Just a couple of hours after the Los Angeles Dodgers saw the San Diego Padres pull off the impossible and acquire Mason Miller, they acquired a reliever of their own, Brock Stewart, in a deal with the Minnesota Twins, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are finalizing a deal to acquire right-handed reliever Brock Stewart from the Minnesota Twins, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 31, 2025
No, Stewart is not Miller; not even close. He is, however, a very underrated reliever in the midst of an outstanding year who can help the Dodgers fix their bullpen, the team's biggest weakness.
Meanwhile, the Twins continue their sell-off. They traded Jhoan Duran on Wednesday, and have now dealt another key member of their 'pen. The return for Stewart is unclear as of this writing, but considering the year Stewart has had and the fact that he has two additional years of control, the Twins ought to get back a solid amount.
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Dodgers' Brock Stewart deal gives them bullpen fix they deseprately needed
This deal is particularly interesting because Stewart was drafted by, and spent parts of four big league seasons with the Dodgers. He never quite panned out in Los Angeles, but is in the midst of a career year in Minnesota.
The right-hander has a 2.38 ERA in 39 appearances and 34 innings of work for the Twins this season. His 29.5 percent strikeout rate ranks in the 89th percentile and his 33.3 percent hard-hit rate ranks in the 91st percentile per Baseball Savant. While he can lose command of the zone at times, he strikes out a ton of batters, and when they're fortunate enough to make contact, it isn't hit hard. That's a good recipe for success.
The key with Stewart is that Dave Roberts must pick his spots wisely when it comes to using him. The 33-year-old has been nothing but dominant against right-handed hitters, holding them to a .104/.178/.149 slash line this season. While he's nearly perfect against righties, left-handed hitters have a .942 OPS against him. If he's used in a lane that has right-handed hitters, he's outstanding. When not used that way, the Dodgers might be in trouble.
While Roberts has to be smart with how he uses him, Stewart, when deployed correctly, is an outstanding addition. Don't be surprised to see him pitch in huge spots against the likes of Fernando Tatis Jr., Pete Alonso and Seiya Suzuki in October.
Dodgers trade grade: A-
The Dodgers did well here, but so did the Twins, as after a long wait, they've reportedly acquired James Outman from Los Angeles. Outman never got much of an opportunity with Los Angeles, but figures to do so in Minnesota for a Twins team that's sold off nearly half its active roster.
Twins reportedly acquire OF James Outman from the Dodgers for RHP Brock Stewart, per multiple reports including @MLBNetwork Insider @JonHeyman. pic.twitter.com/FwZUBmjhlK
— MLB (@MLB) July 31, 2025
Outman has just four hits in 39 at-bats (.103 BA) in the majors this season, and didn't play much of a role last season, but in 2023, looked like a budding star, when he hit 23 home runs, drove in 70 runs, had a .790 OPS, stole 16 bases, and played Gold Glove-caliber defense. He was a NL Rookie of the Year finalist, and deservingly so.
The fact that he hasn't played much since is frustrating, but the Twins know his ceiling is high. Byron Buxton is their center fielder, but Outman ought to get a lot of run operating from one of the corner outfield spots, and, if he can hit as well as he did in 2023, can become a core piece that the Twins desperately need.
It would've been nice to have seen the Twins acquire more than just Outman given they parted with a controllable reliever as good as Stewart, but this is still a good deal nonetheless.
Twins trade grade: B
This story will be updated.