The Twins Finally Picked a Lane

[Matthew Taylor]

For the first time in what feels like forever, the Minnesota Twins didn’t hedge. They didn’t straddle the line between buying and selling, between rebuilding and retooling, between competing and coasting. They made a decision. They picked a direction. And they went all in.

At the 2025 trade deadline, the Twins executed one of the most aggressive sell-offs in recent Major League history. Ten players from the active Major League roster were traded away. Eleven players in total. Team leaders, high-leverage relievers, young controllable talent — gone. The front office didn’t tiptoe around tough decisions. They didn’t try to sugarcoat their situation. They saw the writing on the wall and decided to act with purpose.

And that, in itself, is worth celebrating.

Because for the past two years, the opposite has been true. This front office has, in many ways, become synonymous with inaction. In 2023, their lone deadline move was acquiring Dylan Floro. In 2024, it was Trevor Richards. Not exactly needle-movers. But it wasn’t just the deadline paralysis that defined them. It was the broader refusal to shift course in any meaningful way. After a playoff appearance in 2023, the Twins slashed payroll by 30 million but made no real roster changes. Following a late-season collapse in 2024, they once again ran it back, keeping their core untouched. Even as cracks formed in the foundation, the team stuck with manager Rocco Baldelli and doubled down on the same formula that was no longer working.

It all felt like a team stuck in limbo, afraid to take a real risk, afraid to pick a lane. Opportunities to sell high were passed over. Max Kepler could have been dealt after 2023. Edouard Julien or Jose Miranda might have netted big returns after breakout stretches in 2024. But the Twins held firm, betting on continuity and internal improvement. And it failed.

But this week, the front office finally broke the cycle.

This wasn’t just a sell-off. It was an admission. An acknowledgement that the team they had built, the one they extended, defended, and preserved over the past few years, was not good enough. So instead of watching it slowly erode, they hit the reset button. Hard. They didn’t dip a toe in the waters of a rebuild. They dove in headfirst. Even the decision to move Carlos Correa, the 200 million dollar man and face of the franchise, underscored just how serious they were. They weren’t preserving icons or clinging to sunk costs. They were starting over.

Of course, there will be debates. Should they have dumped Correa’s salary? Could they have gotten more for Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax? Did they really need to trade all of those guys, or could they have kept a couple of pieces in place? These are fair questions, and we’ll explore them here on Twins Daily all week long. But this article isn’t about the trades themselves. It’s not about value or prospects or WAR.

This article is about something more fundamental: vision.

For once, the front office had one. You don’t have to love it. You don’t even have to agree with it. But you can finally say the Twins have a plan. They chose not to languish in the middle. They chose not to keep spinning the same wheels with the same core. They recognized that their window had closed, and they decided to tear it all down before the walls caved in on their own.

In a sport where indecision is often the safest move, boldness is rare. But the Twins finally got bold.

What do you think? Was this the right time for a total reset? Let us know in the comments. 

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[ashbury]

Quote

But you can finally say the Twins have a plan.

If there's a plan, you should be able to state it.  They should be able to state it.  The trade of Varland, under control through 2030 I believe, is out of keeping with simply "sellers at the deadline."  The trades of Duran, Jax, and Stewart are collectively out of keeping with retooling for the coming two years.  I don't know when the next window of contention is targeted.  2031?  Do we just keep developing and trading away?

[Patzky]

If this remainder of the team can plod along with the same winning percentage as the "good enough to win the division" roster did, what does that say? They were right to tear it down?

The fans though and the players.. I really do feel for them. 

[TL]

While I agree with the sentiment that this was in part due to future payroll, it was also a recognition that there was something about this team not adding up (the “vibes”). The sum of the parts was greater than the whole and instead of running it back and hoping for better results they are resetting. 

The Varland deal is the biggest head-scratcher. He seemed to settle in well to the bullpen but I wonder if the history of him resisting that move played a part in trading him now. I also wonder what was going on with Jax given the scene from the other day.

Beyond that I’m fine with the value received for Duran, and with Stewart’s injury history I understand the desire to cash in now - though the return is questionable. Moving Correa frees payroll and enables Lee to get a real shot at short, with Culpepper and Houston lurking if he doesn’t come through. And moving the impending free agents had to be done.

So at the end of the day I’m fine with the moves, but like everyone I question the returns. I wonder where our farm system will be ranked overall after yesterday. 

[In My La Z boy]

Shock & Awe 😮 At 5pm, somewhat rattled I say to myself, well... Looks like Louie is our new closer, and I got a little happy for him. I do love this article. great take and I agree. Pick a damn lane. The Louie thing was on my mind when I woke up. I hate this for Louie.

[Ole St Carleton]

I wouldn’t mind this sell-off if the coaching staff could actually guide the upcoming youngsters toward playing effective baseball. Baldelli & crew have consistently failed to coach the offense to successfully bunt, move runners, sacrifice, run bases, take a 2 strike approach etc. Look at how Milwaukee dismantled the Twins during their last series. Of course, all of this needs to begin in the low minor league levels.

It’s sad to see Tom Kelly’s brand of winning baseball being fumbled into oblivion.

[LewFordLives]

There absolutely was a plan. It was to maximize the Pohlads profit on the sale of the Twins. 

Did they need to give away Varland and Stewart? How many nickels did that save?

[TL]

4 minutes ago, TL said:

While I agree with the sentiment that this was in part due to future payroll, it was also a recognition that there was something about this team not adding up (the “vibes”). The sum of the parts was less than the whole and instead of running it back and hoping for better results they are resetting. 

The Varland deal is the biggest head-scratcher. He seemed to settle in well to the bullpen but I wonder if the history of him resisting that move played a part in trading him now. I also wonder what was going on with Jax given the scene from the other day.

Beyond that I’m fine with the value received for Duran, and with Stewart’s injury history I understand the desire to cash in now - though the return is questionable. Moving Correa frees payroll and enables Lee to get a real shot at short, with Culpepper and Houston lurking if he doesn’t come through. And moving the impending free agents had to be done.

So at the end of the day I’m fine with the moves, but like everyone I question the returns. I wonder where our farm system will be ranked overall after yesterday. 

 

[TwinsDr2021]

So the plan was to spent 8 years trying win one two game playoff series, then do a complete rebuild ? This FO has been has been one failure after the next. Will yesterday be marked as the official time of death for the MN Twins (for the fans) or will the team continue to pretend they have some relevancy?  

[hitterscount]

They hit the exit lane and took the off ramp without a strategy.

Their own actions speak of the gross incompetence in putting together the team. Rocco and Falvey should be given the same treatment within the first 10 seconds after the sale of the team.

[sweetmusicviola16]

As I contemplate I'm fine with tearing it down. Not that I'm fine with some of the returns but fine with the choice. That said don't stop here. I know this won't be popular but others need to go and contribute towards the rebuild. Lopez, Ryan, Jeffers, Larnach, etc. But Baldelli should not be leading this rebuild. Get him out of here. In all honesty neither should Falvey be continuing here. He built the team and it failed. Pohlad's can'r be gone soon enough. But when?

[karcherd]

Do they have a plan, we will see.  It will be interesting who is on the roster today after the dust settles.  If this is a rebuild, Gasper and Clemens need to be gone.  Give the kids a trial and see if there is something to work with.  I would even consider calling up Culpepper and say you are the SS for the rest of the year.

But I am worried we will see more players like 'Bride and even Outman getting AB's the next two months and that does not excite me.

Also putting these players under Baldelli I hope doesn't set them back like everyone else.  This organization has been a failure for the last 8 years and they just admitted it.  They need to be gone the minute the papers are signed for the sale.

 

[JonLewisFord]

“Twins finally picked a lane”

Unfortunately for fans it was the same lane as Thelma and Louise

[dxpavelka]

Ya'll wanted them to blow it up.  They blew it up.  I don't wanna hear bitchin

[CRF]

Yeah, they changed the pieces...a lot of them, but they didn't change the people who managed the pieces. You can argue that they didn't get enough return for what they let go...I don't think they did. Nothing will ever change here without a new ownership group, a new front office/GM, and a new manager. 

[NYCTK]

This was the right decision. I was a bit underwhelmed by some individual moves - thought they should have gotten a bit more for Coulombe and Duran - but in the aggregate it is about what I expected. 

Outman is curious but he can be attached to Buxton and no longer worry about the Taylor, Margot, Bader 4th OF role, I guess. 

Correa, was exactly the deal I expected, having to pay a third of the salary and getting nothing in return, but is the right decision for this organization. As for missing his leadership...this club was a mess so I ask what leadership. 

And the other four bullpen arms, especially Varland? They are all bullpen arms for a reason. Bullpens aren't fungible but they're unpredictable and finicky. There was a lot of talent in the bullpen these last couple seasons and they still were bottom half of the league in actual results. They were 3rd in FIP but 22nd in ERA, 27th in LOB%, 25th in WPA. Unlike Cleveland's talented bullpen, the Twins bullpen didn't actually help them win games. 

They undeniably have talent, but for whatever reason they didn't actually make a good bullpen. Is it luck? Maybe. But that's exactly why a bad team, wanting to shake things up shouldn't really invest heavily in the bullpen and those arms were going to become expensive. 

I think the decision making is sound. Even if you think the execution was lacking. 

Minnesota Twins, 2027 AL Central Champions 

[TwinsDr2021]

4 minutes ago, dxpavelka said:

Ya'll wanted them to blow it up.  They blew it up.  I don't wanna hear bitchin

Ya'll is a huge stretch, I would say less than half of the comments were calling for that. (Probably because the other half was more for blowing up the FO and Manager who have been failures)

One of the problems with this blow up is they left the sh!t (Tonkin, Topa, Vazquez, Gasper, Clemens, Larnach, Keirsey) for the fans to smell. If you are going to do a rebuild tear it all the way down, 

 

[NYCTK]

13 minutes ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

As I contemplate I'm fine with tearing it down. Not that I'm fine with some of the returns but fine with the choice. That said don't stop here. I know this won't be popular but others need to go and contribute towards the rebuild. Lopez, Ryan, Jeffers, Larnach, etc. But Baldelli should not be leading this rebuild. Get him out of here. In all honesty neither should Falvey be continuing here. He built the team and it failed. Pohlad's can'r be gone soon enough. But when?

They should absolutely entertain trading Lopez or Ryan, and try to extend Jeffers but if he's a Boras client like I think someone said he's not going to take it. So he should probably be traded too. Full commitment to 2026 as transition year. 

[NYCTK]

4 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

Ya'll is a huge stretch, I would say less than half of the comments were calling for that. (Probably because the other half was more for blowing up the FO and Manager who have been failures)

One of the problems with this blow up is they left the sh!t (Tonkin, Topa, Vazquez, Gasper, Clemens, Larnach, Keirsey) for the fans to smell. If you are going to do a rebuild tear it all the way down, 

 

I am surprised Larnach or Topa wouldn't have any interest on the trade market. But maybe they just ran out of time on the phones. 

9 total trades is a lot of communication back and forth with the league and the teams involved. 

[bunsen82]

Let’s be clear they haven’t fully picked a lane yet we are still in limbo. Yes they went to the kids room (relievers) and completely demolished it, but they left the starters (Kitchen) and position players (Living Room) alone. 
 

The Front Office made it clear they are losing the rest of this year for draft capital. After that do they rebuild the kids room (reliever room), or do they continue to tear down the rest of the house trading Ryan, Lopez, Ober? They had offers on Ryan so that tells me a total tear down is most likely. Boy look what we get to look forward to. At least they weren’t willing to take fire sale prices for him.

Honestly I think the Varland deal is one of the better deals we did, it still won’t stop me from thinking they did Varland dirty. 

[Whitey333]

My sentiment is while I agree with a rebuild of sort I think it went too far.  I'm not quite sure trading away most of your bullpen was smart.  Trading Varland for example seems unnecessary.   When the dust settled i had this feeling of being used and being dumped on.  I can't help but feel like a lot of this was done in spite.  In spite of the fans, mlb  old and new ownership.  But it's not complete until both Falvey and Baldelli are gone.  Keep in mind that Falvey put this team together in the first place.  It's his fault in a big part that this happened.  They both have proven they can't be trusted.  They have failed the franchise.  They have failed the fans.  Both Baldelli and Falvey must go.

[Ex-Iowegian]

Hitting Ctrl-Alt-Del could be considered ‘picking a lane’ too, I guess.
From a fan perspective, this is egregiously bad. No matter how it gets spun by the current FO. 
Feels more like a can just got kicked down the road so the team could be sold. 

[Brett]

I was hoping for more major league-ready bats, but here we are. We’ll see how well the youngsters play, and I will prepare myself for an underwhelming ‘26 and ‘27. Maybe ‘28. Not sure how I feel about the lane that was picked.

[wavedog]

Seems like the plan was to eliminate the bullpen - in an age when bullpen usage is at its most importance - and then acquire every Left-handed hitting OF or catcher.  Seems a very imbalanced team now but interested to see who gets promoted to the big league club today.  

[Glorybound]

They will be hard pressed to win ten games the rest of the season. Sending out young pitchers to get bludgeoned is not development. Sending out young batters to get overmatched is development either. I doubt that there are more than 2 players that they acquired at deadline that will have a long term impact on the team. I am not sure what would compel someone to buy a ticket to see this crap show. One has to ask are the new owners planning a franchise move?

[Eris]

I understand the decision. I think they could have done better in the Varland trade. Correa wasn’t living up to his contract expectations. This still leaves the challenge of the replacement level killers unaddressed.   The core of the under performance is on offense and defensive play and those players are still mostly on the team or waiting for someone else to step up. On the farm, with the exception of Keaschal, Jenkins and Culpepper reinforcements are a couple of years away. 
 

 

[TwinsDr2021]

2 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

They should absolutely entertain trading Lopez or Ryan, and try to extend Jeffers but if he's a Boras client like I think someone said he's not going to take it. So he should probably be traded too. Full commitment to 2026 as transition year. 

Honest question how is 26 a transition year? Unless they bring up the stud prospects now to see what they have 26 and 27 seem like transition years, But 27 is the last year for the big three pitching, so they are likely to at some point as well. I mean right now (as of today) the Twins have what 3 legit MLB players on their active roster (Ryan, Jeffers, Sands) , a few backups and couple of hopefuls (Lewis, Lee, Wallner, SWR, Matthews)

This team isn't a year plus away, it is likely by the time they are good again, Lewis, Lee, Wallner, SWR, Sands, Ryan and others will have moved on. The team as it currently stands isn't close to being competitive. 

[IndianaTwin]

20 minutes ago, JonLewisFord said:

“Twins finally picked a lane”

Unfortunately for fans it was the same lane as Thelma and Louise

Not sure I agree, but that’s too good of a line not to give it props!

[Ron]

An inept and embarrassing ownership. There's your lane 

[Twinkie in Deutschland]

Being a Twins fan since being a kid, this one will remember this trade as the day we gave up on baseball. I have already lost hope on the Twins on the season and possibly for the next three seasons. I see the massive trade being a necessity because they were going nowhere and the only way to go is to start over from scratch. But that is just the beginning. The next step should and must be the Pohlads selling the team because of their indifference that has resulted in three decades of playoff futility and an additional decade of playoff disappointment minus 1987 and 1991. We have seen other baseball teams and MN profi teams leapfrog the Twins and the problem starts with the owners. The family should start actively look for a potential buyer who will inject new life into the team and bring back baseball back to the Twin Cities. Only then will be sure of a return to the postseason. Otherwise it will be another decade of humility with 90+ loss seasons. At this point, it's time for the Pohlads to sell the franchise right now and go.