Since Falvey and the Twins have parted ways, a narrative is starting to be shared that Falvey wanted out and that the job is no longer the one he signed up for in 2016 and that the degree of difficulty had gone up.  Listening to the most recent episode of Gleeman and the Geek the guys said:

“From Falvey’s perspective, the parameters of his job have kept getting worse and worse the past 3 years”

The frustrating thing about this is while the payroll has decreased since 2023 and that has introduced challenges, there have been 2 significant changes in the MLB that have made his job easier.

AL Central Payroll

When Falvey came on in 2016 the average MLB payroll was roughly $131M and the Average AL Central Payroll was $131M.  This is exactly equal and reflected the fact that the AL Central was investing at a reasonable rate.  In 2026, the average MLB payroll is now $179M but the AL Central payroll average is now down to $125M.  This reflects a lack of investment in more teams than the Twins and has provided easier opponents for the Twins and an easier path to the playoffs than other divisions. 

MLB Playoff Structure

When Falvey came in after 2016 the MLB was using a playoff format where there were 5 playoff teams per league and this resulted in the Twins playing tougher teams and contributed to their playoff losing streak.  In 2022 the MLB changed this to 6 teams per league and had the 4 weaker teams in the league play each other in the first round which directly resulted in the Twins playing an 89 win team in the Blue Jays and advancing in the playoffs.  Under the limitations that he started with, he likely would have just played the Astros and lost the series 1-3.  The streak would be broken but it would have been a lot more disheartening.

Conclusion

Falvey faced headwinds as he left.  Payroll was down for the Twins.  That doesn’t change the fact that he has the easiest division in baseball to make the playoffs in and that the playoffs are now set up for mediocre teams like the Twins to make a little noise.