Pohlad Family, Lords of the Realm, Choose Preserving Profit Over Seizing a Moment

[Ted Schwerzler]

The Minnesota Twins entered the 2024 Major League Baseball trade deadline knowing they were chasing the Cleveland Guardians. With an opportunity to make impactful additions, ownership dealt Derek Falvey a tough hand, and little of consequence was done.

Image courtesy of © Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports

Since the moment the 2023 postseason ended, the Minnesota Twins began to spread a message that their finances would be limited. That resulted in payroll slashing to the tune of $30 million, and was echoed during trade deadline conversations that money was not available. That reality certainly made Derek Falvey’s job more difficult, but the outcome is one that could haunt the Pohlad’s for years to come.

When Carlos Correa returned to the Minnesota Twins in 2023, he talked about having an influence on roster decisions. He provided the front office with a list of desirable acquisitions this year, and you can bet Trevor Richards was not among them. That isn’t to say the star shortstop won’t be happy with a big-league addition for a fringe minor leaguer, but a player that has experience in the World Series certainly wants more.

That’s where this all falls. Nothing about the Twins trade deadline turns to Falvey or Thad Levine. They were handed virtually impossible circumstances. Joe Pohlad and his family told the men they hired to build winners that they had little to invest in the team, and changes were to come from within. The front office duo rolled with that, not only because they had to, but because they knew their club would get healthier in the immediate aftermath of the deadline. They also encountered a seller's market, making it harder to be buyers.

Minnesota didn’t need to make monumental moves, but ownership chopped off any ability to make realistic midsize ones, as well.

Richards is a lackluster, low-leverage reliever. He has reverse splits and should help to fill part of the void created by an inefficient Caleb Thielbar, unimpressive Steven Okert, and hurt Kody Funderburk. He isn’t a high-leverage arm who can act as a peer to Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax, or an injured Brock Stewart, though.

The Twins also failed to acquire a starting pitcher. Despite an apparent need at the back end of the rotation, Yusei Kikuchi, Jack Flaherty, and others all went elsewhere at the deadline. The Blue Jays arm earned a haul for Toronto. The Tigers got little in the waning moments. Randy Dobnak was promoted in a relief role, but unless Zebby Matthews is going to make starts, the prospect bullets have largely been shot.

If there was a time for the Twins to do something, it was now. The AL Central is good. The Cleveland Guardians are winning, and got better with the additions of Lane Thomas and Alex Cobb. The Kansas City Royals are winning, and got better with Lucas Erceg and Michael Lorenzen. Rocco Baldelli implored his bosses to make moves, and they turned a deaf ear.

It still remains entirely plausible that Minnesota can win the division, with a favorable schedule down the stretch. The starting rotation has been among the best in the sport, while both Bailey Ober and Joe Ryan have stepped up. By declining to make an upgrade, though, they narrowed their own path back to the front of the pack.

The Pohlads, coming in as something around the tenth richest owners in the sport, want you to believe that television uncertainty circumscribed their plans. They were one of more than a dozen teams dealing with that reality, but were the last (even behind Oakland) to make a trade. Major League Baseball is subsidizing their losses, and the franchise took the most lucrative deal they could get this winter, despite shutting fans out for three months in the process.

To call the whole situation (dating back months) a debacle would be putting it lightly. Finding a Pohlad Pocket Protector in this era would be something of a miracle. Falvey and Levine have worked to construct something impressive. Baldelli has managed a group that can contend. All of that is taking place while ownership operates their baseball team as a hedge fund they could care less about.

Hopefully, the cents they save now are worth the potential dollars they lose, as future fans are turned off at their operating procedures. Wealthy businessmen and women don’t get to those levels without a certain aptitude, but at least in this realm, they appear to have forgotten it all.

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[ashbury]

I was affected by three mergers or acquisitions during my career.  The Pohlads' handling of the Twins right now looks for all the world to me like a cash cow that they intended to milk until it runs dry and then they discard it.  Baseball's not a similar business* to high-tech industry, so maybe the similarities to what I saw don't apply; warning lights sometimes give false positives.

 

* indeed I've said elsewhere recently that I don't see it as a business whatsover, except in the sense that money comes in and goes out.

[LambchoP]

We get it. Ownership is cheap and has hamstrung the GM and limited his ability to acquire players. Even if Falvey is towing the company line and not blaming financial limitations for our pathetic deadline. The team is what it is. Now we need to get healthy, stay healthy and perform well. Particularly in the 8 games against Cleveland. Pretty sure those two series will determine the division winner this year.

[bean5302]

The irony is the Pohlads just potentially shot themselves in the foot in regard to profit. This penny pinching will potentially have significant ramifications on fan interest next year.

[Whitey333]

Since the Twins appear to want to follow the Tampa Bay Ray's baseball model they may as well continue it lol.  The first thing this off season would be to trade Carlos Correa.  I wouldn't be surprised if they approach him to ask him to approve a trade even though he has a no trade contract.  They obviously misled Correa as well.  I'm sure he was expecting a organization that wanted to win.  Correa is good for the team but for a team that doesn't want to invest in the product, Correa is an unneeded luxury.  Plus at this point you almost owe it to Correa to send him to an organization that needs him and appreciate him.

[Dman]

I don't know,  it seems like all the revenue sharing teams that get money operate this way.  They have a certain threshold that they might go over for a year or two, but they seem to quickly shrink back.  I wish we had a better idea of what the numbers are, but we don't.  Still I have to believe they are making good money or they would get out of the business of owning a team.  Team values continue to climb so even if they break even year to year the value of the franchise rises every year anyway.

The Twins have a pretty good team with pretty good depth.  Unless they were going to make a needle moving move I was OK with them standing pat.  I don't feel like Kukuchi is a great option for the playoffs so I am fine with Houston getting him.  The Twins have the talent to make it and do well IMO.  The baseball season is a marathon of surviving injuries and getting your team to play well together more often than not.  There is no full proof method as the most talented teams on paper fail every year.  I just hope the Twins stay healthy and they should do be just fine.

[Mike Sixel]

19 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

Since the Twins appear to want to follow the Tampa Bay Ray's baseball model they may as well continue it lol.  The first thing this off season would be to trade Carlos Correa.  I wouldn't be surprised if they approach him to ask him to approve a trade even though he has a no trade contract.  They obviously misled Correa as well.  I'm sure he was expecting a organization that wanted to win.  Correa is good for the team but for a team that doesn't want to invest in the product, Correa is an unneeded luxury.  Plus at this point you almost owe it to Correa to send him to an organization that needs him and appreciate him.

If there were following the Rays, they'd have traded Kepler. 

[Mike Sixel]

13 minutes ago, Dman said:

I don't know,  it seems like all the revenue sharing teams that get money operate this way.  They have a certain threshold that they might go over for a year or two, but they seem to quickly shrink back.  I wish we had a better idea of what the numbers are, but we don't.  Still I have to believe they are making good money or they would get out of the business of owning a team.  Team values continue to climb so even if they break even year to year the value of the franchise rises every year anyway.

The Twins have a pretty good team with pretty good depth.  Unless they were going to make a needle moving move I was OK with them standing pat.  I don't feel like Kukuchi is a great option for the playoffs so I am fine with Houston getting him.  The Twins have the talent to make it and do well IMO.  The baseball season is a marathon of surviving injuries and getting your team to play well together more often than not.  There is no full proof method as the most talented teams on paper fail every year.  I just hope the Twins stay healthy and they should do be just fine.

It's true that so the lower revenue teams act this way. It's also true none of them win it all anytime. I think we should acknowledge that, and not get down on them for not winning it all. 

[Brandon]

I didn’t see too many top of the rotation starters get moved.  I didn’t see too many difference makers get moved either at the deadline.  
As far as getting a starter, I would rather keep with what we have in house unless we went out and got Flaherty or Crochet or a top of the rotation pitcher.  
as far as getting a left handed reliever is concerned, it depends on how much you think it will affect the outcome of the games.  I would have liked to see us get a good lefty or a stabilizer in the pen but I do think we have in house options and we will be fine come playoffs time.

All in all, I don’t think this is the year to make trades at the deadline and that is 👌 ok.  The sky isn’t falling and we are still in a good spot in the standings and are competitive.  While Cleveland and Kansas City made moves,  I don’t think they made enough of a dent to knock us down any further.  

[Karbo]

Without knowing what other teams asked for in return for some of these trades, its hard for me to criticize not making a move. From I have heard and read they all wanted our top prospects. For a rental piece that is too much IMHO. The only thing that looked like a miss was the Paxton deal.

[Doctor Gast]

3 hours ago, ashbury said:

I was affected by three mergers or acquisitions during my career.  The Pohlads' handling of the Twins right now looks for all the world to me like a cash cow that they intended to milk until it runs dry and then they discard it.  Baseball's not a similar business* to high-tech industry, so maybe the similarities to what I saw don't apply; warning lights sometimes give false positives.

 

* indeed I've said elsewhere recently that I don't see it as a business whatsover, except in the sense that money comes in and goes out.

I'm sorry ashbury about those big business takeovers that affected your life. This world is tough for the small guy. The Pohlad's takeover of the Twins wasn't eliminating the small guy but saving MLB baseball here in MN. The Twins were about to go out the door to somewhere else before the Pohlads stepped in & saved the day. They kept the Twins in MN, not only to just get by but also to bring a WS championship to MN. Whom I'm very grateful because they gave us many teams for us to cheer for. Plus I grew up under the Griffith era.

Andy MacPhail left the Twins because MN is a mid-market team not able to sustain a perennial WS contender. IDK if the Pohlads are losing money, making money or milking the money cow. But I don't begrudge them of making a profit to keep the Twins in MN. This Pohlad bashing especially by media does nothing to better the Twins situation but only sours the fans' support & maybe the Pohlads' motivation. Maybe one day they wake up & realize the Twins aren't worth the headache & sell the team to Nashville. Is that what we want? I think not. We need to quit blaming the Pohlads for this FO inability to initiate big trades.

[NYCTK]

The Mets have supplanted the Twins as my primary team. Not only because I live in New York now, but because it's refreshing to follow a team that actually wants to win. Steve Cohen is obnoxious with his massive wealth, but it's refreshing to see an owner that does not view his team as an asset to increase his wealth but instead a sports franchise which he wants to help win games.

An owner that's a fan of his team, how novel!

[Brandon]

13 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

The Mets have supplanted the Twins as my primary team. Not only because I live in New York now, but because it's refreshing to follow a team that actually wants to win. Steve Cohen is obnoxious with his massive wealth, but it's refreshing to see an owner that does not view his team as an asset to increase his wealth but instead a sports franchise which he wants to help win games.

An owner that's a fan of his team, how novel!

See also Angels and their owner.  He buys expensive players then has no depth and they tank every year when an injury or slump or both occur.

[Vanimal46]

37 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

The Mets have supplanted the Twins as my primary team. Not only because I live in New York now, but because it's refreshing to follow a team that actually wants to win. Steve Cohen is obnoxious with his massive wealth, but it's refreshing to see an owner that does not view his team as an asset to increase his wealth but instead a sports franchise which he wants to help win games.

An owner that's a fan of his team, how novel!

The irony is the Mets crashed and burned when Cohen was spending like a drunken sailor. Now that he scaled back spending he’s got a good team. 

[Doctor Gast]

"Nothing about the Twins trade deadline turns to Falvey or Thad Levine."

I beg to differ. IMO money had very little to do with this deadline. Maybe it kept us from trading for high-salary rentals like Eovaldi who ended up not being available, there weren't any high-end SPs available to really help the Twins. & if there was a salary that was too high, why not increase prospect capital & ask the team to pay down the player's salary? LHRP AJ Puk was available what stop them from approaching MIA early to make a trade? I can't see money being a problem. The problem that I see is that this FO doesn't like to trade prospects, he loves to horde them. In '22 added to that fear by trading away redundant prospects for damaged goods. I applaud this FO for letting go of redundant prospects even though they should have done a better job of evaluating the players. 

We entered this last offseason with one need which is a postseason SP. FA was out the question a big trade needed to be made, here again, the FO was not able to initiate a big trade moving players that could be moved. They made a lot of busy little trades that did nothing to meet the needs of the team, just to appease the media & fans. Blaming the Pohlads is the easy way to divert the attention from the real problem.

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

"Nothing about the Twins trade deadline turns to Falvey or Thad Levine."

I beg to differ. IMO money had very little to do with this deadline. Maybe it kept us from trading for high-salary rentals like Eovaldi who ended up not being available, there weren't any high-end SPs available to really help the Twins. & if there was a salary that was too high, why not increase prospect capital & ask the team to pay down the player's salary? LHRP AJ Puk was available what stop them from approaching MIA early to make a trade? I can't see money being a problem. The problem that I see is that this FO doesn't like to trade prospects, he loves to horde them. In '22 added to that fear by trading away redundant prospects for damaged goods. I applaud this FO for letting go of redundant prospects even though they should have done a better job of evaluating the players. 

We entered this last offseason with one need which is a postseason SP. FA was out the question a big trade needed to be made, here again, the FO was not able to initiate a big trade moving players that could be moved. They made a lot of busy little trades that did nothing to meet the needs of the team, just to appease the media & fans. Blaming the Pohlads is the easy way to divert the attention from the real problem.

We have reports from MN reporters saying money was an issue. I don't know how else to take that, other than money was an issue.

[Muppet]

This team isn't good enough that one above average player they would get in trade would push them over the edge. If they want to make a playoff run they need all of their hitters to be able to perform when not playing the White Sox, As, and Rockies. Everyone has inflated numbers due to playing terrible teams for most of the year. They can do it, but everyone will have to hit better. Weirder things have happened. No amount of  Kikuchi would fix this team. 

[Craig Arko]

Huh. Just a little reminder that people can be more humane to each other.

 

[Mike Sixel]

4 minutes ago, Muppet said:

This team isn't good enough that one above average player they would get in trade would push them over the edge. If they want to make a playoff run they need all of their hitters to be able to perform when not playing the White Sox, As, and Rockies. Everyone has inflated numbers due to playing terrible teams for most of the year. They can do it, but everyone will have to hit better. Weirder things have happened. No amount of  Kikuchi would fix this team. 

They haven't played a significantly different set of teams than most other teams. We are well over half way thru the year.

Also, this post is made every year......almost no team is one player from being the best team in the league. The question is, could they have traded for a LHRP and been a better team? A team more likely to win? Not, should they have made a trade for a player that wasn't traded....

[Doctor Gast]

10 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

We have reports from MN reporters saying money was an issue. I don't know how else to take that, other than money was an issue.

Thank you Mike. I agree money was an issue for Falvey but the money issue could have been circumvented. Meaning if there is a will there is a way to get around it. Falvey didn't take that route.

[Mike Sixel]

3 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Thank you Mike. I agree money was an issue for Falvey but the money issue could have been circumvented. Meaning if there is a will there is a way to get around it. Falvey didn't take that route.

Fair. I can't imagine how Puk was a deal breaker money wise, frankly. 

And, sorry, been a LONG week.

[karcherd]

24 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

We have reports from MN reporters saying money was an issue. I don't know how else to take that, other than money was an issue.

And who was the source of these reports?

[Vanimal46]

I’m bored of the Pohlad bashing. There’s 30+ years of evidence how they run the team. They actually shared the truth about having a very tight budget this season. Some chose not to listen.

At least this year they didn’t insult our intelligence by saying “We definitely would have approved a trade if Falvey presented it to us” 

We are all adults with the ability to make our own decisions. There’s 29 other MLB teams. I’m looking forward to this pity party ending and getting back to talking about the current roster of Twins players. 

[Doctor Gast]

11 minutes ago, Craig Arko said:

Huh. Just a little reminder that people can be more humane to each other.

 

Thank you Craig so much for showing baseball players (contrary to many fans' ideas) are not robots. They have feelings & are affected by their circumstances that affect their stats (again many fans won't acknowledge this). It's so disheartening to see fans so cold & cruel. I pray for Garver, Polanco (I expect the same treatment) & their families to give them the grace to get through this hard time. Garver & Polanco are both great hitters, there is something deeper that is affecting their hitting.

[NYCTK]

1 hour ago, Vanimal46 said:

The irony is the Mets crashed and burned when Cohen was spending like a drunken sailor. Now that he scaled back spending he’s got a good team. 

That's partially true, but not quite. 2022 was a big increase in salary and they won 101 games that season. And when they struggled in '23, they aggressively sold off in order to put themselves in better position to win if future seasons. 

And the only reason they didn't spend like drunken sailors again this year is because they lost out to the Dodgers on both of the Japanese superstars.

Cohen seems to be allowing his team to operate at a loss comparable to the increase in the valuation of the franchise. While they've lost 600 million since he bought the club, the value of the franchise has increased about that same amount. Imagine if the Twins operated in that way. Another 50 or 60 million in expenditures annually? A man can dream...

[NYCTK]

40 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

The problem that I see is that this FO doesn't like to trade prospects, he loves to horde them.

Thank god, otherwise we wound't have witnessed the incredible careers of previous top 5 prospects like: Nick Gordon, Fernando Romero, Stephen Gonsalves, Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach, Jordan Balazovic, and Tyler Jay. 

Can Kirilloff and Larnach still provide more value at the Major League club? Of course, but I'd argue they were more valuable as prospects than they are at this point in their career. Especially since Larnach is Arbitration eligible next season. 

The only top 5 prospect I see in the last decade they Twins traded was Brusdar Graterol who was actually quite good for the Dodgers last season, but returned in part Maeda who was about as valuable to the Twins. 

 

[tony&rodney]

14 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

I’m bored of the Pohlad bashing. There’s 30+ years of evidence how they run the team. They actually shared the truth about having a very tight budget this season. Some chose not to listen.

At least this year they didn’t insult our intelligence by saying “We definitely would have approved a trade if Falvey presented it to us” 

We are all adults with the ability to make our own decisions. There’s 29 other MLB teams. I’m looking forward to this pity party ending and getting back to talking about the current roster of Twins players. 

Exactly.

Ted, you wrote an article bashing the Pohlads but have no specific (and I mean exact with names) ideas or suggestions of players that would have made the Twins a better team. None .... or did I miss something?

The Twins might have been able to add Tarik Skubel for Royce Lewis and Louis Varland plus someone like Rayne Doncon. I don't know what Miami would have asked for A. J. Puk or Tampa Bay for Randy Arozarena. I do know that numerous (not just a few) people were uninterested in either of those players.

What exactly do you (or others who are equally upset) want the Pohlads to do? 

I read sell. How does a new owner saddled with a bill of $1.46 billion make it on the current revenue? Seems like things could be much, much worse.

Who evaluates the players and names involved in trades? Do the Pohlads make these choices?

It is time to leave ownership and management aside and see what the players in the organization can do. If the Twins now repeat 2022, it may be time to blow it up. I'm thinking the Twins play excellent and very entertaining baseball for the next two plus months. Yesterday, in NYC, was just the start. I'm focused on the players on the team.

 

[NYCTK]

1 minute ago, tony&rodney said:

I read sell. How does a new owner saddled with a bill of $1.46 billion make it on the current revenue? Seems like things could be much, much worse.

Won't someone please think of the billionaires?

You're largely right, that it's not REALLY the Pohlad's fault that the Twins couldn't add an ace at the trade deadline. But it is 100% their fault they couldn't retain Gray, or offer a contract for Snell or Montgomery, or any pitcher at all really. 

Yes, the Pohlads should sell the franchise if they view it only as an asset in their investment portfolio, which is absolutely the case. 

[dantal]

There are reasons billionaires are billionaires. Generally, they value money, and they know what to do with it. It seems arrogant for us non-billionaires to question their financial aptitude. I'm not saying they are right (in a moral sense) to not spend more money. One could argue that they have a moral responsibility to the fans who spend money on their product. But I'm never surprised to see people who value money continue to value money.

As for the front office, I think they just recognize the same thing as the Rays: it's always a sellers market at the deadline. They cannot and should not take as extreme of a position as the Rays, But making a big splash at the deadline will probably cost more down the road. They were never going to get Skubal or Crochet. We might look at Flaherty and say, "I would do that deal." But the Twins could not have gotten him with that deal. They would have had to top that deal.

I wish they could have added, but I understand why they didn't. I think this is a good team with three good playoff caliber starters, a strong bullpen, and a deep lineup. They can make a run.

[Mike Sixel]

54 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

I’m bored of the Pohlad bashing. There’s 30+ years of evidence how they run the team. They actually shared the truth about having a very tight budget this season. Some chose not to listen.

At least this year they didn’t insult our intelligence by saying “We definitely would have approved a trade if Falvey presented it to us” 

We are all adults with the ability to make our own decisions. There’s 29 other MLB teams. I’m looking forward to this pity party ending and getting back to talking about the current roster of Twins players. 

I think this is fair. I think it's also fair that people vent less than 24 hours after the team they root for does nothing at the trade deadline. Not even a full day yet.