Top 25 Most-Viewed Twins Daily Articles of 2024 (Part 4: 6-10)

[Seth Stohs]

Today, we jump into the Top 10 most-viewed articles of 2024. It is probably fair to say that this collection of articles represents the season pretty well. 

Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler clearly had a lot of fans in the Twins organization and among Twins fandom. With 15-16 years in the organization, seeing them heading elsewhere certainly has an effect on readers. Player leaving. Ownership cutting payroll significantly. Hoping for a new television deal, and then going back to Bally's. It was a tough year for the Twins and their fans in 2024. But that doesn't mean there weren't lots of positives. Let's see if any positive articles fell into our Top 10 Most-Viewed Twins Daily articles this year. 

#10: Max Kepler: A Minnesota Twins Era Nearing Its End
Cody Christie
August 22  

16 seasons is a long time. Max Kepler signed with the Twins as a 16-year-old in 2009 out of Germany. Recently, he signed a one-year contract with the Phillies. The 31-year-old literally spent over half of his life employed by the organization. He made his debut for the Twins in 2016 and spent parts of nine seasons in the big leagues before becoming a free agent this offseason. In late August, he was clearly injured and played just six more games before going on the Injured List. Cody looked back again at his time with the Twins, on and off the field. He had moments of greatness, and generally was steady. It is just unfortunate that he needed to miss so much time late in his time with the Twins.  

#9: Minnesota Twins Acquire Outfielder Manuel Margot from Dodgers in 3-Player Trade
Seth Stohs 
February 26

The Twins were looking for a backup outfielder, preferably right-handed, and able to play all three outfield positions including centerfield. They clearly had a number that they were willing to spend on that position, and rather than go with a free agent, the Twins made a trade. The Twins sent minor-league Gold Glove shortstop Noah Miller, a first-round pick in 2021 from high school in Wisconsin, to the Los Angeles Dodgers. In return, the Twins received veteran outfielder Manuel Margot. Essentially, the Twins paid him $4 million for the season. He played in 129 games, the most since 2019 with the Padres. He started slow. Over the first two months, his OPS was below .530. He posted an .839 OPS in 22 games in June. He was brought in to play primarily against left-handed pitchers. In 172 plate appearances, he had a .540 OPS against right-handers. In 171 plate appearances against southpaws, he had a .713 OPS. When he started against a left-handed starter, his OPS was .846 (.422 vs. RHP). In a completely random, fluky stat, he went 0-for-30 in pinch hitting opportunities. He became a free agent after the season. In my personal opinion, this trade has the potential to be a very good deal for the Twins. In addition to Margot, the Twins received 21-year-old infielder Rayne Doncon from the Dodgers. He split the season between Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids and hit a combined 24 doubles and 11 homers in 2024. 

#8: The Jorge Polanco Trade Fails the Simplest of Tests 
John Bonnes 
January 30 

The Jorge Polanco trade news article showed up in our Top 20 most-viewed articles. Obviously dealing a guy who spent 15 years in the organization will be a big deal. In the top 10 is an article from The Geek with his opinion of the trade a day or two later. Generally speaking, I think he was just fine with the return they got for Polanco. They got a top 100 prospect, an intriguing pitching prospect, a very solid reliever, and an oft-injured starting pitcher who has had some success in the past. However, he believed (and most would agree) that it made the 2024 Twins worse. On the other hand, the Twins added a reliever and two quality prospects for one year of Polanco and could play Edouard Julien everyday at second base. 11 months later, this trade ultimately had no (or very little) impact on the 2024 Twins or Mariners. Polanco was hurt some and when healthy, struggled to hit above the Mendoza Line. DeSclafani didn’t pitch at all, and Justin Topa only pitched in three games all season due to a knee injury, and that was on the final weekend. Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen remain solid prospects, though with less luster when they were acquired. Long-term, they could help the Twins on the field or even in another trade. Topa will be back with the team in 2025. 

#7: Twins Could Swing Blockbuster with Red Sox
Ted Schwerzler
January 17 

We heard the Twins were going to lower payroll. We heard the Red Sox were also going to try to lower their payroll as well. However, none of us was willing to fully believe it. Instead we continued to think through and speculate potential deals and trades that could work for both teams. The Twins were believed to be looking to move Christian Vazquez and his contract. The Red Sox were said to be shopping Kenley Jansen. No such deal was ever made, and of course we have no way to know if any such conversations were ever had. Probably not. Vazquez had another year that certainly wasn’t worth anywhere near $10 million. Jansen had another very solid season with a solid 3.29 ERA and a very good 1.06 WHIP. His 10.2 K/9 was in line with his numbers in recent years.   

#6: The Twins are Killing Their Brand and It’s Brutal to Watch
Nick Nelson 
May 7

Before the 2023 season, the Twins named Joe Pohlad as their new public-facing owner. Fans thought the family’s third generation might run things a little differently. And, when Carlos Correa came back to the Twins with a $200 million contract, there was reason to believe. The 2023 payroll was well above its payroll had ever been, and we all hoped that might be a number that could continue to rise. The 2023 season saw the Twins not only win the division title, but they won their first playoff game and first playoff series in two decades. Fan excitement was as high as it had been in probably 20 years. When their season ended, so did their deal with Bally Sports/Diamond Sports. The hope was that they might be able to score a big, new TV contract. Grace! (Those who listen to the Crime in Sports podcast know what that means!)

At that point, Derek Falvey talked openly about the payroll being reduced “substantially.” Over time, we learned that could be cut by as much as $35 million. Then news came that they had taken a one-year deal with Diamond Sports for less money and with them fighting bankruptcy. Would they actually get the money? And if they did, and didn’t spend it on players, the owners would just have more money. Either way, fans who had not been able to view games on TV still couldn’t in 2024. And this article was in early May, just before the Twins played very well for three months. It’s fair to say that their messaging to fans since this article hasn’t improved. At least not until after the season when we learned that the Pohlad’s were contemplating selling the team. It may take some time to complete that process, but when that happens, the Twins business will be able to pivot in a direction that hopefully will excite fans. Frankly, they have a ton of work to do to bring back disenfranchised fans who have found other things to watch since they couldn’t watch the Twins. Oh, and while we love Cory Provus, seeing Dick Bremer ousted after 40 years as the Twins TV voice and arguably their greatest ambassador. 

Frankly, that’s part of what is important about Twins Daily. 365 days per year, you can find new content on the Minnesota Twins. There have been times in recent offseasons where you might find five to seven new articles in a day. We want the Twins to be successful. We want them to have more fans. That isn’t just good for us. It is good for the Twins that there are still some communities of Twins fans, of diehards. However, they have a ton of work to do to bring back the casual fans, or even bring in new fans.

 

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Sorry that one got a bit negative, a bit preachy. Sorry about that! I'm guessing many of you might agree. Feel free to discuss the owners, the TV situation, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, and more. 

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[Blyleven2011]

You betcha  on that last paragraph ...

I'm sure everyone on TD has seen me post my frustration on the owners and FO  ...

I'll say it again  , I'm not spending any of my money on twins fest  , spring training or at target field , I will take gifts though  ...

I'm tired of being pretenders and not contenders , 2023 was a good year and we take a step backwards is unacceptable to the fans ....

I'm not sorry for the negative response  , I will continue to follow every game on radio or streaming ...

And love talking baseball on twins daily  ...

[USAFChief]

"In my personal opinion, this (Margot) trade has the potential to be a very good deal for the Twins." 

 

It's getting harder and harder to take TD seriously.  

[Rod Carews Birthday]

5 hours ago, USAFChief said:

"In my personal opinion, this (Margot) trade has the potential to be a very good deal for the Twins." 

 

It's getting harder and harder to take TD seriously.  

Agreed that Margot didn't move the bar except backward, but Miller did manage to work his OPS back up to .668 -- AFTER being demoted from AA to A+ (Yikes!).  I think fault is at the feet of the Twins for giving Margot so many at bats and not cutting bait, but they didn't exactly give up a kings ransom to get him.  On paper, the acquisition wasn't terrible, but on the field it was a disaster.  They needed to recognize it sooner and give those at bats to a player that actually might have a future with the team.

[nclahammer]

BINGO El' Ringo!