitions for Los Angeles. Dodger relievers rank 22nd in MLB with a 4.24 earned run average. They’re top 10 in strikeout rate but have not been as strong as expected. Tanner Scott has been wobbly and is now battling elbow inflammation. Kirby Yates has a 4.31 ERA despite excellent strikeout and walk numbers. Evan Phillips is done for the year. Michael Kopech and Brusdar Graterol could make late-season returns but have notable injury concerns.
While Stewart himself is far from a sure thing to stay healthy, he’s a nice get for a player whose hold on a roster spot seemed tenuous. The 28-year-old Outman hit 23 home runs and finished third in NL Rookie of the Year balloting two seasons ago. That came with a concerning level of swing-and-miss, however, and he hasn’t come close to that kind of production over the past couple years. Outman fanned at a 35% clip while hitting .147 in 53 big league contests last season. He’s batting .103 with 18 strikeouts in 44 trips to the plate this year.
Outman has remained productive against minor league pitching. He’s hitting .289/.378/.592 with 20 homers and 14 stolen bases in 70 Triple-A games this season. His .286/.386/.585 batting line over parts of three season there is strong even in the context of the Pacific Coast League. Outman’s production still comes with significant strikeout caveats. He’s a plus runner and defensive center fielder who doesn’t need to hit a ton to be a fourth or fifth outfielder. He’ll nevertheless obviously need to produce more than the .137/.245/.269 slash that he has managed at the MLB level over the past two seasons.
This is Outman’s final minor league option year. He can back up Byron Buxton in center or spend the remainder of the season at Triple-A St. Paul. The Twins would need to decide whether to carry him on the Opening Day roster next season or expose him to waivers.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Dodgers wee nearing a deal for Stewart. Alden González of ESPN reported Outman was going back, while Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star-Tribune confirmed it was one for one.
Images courtesy of Matt Krohn and Patrick Gorski, Imagn Images.
He’s back
Slightly underwhelming as I wanted Duran but I’m happy with this trade. Hopefully the Dodgers aren’t done.
Welcome back, Brock.
Reasonable, non-flashy, move. And they have him for 2 more, I think, years.
I can see the Dodgers going bulk with guys like Stewart, Maton, and Coulombe (selfishly, I hope the Padres land Coulombe haha). Good get!
If they were getting Coulombe he’d be part of this deal, I think.
You would logically think that, especially with four hours and twenty minutes to go, but then the Mariners got Naylor and then Geno.
And Philly went back to Minnesota a second time as well.
Going to be hard to fit everyone
(this is mostly me thinking outloud)
They have 13 spots for pitchers
0 Ohtani (counts as a position player)
1 Snell
2 Glasnow
3 Yamamoto
4 Kershaw
5 Treinen
6 Scott
7 Vesia
8 Yates
9 Kopech
10 Stewart
That leaves 3 more spots for
Graterol
Banda
Any of May, Sheehan, Wrobleski, Casparius, Sasaki, Dreyer, Gervase…
Probably need to write half that bullpen in pencil, especially someone like Kopech, who hasn’t been healthy all year
One of the bullpen names needs to be moved to the rotation. They’ve been trying to go with six all season. Doubt Graterol or Sasaki pitch any meaningful innings this season, even assuming they come back at all. One of the others could be traded for the closer they need.
Many of those guys can be optioned, in the unlikely event all are healthy.
nice list, add Diaz
BrockStar!!!
Not that jazzed
Detroit missed out on this guy. There’s the k guy we needed. For what we’ve giving up so far, cmon Harris. Two more years of control too.
The Tigers front office is waiting on the prospects. Just like the Orioles did. It’s not working out so great for them…
Skubal and Greene have been great Tork and Mize, decent. IF Clark, McGonicle, Melton and Briceno- if two of them can join the above mentioned, I can see why the front office is holding onto them. I could only dream of a 2024 Oriole farm-team-now-in-majors-together team.
Looks like we aren’t getting a deadline blockbuster this year 🙁
Yep! you’re exactly right. They made one trade which means they’re now prohibited from making ANY others. Just one trade allowed. That’s really a bummer
Not prohibited by any means other than having missed out on all of the big fish so far. Bednar is really the only option still out there, though maybe not actually available.
He’ll make $8-$9M next year…. that’s too much for the cheapskate Bucs. He’s 100% available
I realize the complete lack of chatter over his being traded isn’t necessarily meaningful, but usually something hits the rumor wire if talks are ongoing.
Told you so idiot.
Ok who cares
Man you guys literally own the off-season it’s only a few months away after (only) the 2nd championship
The deadline ends at 3 pm pacific time
Still lots and lots of great BP arms, I’d trust the Dodgers. They made hay picking up guys like Kopech last year and letting their BP get healthy.
You got a guy who has good numbers and an injury history. This is so Dodgers.
What did they give up?
Players
Young prospect players.
Brockly
Tired of the Dodgers getting all the good players, it’s ruining the game! /s
Let me guess the whiny clown scumbag entitled fans won’t be happy unless their team buys at least one more superstar at the deadline?
I bet Guggenheim spends money just to hear you cry.
Hmmmm? Who do you root for, Mick?
I mean seriously anybody but the Dodgers
He’s a Padre fan and he’s an alt account. His main account is Mickey Solis.
Ah! Mickey Solis. The Clown Prince of MLBTR.
Muted
You trade at the deadline, not buy. I mean money can change hands too I guess, but get a grip
muted
you sound like the kind of guy that complains there’s a hole in his donut
Dodgers on their way to a second place finish on the West.
*Third place.
The new 3 amigos from the Mets are going to carry SF to the NL West pennant.
Drew Gilbert is going to channel his inner Corbin Carroll once he gets a taste of life in the majors in San Francisco.
Tidwell and Butto gonna lock down the 3 and 4 spots in the rotation starting this weekend. They will be taking out their revenge against the Mets immediately.
BANG!!!
Hard to believe he’s only 33
Twins AAA players excited for Friday.
Wow the Twins are selling like crazy!
Castro and Coulumbe probably soon
Hope so
Bye bye Beef Stew. Thanks for the good times.
The good ol’ Old Friend Alert
Excellent trade for LAD.
DO they ever acquire a player who hasn’t been hurt for at least 40% of his time at top level? Is Andrew taking out insurance policies on these guys?
Very tremendous.
The biggest, bestest, and bigly insurance policies you have ever seen!
They’re yuuuuuge!
The Twins selling everything that isn’t nailed down…
Sell Rocco
As an aside, what I don’t like about all these moves is that the have-nots are raising the white flag on their seasons while the haves are stocking up. So for August and September, there will be more crappy teams and I think baseball gets less interesting for the duration of the season. It’s kind of a byproduct of the new playoff structure, maybe an unintended consequence, but maybe not. It does get a bit old for the East and West coast powerhouses to be draining out the rest of the teams for their talent.
I see what you’re saying, but when do you give up the season, when you know mathematically the chances of making the playoffs be it because of talent or injuries or just having a bad season, as a front office you have to say we have to pull the plug and what better time to do it at the trade deadline. Your team has a few aged FA’s to be, or you get offers for some of your core players that you just can’t turn down. This time of year, is not only hard on the players, front office, fans. But as a D’Back fan it hard to say it just was not our season, seeing players as Suarez, Kelly, Naylor and Gannon be traded, but I also like to see the players and prospects they get back. and some of them playing the rest of this season on the ML roster and look forward to 2026.
I agree. I get why they don’t die the most part but seems like teams just trade for organizational filler or failed guys who no longer fit in. The king’s ransom deals are rare and it’s rather embarrassing seeing teams with 5+ strong pen arms or starters while others have 1-2.
Wait a durability issue.. Is Jed Hoyer trading for the Dodgers team now.
Expected LAD to acquire a MIN reliever. Just thought it would have been Duran
“Stewart is healthy at the moment”….
I still have this funny feeling where the Dodgers make a last-minute deal for a closer maybe Bednar. Just can’t see them sitting back and not making a statement before the end of the deadline.
How many top 100 prospects were traded this year?
Welp, none in this trade
Dodgers have so many guys coming back over the next couple of weeks they’ll get an organic boost to the team.
He’s having a career year but already at the most innings he’s ever pitched before.
He’s going to have a good August for me to be confident in this trade.
He’s on line 1.
That O’s prospect group for all the hype has only Gunnar so far as a star. Holliday is a pup but isn’t looking like an incredible tank for #1 type player, Westburg is decent when available…..Santander having career FA walk year HR production n Burnes as ace were major reason for playoffs than the prospects hugged….and zero playoff wins for years of tanking that mlb now made rules to stop.
His point makes sense in that Skubal may be gone by time other touted prospects are good at mlb level (if ever). Don’t be desperate reckless, but realize most prospects aren’t that good.
This is the under the radar type of bullpen signing that should not surprise Dodger fans. If his 2025 numbers are sustainable it’s a great acquisition. But lots of doubt on him maintaining performance given lack of historical track record and equally important is that he hasn’t been able to stay healthy. He’s throwing harder than ever and with his injury history, his chances of being available postseason are as good as Glasnow’s.
Woop de do
as of 2:50 ET
Stewart trade still being finalized
A team source tells The Athletic that the Dodgers are still examining Brock Stewart’s medicals before finalizing the trade for him.
Whether or not Stewart passes the medicals, it’s pretty clear the Dodgers totally whiffed this deadline.
Stewart has a higher WAR this season than Mason miller
So, who would you rather have on your roster?
Be honest now.
With Miller you’re paying for age and years of control. That’s why he cost deVries and more.
Stewart only cost Outman. All he was doing was filling out the laundry.
2 hours still left
Fairbanks pretty much the only closer left. Dodgers prolly end up reuniting with Santana at best….
Two hours might be left, but none of the bullpen pieces the Dodgers really needed are. They might continue to nibble further, but the situation called for a big bite.
The Dodgers spent a ton this offseason. They were never going to make any major additions at the deadline.
They spent that ton hoping they wouldn’t have to spend in July. Unfortunately few of the offseason bullpen moves have paid off. This means it is time to spend some prospect capital to plug those holes.
BS_LA; Friedman wasn’t going to do that and possibly be burned again, especially if the cost was Hope or De Paula or Rushing or Freeland.
No apparent logic here. Every signing or trade is a risk. The Dodgers put a lot of chips on Scott, but the bet has obviously not paid off. They have the options of gambling that he will somehow turn back into the pitcher they thought he was when they signed him by the end of the season, or come up with another plan. Not making the other plan when the first one isn’t working means putting the entire season at risk. So that’s your real burn risk.
I still think what the other clubs were asking for just really gave Friedman heart burn. He’s stated multiple times this year and in the past, how much he dislikes having to make trades at the deadline. He’s also stated multiple times how much he dislikes having to overpay for relievers, especially at the trade deadline. With the injured pitchers returning, I think Friedman is gambling/counting on the help coming from within. I, for one, am very happy he didn’t trade away Hope, De Paula, Rushing, Freeland or Sirota. I am surprised that he dealt May. I would’ve thought he would keep him, convince him to go to the pen with maybe a spot start if needed and then tell him he wouldn’t be offered a Q.O. after the season so he would have a better chance negotiating with teams this off season without owing the Dodgers a draft choice. Like Buehler last year. I felt all along that Friedman wasn’t going to make a big splash this time.
Nobody likes paying the deadline trade freight, but sometimes you have to do it or risk wasting everything else you’ve got invested. Friedman is saying that he made all the right choices in the offseason even if the results aren’t there yet. That’s a larger gamble than trading away a superfluous player for another player who can help you win. We’ve seen this movie before.
outman better be among the players and not the entire haul lol
It is the entire haul. Twins were fleeced.
“Twins were fleeced” is becoming the automatic assumption when I see a Twins trade pop up. The Duran trade was also bad.
The Duran trade was probably okay.
It’s a trade for a constantly injured Brock Stewart. There is no fleecing in trades like this.
It’s a fleece if one of the teams were better off releasing the player they traded. Outman is bad. Negative value for multiple years is more negative value
You receive a young, cost-controlled outfielder who reliably pops out to second.
28 is not young. bad trade. twins have enough left handed hitting outfielders. where is he gonna play?
St Paul
@DroppedThirdStrike
…and that only happens when he’s not striking out a third of the time.
Do the Twins really want a player whose last name indicates failure at the plate?
“It’s the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, stepping up to the plate: OUTMAN!”
James Outman, the pride of Redwood City, California!
twins had grant Balfour, too
Too bad Outmans not a pitcher
Quad A
The Dodgers have no uninjured position players on the 40-man. If Muncy is not ready to return, another move must be coming, if only selecting a contract.
A productive relief pitcher for a bag of balls.
Two major arm surgeries, began the year on the IL with a hammy prob-yeah, def a perfect fit for the All-TJ All The Time Dodger$ staff!
Wow, what an awful trade for Minnesota. They get a 28-year old ex-prospect who is already past his peak.
He plays well as a fourth outfielder with plus defensive skills. In fact the Dodgers don’t have any other obvious candidates for that role with Outman gone.
Dodgers seem desperate…
Whoever is making these trades for the Twins needs to be Terminated as they clearly have no clue as to the value of the players they are trading and an even larger lack of knowledge with the players they are receiving in return. Is there a “PLAN” in place or are they making trades just for the sake of making trades??
Whatever to this trade man…..this is the Dodgers acting like the old Yankees bringing back someone from the past for literally no reason. Like separation anxiety or something.
Dodgers need a reliever
He’s a reliever
There’s a reason
Dodgers getting rid of Outman seems like a win for them. Probably takes Bader’s spot on the Twins roster, maybe a change of scenery does him some good
Best wishes to J. Outman in Minnesota. Guy played hard, with passion and was beyond solid in CF and on the base paths. Had problems with consistency at the plate. Hopefully he can improve things in that regard.
Agree! Really hope he turns things around.