Twins acquire Pablo López, Jose Salas and Byron Chourio from Miami Marlins in exchange for Luis Arraez
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, MN – The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have acquired right-handed pitcher Pablo López, infielder Jose Salas and outfielder Byron Chourio from the Miami Marlins in exchange for infielder Luis Arraez.
López, 26, made 32 starts for the Marlins in 2022, going 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA (180.0 IP, 75 ER), 53 walks, 174 strikeouts, 14 quality starts, a 1.17 WHIP and a .234 opponent batting average, setting single-season career-highs in starts, innings pitched, wins and strikeouts. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound right-hander was named National League Pitcher of the Month in April, after going 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA (23.1 IP, 1 ER), four walks, 23 strikeouts and a .160 opponent batting average in four starts for the Marlins, becoming the 12th pitcher in MLB history to allow one run-or-fewer in his first four starts of a season while pitching a minimum of 20.0 innings. Additionally, he pitched 5.0-plus innings and allowed five hits-or-fewer in 21 of his starts in 2022, tied with Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes for the second-most such starts in the NL, behind Arizona’s Zac Gallen and Los Angeles-NL’s Julio Urias, who each had 23.
Since the start of 2021, the right-hander has posted a 9.2 strikeouts-per-9.0-innings pitched ratio, which ranks 11th among all National League pitchers with a minimum of 275.0 innings in that span. The Cabimas, Venezuela native was originally signed by the Seattle Mariners as an international free agent in July 2012, was acquired by Miami in July 2017 and has pitched parts of five major league seasons with the Marlins, going 28-31 with a 3.94 ERA (510.0 IP, 223 ER), 142 walks, 489 strikeouts and a 1.19 WHIP in 94 career starts.
Salas, 19, split the 2022 season between Low-A Jupiter and High-A Beloit, combining to hit .250 (103-for-412) with 20 doubles, four triples, nine home runs, 41 RBI, 69 runs scored, 43 walks, 33 stolen bases (34 attempts) and a .723 OPS in 109 games. The 6-foot-2, 191-pound switch-hitting infielder has appeared in 164 minor league games, all in the Marlins system, hitting .268 (164-for-612) with 34 doubles, four triples, 11 home runs, 60 RBI, 95 runs scored, 65 walks, a .356 on-base percentage and a .747 OPS. The Kissimmee, Florida native was signed by the Marlins as an international free agent on July 2, 2019 out of Venezuela, and is currently ranked as the number three prospect in the Marlins system by Baseball Prospectus_, number four by _Baseball America and number five by MLB.com.
Chourio, 17, hit .344 (63-for-183) with nine doubles, one home run, 23 RBI, 25 walks, 19 stolen bases, 47 runs scored, a .429 on-base percentage and an .838 OPS in 51 games for the Dominican Summer League Marlins in 2022, after signing with the organization on June 1 of last year. The switch-hitting outfielder recorded a career-high four hits three times (July 1, July 8 and July 12) and had multiple hits in 16 of his 51 games (31%). The Merida, Venezuela native ranked tied for eighth among qualified DSL hitters in runs scored and was 10th in batting average and hits.
Arraez, who was originally signed by the Twins as an international free agent in November of 2013, played parts of four seasons with Minnesota, hitting .314 (444-for-1413) with 77 doubles, eight triples, 14 home runs, 132 RBI, 216 runs scored and a .374 on-base percentage in 389 career games.