While it is true that the Minnesota Twins needed pitching help before Monday's trade deadline, they did not need to trade Jhomnardo Reyes for Dean Kremer to get it.Kremer is a credible Major League starter. He threw a complete-game shutout against the eventual champion Houston Astros in 2022, then delivered 5.1 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts when Baltimore clinched the 2023 American League East.He also made 32 starts and threw 172 2/3 innings that season. From 2022-25, he posted a 3.95 ERA while regularly giving the Orioles useful innings. That is a solid body of work, but it does not justify the price that Minnesota paid.Minnesota Had Other OptionsZebby Matthews looks on after the Chicago Cubs scored during the third inning at Wrigley Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectKremer arrived with a 6.50 ERA through seven starts this season after missing more than two months with a right quad strain. He allowed 12 home runs in only 36 innings, and Baltimore had already opened the season by optioning him after he lost a rotation competition.Minnesota is betting a lot of stock on his track record and an arbitration year in 2027. The Twins still surrendered one of the fastest-rising players in their system for a 30-year-old back-end starter whose immediate performance remains questionable. Reyes, at just 18, hit .296/.409/.541 with seven home runs, 44 RBIs and 14 stolen bases across 47 Florida Complex League games. His .950 OPS ranked fifth in the league before Minnesota promoted him to Single-A Fort Myers. MLB Pipeline ranked him No. 24 in the Twins’ system, but that number undersells the risk of moving a projectable 6-foot-3 outfielder immediately after his breakout began.Reyes could flame out and never reach the Major Leagues. But that uncertainty comes with every prospect. The issue is using that upside to solve a rotation problem when Minnesota already had other, less costly alternatives.Zebby Matthews threw seven scoreless innings in his first start this season and remained available as a depth option. Connor Prielipp had also returned from the injured list, while the Twins could have rotated those two, Mick Abel and an occasional opener, until a better opportunity emerged.Minnesota also could have pursued a cheaper veteran rental such as a mid-rotation arm like Jack Flaherty or a back-end innings option in the Michael Lorenzen mold, or simply reserved Reyes for a larger package addressing a greater need. Spending one of the hottest bats on another uncertain starter was not the best allocation of prospect capital.Overall, Kremer can eat innings, and his track record suggests he can outperform his 2026 ERA, but that still makes him a useful back-end starter rather than an essential upgrade. Minnesota raised its rotation floor, but paid too much for too marginal an improvement.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow