Do the Twins Have One of Baseball’s Best Front Offices?

[Cody Christie]

Every fan base is critical of their front office--even those for teams who go to the World Series. Building a thriving organization starts at the top, and the Twins might have one of the best.

Image courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

Last week, The Athletic ranked MLB’s front offices, as voted on by 40 executives across the baseball landscape. As the piece notes, a front office "features dozens of employees with differing, conflicting tasks. There are scouts, analysts, and player-development gurus. There are resources devoted to the acquisition of players, the improvement of players, and the health of players. These are elaborate ecosystems that can be challenging to maintain.”

Minnesota tied for fourth among AL teams in the rankings, alongside that of Texas, the reigning World Series champions. The trio of AL clubs listed higher include the Rays (2nd overall), Guardians (4th), and Orioles (5th). Baseball front offices become an imitation game, where other teams attempt to poach personnel from successful teams. The Twins have been no stranger to this phenomenon, with many high-ranking figures coming to them from other top-ranked teams.

Derek Falvey, President of Baseball Operations
The Twins hired away Falvey from the Guardians organization, the only AL Central team to rank higher than Minnesota on this list. The team's leadership group hoped that Falvey could recreate Cleveland’s pitching and development pipeline, and there have been some successful examples of that during his tenure. The Athletic's article praises Falvey for the culture he has created, with one executive calling him “one of the most exceptional leaders out there.” Last winter, the Red Sox contacted Falvey to fill a similar role in Boston, an organization with more financial resources. He declined the request and seems committed to the process in Minnesota.

Thad Levine, General Manager
Levine came to the Twins from the Rangers organization and also became a target for the Red Sox this winter. He interviewed for the position before Boston hired Craig Breslow, a former Twins and Red Sox pitcher. Levine has been a target for other top jobs in baseball in the past, but decided not to uproot his family. From a front-office perspective, Levine is viewed as someone who takes a balanced approach to using analytics in the decision-making process. He likely remains a target for other organizations, especially if the Twins continue to have on-field success. 

Rocco Baldelli, On-Field Manager
Baldelli isn’t necessarily a front-office member, but he is an extension of their office from a roster and game-planning perspective. After filling multiple coaching and front-office roles, he joined the Twins from the Rays, the top-ranked AL club. The culture that Falvey attempted to create would have been impossible without a leader in the clubhouse like Baldelli. His skills in building culture can be seen throughout the year, from the famous spring training egg toss to training to explain a home run sausage to the media. Fans might not agree with every decision he makes, but he has been one of the most successful managers in franchise history. 

Outside these three men, plenty of others help the front office function at a high level. The Twins hired Roman Barinas as the club’s Director of Latin American scouting this winter. He came from the Dodgers organization, which ranked as baseball’s top front office. Assistant General Manager Jeremy Zoll has worked in multiple organizations, including serving as the Dodgers' Assistant Director of Player Development. The list of names could be endless, but it’s clear that the best front offices hire away talented individuals from other smart clubs, which can infuse new ideas.

So, how can the Twins move up the rankings in future years? Culture can only help a team so much without positive on-field results. The current regime has kept the team’s winning window open despite some trades and signings that resulted in negative value. They have done an excellent job of identifying players late in the draft and building depth at the big-league level. Minnesota ended their playoff losing streak last season, and now it is up to the front office to help the team take the next step. 

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Do the Twins have one of baseball’s best front offices? Is there a way to move up the list? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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[Peter]

I think they do!!! Look at results 3 division titles last 5 years. Rocco has been magnificent/Picked up Correa and Pablo and have star in Royce! Give these guys credit!!!

[CRF]

I'm taking the 5th on this one...and I don't mean booze. 

[D.C Twins]

whoaaaaaaa....time to slooooooooow that rooooolllllll..

FO.... mixed bag.... some really great moves and some real stinkers (last offseason moves still highly suspect despite the 11 game win streak).... so.... potentially average?

We really need to see sustained home grown cheap controllable young high-level pitching before we can declare them 'one of the best.'

I'm NOT calling for them to be fired but they need to improve on the above or their time will come.

(side bar from this article:  as I've said for years..... Rocco would probably be great in the front office setting, but as a manager....just no.... a resounding no.)

[Major League Ready]

Much respect Cody for posting this article.  What can most people say.   The majority here and the most vocal have absolutely insisted that they are incompetent and anyone who can’t see that is a moron.  How do we account for the most qualified people in the industry having a 180 degree difference in opinion.  Is the entire industry filled with incompetent buffoons or is it possible fans are not the best judge of how a team should be run?   I hope this calms down the constant cries of incompetence.

[Whitey333]

Oh please.  You are kidding of course!  It must be Stu Randball article in pen name

[Karbo]

Over all they have been above avg, but there is room for improvement. The salary dump this past winter can't be blamed on them, but the trade for Margot? They do seem to be pretty good at finding pitchers that can be put into the pen, but I'm still waiting on this so called SP pipeline. They have done a better than avg. job with the draft picking up some good young hitters. Over all a B grade. Rocco has some flaws like pen mgmt. but he seems to handle the players well. Another B.

[gunnarthor]

No.

[rv78]

LOL!!

[HoskenPowell]

They did the Margot trade......they signed fine china handle with care Buxton to the extension.........so some horrible moments......

 

the Cruz trade was a gem for them........Rodgers trade I would say was ok and getting Maeda was a good trade. And I was more than fine with sending Araez for Pablo.  That trade worked for both teams -  the way trades should work.

Not getting help in the rotation this past winter was a horrible decision...but was one that was not up to them possibly with the intense cheapness of the Pohlads......

 

Santana signing so far looks terrible.   Was zero need for a aged 1B option.

How much $$$ is tied up in Farmer?????   Should have been spent on a starter.

[Fatbat]

They have moments of success. It is a mixed bag tho which some failures can be blamed on ownership.  Bad draft choices and signing washed up FA’s is clearly on the FO. 

[JD-TWINS]

36 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

Much respect Cody for posting this article.  What can most people say.   The majority here and the most vocal have absolutely insisted that they are incompetent and anyone who can’t see that is a moron.  How do we account for the most qualified people in the industry having a 180 degree difference in opinion.  Is the entire industry filled with incompetent buffoons or is it possible fans are not the best judge of how a team should be run?   I hope this calms down the constant cries of incompetence.

The latter - & me too!

[akmanak]

Doesn't matter when you have one of the worst owners in baseball.

[USAFChief]

From the same author, recently no less:

 

[mrcharlie]

Would like to see a similar polling of MLB teams owners.  This would be more revealing regarding the Twins.

Regarding the front office I go back a couple of seasons in recalling a Twins team in first place in June.  At which point the pitching coach opts to Quit On Them for a College manager position.  This reflects poorly in the FO and Rocco in my mind.  Since then I can't count the number of head scratchers Rocco has made, and the FO gifted Cinnci some MLB talent for who?(one example).  And now this situation with TV viewing can not be explained away simply as out of the FO control.

 

[JD-TWINS]

I live in Cincinnati - been here since ‘91 but grew up in Red Wing and will always be a Twins fan!

I really, really hoped the trade for pitching with the Reds would yield Castillo (now a Mariner) & NOT Mahle. Mahle’s injuries have nothing to do with my opinion. He always tried to strike guys out and nibbled when ahead and then threw too many pitches - then HR’s. The upbeat thought was that once he left Great American he’d yield less unfortunate HR’s and be really good. First outing at Target - 3 HR’s. I get to see on the news daily the new heart of the Reds line-up Spencer Steer (‘23’s Club MVP)……,after April, being chased down by DeLaCruz! Also, I hear about the upside, hitting talent, & inevitable contributions to soon be seen by Encarnacion-Strand. Can’t be bitter!! Things don’t work out sometimes. Not everything goes as planned but the ability to have multiple moves that CAN work out and to be able to absorb the tough ones makes a good organization. I think the Twin’s FO put together a solid club with nice depth in ‘23 & on paper thought/think the same for ‘24.

Paddack gave up 1 walk and 2 hits over 6 innings last night. Bullpen has been very good & they absorbed Duran being out the first month………he seems to have healed. Contributions from all different spots in the line-up and the ability to be back within 1.5 games of first place by May 3, with 3 other teams in the Division thriving, is a big deal.

Looking forward to the rest of May. Hopefully, by first week of June they’ll have Buxton & Lewis back and once healthy they grab ahold of the Division lead!

FO has set up the Team for success! Glad to see them getting some validation from their peers.

[JD-TWINS]

4 minutes ago, mrcharlie said:

Would like to see a similar polling of MLB teams owners.  This would be more revealing regarding the Twins.

Regarding the front office I go back a couple of seasons in recalling a Twins team in first place in June.  At which point the pitching coach opts to Quit On Them for a College manager position.  This reflects poorly in the FO and Rocco in my mind.  Since then I can't count the number of head scratchers Rocco has made, and the FO gifted Cinnci some MLB talent for who?(one example).  And now this situation with TV viewing can not be explained away simply as out of the FO control.

 

The TV issue seems to be a National Issue. Not saying the FO is blameless or has no ability to influence positive results but they are not alone in having issues with TV.

To me, the Pitching Coach leaving was a money grab for him & kind of a low character move in Major Sports & reflects badly on him!! Doubtful he’ll be hired back in MLB any time soon. ……,that said, capitalism is what we all profess so if LSU lured him away (to be their pitching coach) for 2X $$ he has the right to make that move!

I just wrote 10 sentences above on the Cincinnati trade and the sorrow about that as a resident of Cincinnati & a Twin’s fan. Tough one - it happens.

[arby58]

Right now, the Twins have a good core of young players, and there is quite a bit in the pipeline. When you've executed trades for 4/5ths of what appears to be a solid rotation (plus your closer), it's hard to argue about trades in the aggregate (yes, there are always ones that don't work out as well).

It's interesting that the three ahead of them in the AL have not win a World Series since the Twins last won one in 1991. Granted, the Rays have been there twice and the Guardians/Indians three times. To me, Baltimore gets credit for having absolutely horrible teams for many years and loading up on high-end draft choices. The same has been said about the Astros, and some changes to the way the draft is conducted can be  traced back to CBA changes pushed by the players because of that strategy.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

57 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

Much respect Cody for posting this article.  What can most people say.   The majority here and the most vocal have absolutely insisted that they are incompetent and anyone who can’t see that is a moron.  How do we account for the most qualified people in the industry having a 180 degree difference in opinion.  Is the entire industry filled with incompetent buffoons or is it possible fans are not the best judge of how a team should be run?   I hope this calms down the constant cries of incompetence.

Agreed with the kudos for Cody Christie. I do love me some alliteration!

4th in the AL, 8th in MLB is upper third. Not exactly “complete 180”. certainly more respect among peers than among rubes, but generally you see that phenomenon. 
 

I do believe it’s a good front office, well run organization and it’s clear the strategic vision from Falvey manifests itself in every aspect of operations. That’s the sign of great leadership. Leadership is only one (albeit important) aspect of effectiveness. They still need to prove consistency. so far 2024 is fairly consistent with 23, but YOY over their tenure has been wildly inconsistent. Achieving goals is the unclear part about their organizational effectiveness. I don’t know where their sites are set… but either they aren’t achieving them very often or the bar is set low.

all in all, they’re fine and my gripe is mainly with modern baseball more than Falvey

[wabene]

Compared to the previous front office the success is undeniable. Compared to the rest of the league I would say B. Which is about where the Athletics poll has them. '22 spooked management when they had to trot out an outfield of AAAA guys. Since then I think they've gone a little too far with the mediocre veteran depth guys. Baldelli gets the same grade with my complaint being the too strict platooning and pinch hitting too early in the game.

Overall I expect this team to compete in the playoffs again and that's a good place to be.

[bean5302]

Remember all the comments about members not wanting to see click-bait like articles? Yeah. About that. This site just lost some respect from me.

[Schmoeman5]

Win 11 in a row and all the Bundy Archer Margot type moves are forgotten.  I'm not saying they're the best or worst. Just saying that a lot of positive feedback might not have been so favorable just 2 weeks ago. 😀 

[Schmoeman5]

2 hours ago, Peter said:

I think they do!!! Look at results 3 division titles last 5 years. Rocco has been magnificent/Picked up Correa and Pablo and have star in Royce! Give these guys credit!!!

OK. They get some credit. But alas, it's time to go. 

[Schmoeman5]

Barinas and Zoll can stay. They're doing great 👍.  Everyone else???

[Jeff K]

2 hours ago, Karbo said:

Over all they have been above avg, but there is room for improvement. The salary dump this past winter can't be blamed on them, but the trade for Margot? They do seem to be pretty good at finding pitchers that can be put into the pen, but I'm still waiting on this so called SP pipeline. They have done a better than avg. job with the draft picking up some good young hitters. Over all a B grade. Rocco has some flaws like pen mgmt. but he seems to handle the players well. Another B.

I agree with your comments.  I would add that there is a saying from my business days that "the fish rots at the head".  And by that I mean the Pohlads.  I know that their revenue was certain to go down this year; however, they did not get it done in finding a new way to keep our games on TV.  They have to own that.  Additionally, it's not like the Pohlads are poor.  With the Twins wide open performance window, they should have dug into their savings and kept the team salary at last year's level.  

[Eris]

I think most people would agree the culture is very important in an organization and on a personal level I have taken less money to work for an organization whose cultural values align with my own. 
 

In baseball, culture is also important for winning and having a toxic personality (e.g. Josh Donaldson) can be very disruptive to clubhouse cohesiveness. As the Twins and other mid market teams can not offer the same FA salary as the Dodgers, Yankees or other large market teams, how many baseball players would accept less money to play for an organization with a good culture. 

[Karbo]

Just now, Jeff K said:

I agree with your comments.  I would add that there is a saying from my business days that "the fish rots at the head".  And by that I mean the Pohlads.  I know that their revenue was certain to go down this year; however, they did not get it done in finding a new way to keep our games on TV.  They have to own that.  Additionally, it's not like the Pohlads are poor.  With the Twins wide open performance window, they should have dug into their savings and kept the team salary at last year's level.  

Agreed that the TV deal was handled poorly. W/O being able to see the books it's hard for me to blame the Pohlads for cutting payroll. 

[Johnny Ringo]

Who would have thought that Falvey’s mom could hack a website? Impressive. 

[nova_twins]

Most fans don't have the knowledge or intellectual capability to evaluate MLB front offices. 

Not to mention the decisions themselves - front offices have access to vastly greater amounts of information than fans do. 

Given those underlying realities, the survey results seem valid to me - baseball execs are a small group that know each other fairly well.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Honestly, no they do not have one of the best front offices. The Twins front office is above average but no better than that. They're good at their jobs but not one of the best.