Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN– The Minnesota Twins announced tonight that they acquired right-handed pitchers Sergio Romo and Chris Vallimont, along with a player to be named later from the Miami Marlins, in exchange for first baseman Lewin Diaz.
Romo, 36, appeared in 38 games for Miami this season, going 2-0 with a 3.58 ERA (37.2 IP, 15 ER), 13 walks and 33 strikeouts. The veteran has played parts of 12 seasons in the major leagues with San Francisco, Los Angeles-NL, Tampa Bay and Miami, going 40-31 with a 2.91 ERA (600.1 IP, 194 ER), 126 saves, 141 walks and 665 strikeouts in 681 games. Romo has allowed just one earned run in his last 15 games, posting a 0.61 ERA (14.2 IP, 1 ER) with only one walk, 12 strikeouts and an opponent batting average of .226. Additionally, he has held right-handed hitters to a .200 batting average (15-for-75), including just two hits to righties in his last 16 at-bats with no walks and six strikeouts.
Vallimont, 22, was drafted by Miami in the fifth round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of Mercyhurst College (PA). The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Vallimont has made 19 starts this season between Single-A Clinton and Single-A Jupiter, going 6-7 with a 3.16 ERA (105.1 IP, 37 ER), 37 walks and 122 strikeouts.
Diaz, 22, was signed by the Twins as an undrafted free agent on July 2, 2013. He split this season between Single-A Ft. Myers and Double-A Pensacola, hitting .297 (100-for-337) with 27 doubles, two triples, 19 home runs and 61 RBI.