The Jorge Lopez trade doesn't get enough credit for how bad it was

When people look back at the 2022 trade deadline, the Tyler Mahle trade is often lamented because of the players that the Twins gave up in that deal. Spencer Steer is a legitimate major league player, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand looks well on his way. You can certainly be frustrated that Mahle didn't work out with the Twins, it's hard for me to get mad the players the Twins gave away. 

Steer and Encarnacion-Strand were expendable because they were redundant. If not in the Mahle trade, Steer was probably always going to be traded, given the wealth of similar talent in the organization. The Twins liked Mahle, and it stunk that he got hurt, but Steer was always getting traded. His value to the Twins was not the same as it would be for the Reds.

On the other hand, the Lopez trade. The Twins were looking to flesh out their bullpen for a postseason run, so they sent a few prospects to Baltimore to get their all star closer. As you may recall, Lopez immediately cratered in Minnesota. What you may not recall is that one of the players dealt to Baltimore, Yennier Cano, was an all star in the exact same role the Twins wanted Lopez to pitch in, the very next year. 

The Twins would have been better off keeping Cano than Lopez, two pitchers in the same role, as soon as a few months later. The Twins had to give up on Lopez before the end of the year. This was a bad swap. 

But wait, there's more. 

The Twins also traded Cade Povich to the Orioles. Baltimore used Povich to start 16 games this season. He wasn't spectacular, but don't you think the Twins could have used another depth starter this year? He wasn't great, but he did the job and will only get better.

So the Twins gave up Cano and Povich, on top of two other prospects, for about a year of miserable service from Jorge Lopez. They swapped Cano for a lesser talent at the same position, and gave up Povich, who would have been useful even this season. At least Steer and Encarnacion-Strand were extraneous. The Lopez deal actively made the Twins worse.