Twins Ignored the Human Side of Baseball in Louis Varland Trade

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

When the dust settled on the Minnesota Twins’ shocking trade deadline fire sale, fans and players alike were left stunned. Carlos Correa? Gone. Jhoan Duran? Traded. But there was one move that cut deeper than the rest, not because of WAR or contract math, but because it stripped away one of the most human elements left in baseball.

Louis Varland is not just a pitcher. He is not just a stat line. He is not just “team-controlled through 2030.” He’s a hometown kid from St. Paul who fulfilled a childhood dream by taking the mound at Target Field in front of his family and friends. In a sport that so often feels like business, Varland was a reminder that sometimes, it still means something to play for your hometown team.

Now, that dream has been ripped away.

The Deal That Shook the Clubhouse
Just minutes before the deadline passed, the Twins shipped Varland and veteran first baseman Ty France to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for left-handed pitching prospect Kendry Rojas and outfielder Alan Roden. The return was decent, maybe even good on paper. Roden debuted with the Twins the very next day. But even President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey’s carefully worded explanations couldn’t disguise the cold calculus behind this one.

"It's difficult. We love Louis, who he is and the way he's gone about the work," Falvey said on the Twins television broadcast. "We felt like in the deal that we got with Toronto there, a young, exciting starter who has reached Triple-A, someone who we think can be one of those guys who fits into the rotation sooner than later and has a great deal of upside from the left side. And then in Alan Roden, who you're seeing tonight, we think he's a guy who can join us as a potential everyday position player. 

Falvey went on to say, “Those are really difficult decisions in those moments, around how do you make your team better in aggregate? You understand that maybe you have to take something away to get really good talent. We felt like the chance for a starter and a position player in that deal gave us additional upside."

What Falvey didn’t say is what everyone already knew: Varland was beloved in that clubhouse. And the Twins didn’t have to trade him.

An Inexplicable Exit
By every measure, Varland was enjoying a breakout year. A 2.02 ERA. Nearly a strikeout per inning. A legitimate leverage reliever who gave the Twins a reliable arm every time out. And he was doing it for just a salary barely above the league minimum with five more years of team control. You don’t just find that kind of value on the open market, especially since the Twins have talked openly about being competitive in 2026 and beyond. 

So why do it? That’s the question that left rival executives, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, “dumbfounded.”

The answer, apparently, is upside. Or, more cynically, it’s the front office hedging bets on the next wave of controllable players even if it means burning bridges with the guys who are already in your dugout.

Baseball Trades, But At What Cost?
Falvey made it clear in the aftermath that this wasn’t a financial dump. “By and large across the board, [these] were baseball trades,” he said. But even baseball trades can carry human consequences.

Varland wasn’t just a statistical asset. He was a guy who had worked through failures as a starter, reinvented himself as a reliever, and had become a key part of the Twins’ bullpen. More than that, he was one of us. His family was in the stands almost every night. His heart was here. And now he’s gone, with no warning, and no real reason that anyone inside that clubhouse can wrap their heads around.

It’s no wonder players were reportedly “seething” about the move. The Twins sent a message and not a good one. If Louis Varland can be traded in the middle of a breakout season, while making less than a million dollars and pouring everything he had into this team, anyone can be traded.

There’s no denying that baseball is a business. But at a time when the Twins are asking fans to invest in yet another rebuild, to trust a front office that’s now dealing away franchise cornerstones and hometown heroes alike, there’s something unsettling about the way this deadline played out.

Roden may become a useful outfielder. Rojas might develop into a capable starter. But those names are going to have to work hard to earn the kind of loyalty Varland had in that clubhouse, and in this community.

You can trade away talent. You can trade away payroll. But once you start trading away trust from players and fans, that’s a harder thing to rebuild. And no matter how many prospects you bring in, there’s no return that makes up for that.

Did the Twins ignore the human element in the Varland trade? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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[LewFordLives]

Does anyone actually believe Roden can be an everyday player? With all the outfielders coming up through the system, will he even be on the 40-man a year from now?

You can defend most of the trades to some extent. They each had at least some rationale. I still don't know what the rationale was for the Varland and Stewart trades.

[Nshore]

If the Pohlads were hands on baseball people who knew anything about the game, Falvey would have been gone long ago.  Instead they've given him more control.

[nclahammer]

The Varland trade still has me shaking my head for all the reasons above that Cody mentioned and more.   I will never forget meeting Louie multiple times at local card shows and he's signing for free, or next to nothing, and his family was in the audience during his winter caravan stop at Treasure Island (during the question & answer session, his mom asked him what he wanted for dinner that night.)    He is so hospitable and likeable and engaging with fans.  When Varland was with the Saints he would sign autographs for fans through an opening in the netting down the firstbase line, he even autographed my glove for me. 

[NYCTK]

10 minutes ago, LewFordLives said:

Does anyone actually believe Roden can be an everyday player? With all the outfielders coming up through the system, will he even be on the 40-man a year from now?

You can defend most of the trades to some extent. They each had at least some rationale. I still don't know what the rationale was for the Varland and Stewart trades.

Yes. Potentially. And ironically, a successful Roden season would look pretty similar to Lew Ford. 

[dxpavelka]

The human side of baseball.  That's funny stuff right there.  They traded him.  Good trade?  Bad trade?  Hard to say with any certainty.  If he had an ERA of six and a half and they'd DFAd him nobody would be worried about the human side of baseball.  It's a business.  Don't like that?  Go watch town ball.

[Wedman13]

33 minutes ago, LewFordLives said:

Does anyone actually believe Roden can be an everyday player? With all the outfielders coming up through the system, will he even be on the 40-man a year from now?

You can defend most of the trades to some extent. They each had at least some rationale. I still don't know what the rationale was for the Varland and Stewart trades.

What in gods name is going on with these articles?  Just terrible clickbait the last week.  Cry me a river his parents need to now travel to watch him play Major League Baseball.  He's blessed, and so are they.  And specifically, which players were 'seething'?

I get it, cool down home name from St. Paul so let's look past that he was me first and didn't even want to go to the pen.  and that before this year he was terrible.  And that he wasn't even a setup man on a bad team.  My god....

This by all measures was a good trade, and it's getting very tiring reading about how amazing the talent was that we traded away, while the team has dramatically underperformed.

i truly don't understand where TD is going with articles like this.  

[Cory Engelhardt]

Roden does have the ability to be an everyday player, that’s true. And Rojas might be a good starter. That’d be fun.

I really did think Varland was set to be our closer for the next year or 2. Hard to not cheer for the hometown kid making the team.

All of this is to say, I’d much prefer a gm make baseball decisions that could be hard at times, even like this. If they were prioritizing an offer or a trade return just for people from Minnesota, that would very much handicap them longer term.

[big dog]

If teams were never allowed to trade hometown players it would be in their interest to never sign hometown players. Agree with the above poster- this isn't town ball.

It also depends on performance, which means it isn't very much about the hometown aspect.  People who didn't respect Mauer at first base used his hometown status against him- "he's only on the team because he's from St Paul".  Being from the area helps you with the fans unless it hurts you with the fans.

[Doctor Gast]

Baseball to me is a family sport. A wonderful time of watching sons, brothers & nephews playing ball. At tournaments, the family would hang out & have picnics while waiting around. This Varland trade is a perfect example of Falvey's weird analytics. Analytics based on weird philosophies, void of underlying considerations like a pitcher's arm condition or intangibles like a player's impact on the fanbase & clubhouse.

I have advocated the trading of players like Julien, who had reached their maximum trade value & were very expendable. Varland had not reached his maximum trade value & he was very valuable as the closer & foundation of the upcoming BP, which is floundering. We needed LH hitting cOF Roden like we needed a....... I think you get my drift, Rojas is a LHP with potential. The trade was OK, but IMO, we lost that trade even on face value. I can't say that Varland is untouchable, but the other team would have to REALLY blow my socks off. Which wouldn't happen because Varland is much more valuable to us than anybody else.

As a seller, we should have won every trade & some we should have been blown away. But we lost every single trade, maybe not terribly, but nevertheless lost. Most of the players we received were redundant & or irrelevant to impacting this team in the near future, if at all. Varland is one reason why we watch the Twins, his trade is a perfect reason why Falvey shouldn't have been responsible for trading off our players or even running this team. Falvey is the reason why I no longer watch the Twins.

[mluebker]

If that was Falvey’s idea of a “baseball trade,” no one ever should trust his baseball judgment again.

[Wedman13]

14 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Baseball to me is a family sport. A wonderful time of watching sons, brothers & nephews playing ball. At tournaments, the family would hang out & have picnics while waiting around. This Varland trade is a perfect example of Falvey's weird analytics. Analytics based on weird philosophies, void of underlying considerations like a pitcher's arm condition or intangibles like a player's impact on the fanbase & clubhouse.

I have advocated the trading of players like Julien, who had reached their maximum trade value & were very expendable. Varland had not reached his maximum trade value & he was very valuable as the closer & foundation of the upcoming BP, which is floundering. We needed LH hitting cOF Roden like we needed a....... I think you get my drift, Rojas is a LHP with potential. The trade was OK, but IMO, we lost that trade even on face value. I can't say that Varland is untouchable, but the other team would have to REALLY blow my socks off. Which wouldn't happen because Varland is much more valuable to us than anybody else.

As a seller, we should have won every trade & some we should have been blown away. But we lost every single trade, maybe not terribly, but nevertheless lost. Most of the players we received were redundant & or irrelevant to impacting this team in the near future, if at all. Varland is one reason why we watch the Twins, his trade is a perfect reason why Falvey shouldn't have been responsible for trading off our players or even running this team. Falvey is the reason why I no longer watch the Twins.

Dramatic much?  Head to Elko, Dundas or Jordan if you want the down home aspect.  I agree it's special.  Thanksgiving and  Christmas are great too.

How many posters were pissed because we only got Strotman and a 25 yr old soft throwing righty from TB for Nelson?  A bunch.   Proclaiming trade winners and losers immediately isn't bright.  

And yes, we understand you don't watch the twins.  It's said every day.  Some of us still do.

[Doctor Gast]

Why do we watch the Twins? Is it because they are the best team in baseball or full of superstars? No! We watch them because of the human MN connection. Otherwise, I'd be watching the Dodgers.

[Cory Engelhardt]

23 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Baseball to me is a family sport. A wonderful time of watching sons, brothers & nephews playing ball. At tournaments, the family would hang out & have picnics while waiting around. This Varland trade is a perfect example of Falvey's weird analytics. Analytics based on weird philosophies, void of underlying considerations like a pitcher's arm condition or intangibles like a player's impact on the fanbase & clubhouse.

I have advocated the trading of players like Julien, who had reached their maximum trade value & were very expendable. Varland had not reached his maximum trade value & he was very valuable as the closer & foundation of the upcoming BP, which is floundering. We needed LH hitting cOF Roden like we needed a....... I think you get my drift, Rojas is a LHP with potential. The trade was OK, but IMO, we lost that trade even on face value. I can't say that Varland is untouchable, but the other team would have to REALLY blow my socks off. Which wouldn't happen because Varland is much more valuable to us than anybody else.

As a seller, we should have won every trade & some we should have been blown away. But we lost every single trade, maybe not terribly, but nevertheless lost. Most of the players we received were redundant & or irrelevant to impacting this team in the near future, if at all. Varland is one reason why we watch the Twins, his trade is a perfect reason why Falvey shouldn't have been responsible for trading off our players or even running this team. Falvey is the reason why I no longer watch the Twins.

Only commenting on you saying they lost every trade; 

If you KNOW they lost every trade, do you also have the powerball numbers for this weekend? I'd love to be able to see into the future :)

[MGX]

The only trade that was questionable was the Stewart trade since Outman (I follow the Dodgers & I liked him when he debuted) seems to be a poor fit. I don't think we should have expected a big return for Stewart, but we should have found a better fit in that deal. The other deals all look good to me. I've seen a lot of complaints on some of the deals like the Varland deal, but that looks like a good trade for the Twins & the Jax deal seems to be a very good trade for the Twins & yet you see many complaints about that as well. I think many on this site were unrealistic about what relief pitchers were going to return.

In the Duran trade Falvey could have held out for Painter & he gave in when he should have had the leverage, but I like our return in that deal. Painter could end up being great, but he's already had an arm injury & his comeback hasn't gone to plan for the Phillies. In the spring Dombrowski said he expected him to be up by July & he is still in AAA struggling with a 4.88 ERA. Meanwhile, Mick Abel seemed to be out of the Phillies plans after tough '24 & wasn't going to be given anything. He went out & dominated at AAA got a promotion to the show & had a few good outings before getting hit a bit & needed to back down to work on some things. Since then he has been pitching great at AAA. We also received a legit prospect in Tait who we wouldn't have gotten if Painter was in the deal.

In the end all that matters is do we like the trades & for me that is a Yes, with the exception of the Stewart trade.

[Killer Rod Tony]

27 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Baseball to me is a family sport. A wonderful time of watching sons, brothers & nephews playing ball. At tournaments, the family would hang out & have picnics while waiting around. This Varland trade is a perfect example of Falvey's weird analytics. Analytics based on weird philosophies, void of underlying considerations like a pitcher's arm condition or intangibles like a player's impact on the fanbase & clubhouse.

I have advocated the trading of players like Julien, who had reached their maximum trade value & were very expendable. Varland had not reached his maximum trade value & he was very valuable as the closer & foundation of the upcoming BP, which is floundering. We needed LH hitting cOF Roden like we needed a....... I think you get my drift, Rojas is a LHP with potential. The trade was OK, but IMO, we lost that trade even on face value. I can't say that Varland is untouchable, but the other team would have to REALLY blow my socks off. Which wouldn't happen because Varland is much more valuable to us than anybody else.

As a seller, we should have won every trade & some we should have been blown away. But we lost every single trade, maybe not terribly, but nevertheless lost. Most of the players we received were redundant & or irrelevant to impacting this team in the near future, if at all. Varland is one reason why we watch the Twins, his trade is a perfect reason why Falvey shouldn't have been responsible for trading off our players or even running this team. Falvey is the reason why I no longer watch the Twins.

This gentleman wrote correctly. You don't want to have people stop coming because you traded one of their most popular players you know it's supposed to be just about money right? Mr varland put people in a stands. He also has found his niche as a relief picture because he wasn't likely to make it as a starter but he put his heart into it he was so dedicated to wanting to do well for his hometown. Now I see he blew a save in Toronto. I have been a follower of the Minnesota Twins religiously since 1965. Yes we lost these trades look at what Oakland received and returned for Watson versus what we received in return for Duran. I think these other general managers new they could get away with it with Mr Falvey. If they had just stopped Trading before Mr varland was traded this would be almost tolerable because at least you'd have somebody to close the game with. That would make the twins have a chance in the remaining games that's what a big deal your closer is. Only about 15 maybe 20% of the top 100 ever play Major League Baseball so just because you got two for a fantastic Major League player makes no sense you got what you wanted out of that top 100 player or your Triple A player they made it for you the reason why you paid them money of which Mr Varland just makes about minimum wage. And five more years words can't describe what stupid this was. The other general managers are shaking their heads probably for the next year. I tell you what if I was Mr Falvey I would not show my face at the winter meetings it would be so embarrassing. Somehow they have defeated Detroit two out of three. So they're out there picking up available players when Louie was already there doing the job for the least amount of money stupid and MLB television this is the time where you can get more than they're worth from these competing teams well selfie didn't do that not one trade did he get more than the player was worth.

[Twodogs]

My daughter attended the Minnesota Twins baseball camp in Stillwater the week that the trades all happened.  We went to the Tuesday night game against the Red Sox.  After the game was over she waited around to see if she could get a baseball or something.  We were late to the game so she couldn't do any of that beforehand.  Anyway, Louie Varland came out of the clubhouse and signed autographs for the 10 - 11 kids standing around after the game.  I was shocked since he had actually pitched in the game.  I just figured most of those guys would shower up and get the heck out, especially after a loss like that.  My daughter's travel ball team has played in Cooperstown the week before and pin trading is a big thing for the kids there.  She had some of her pins still on her.  When he signed her hat she gave him one of her Cooperstown pins.  He said excitedly, "this is for me??". She said yeah.  Then he said "Cool!". Then went in to the next kid.  Just shows the human side of these guys in a cutthroat business.  Pierson Ohl also signed her hat, it was his first ever start that night and his whole family was out there so it didn't surprise me to see him out there after the game.  But yeah Varland genuinely was a nice dude to the kids.  

[kenneth frank]

It's unbelievable that they traded Varland. He was a growing favorite among the fans and was becoming one of the faces of the MN Twins. if a move like this is going to be made, irregardless of the return, you need to prepare and sell the fan base..., timing is everything. I firmly believe this was a vindictive move orchestrated by the Pohlads aimed at the fans. I cannot believe Falvey would have made this decision without ownership input.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

The Duran trade was the bad trade that set all the other trades in motion. 

All we heard on this site was “Painter for Duran, Painter for Duran” then when it didn’t happen, it’s still a fantastic trade nonetheless. 

Yes, the Varland trade was bad too. 

[mikelink45]

For the same reason I applaud Buxton for staying where he wants to be I have to think about Curt Flood and his stance against a trade that he did not want to participate in.  No matter the callous and objective look at the players as chattel that can be moved and traded whenever and wherever I do think the Varland trade was bad for a team that needs fan loyalty and also needs a shut down arm in the pen.  

We brought Winfield, Morris, Molitor here to finish their careers because of their hometown appeal.  We had Hrbek and then Mauer to keep the local connection.  I do think it adds to the team if the players are, in fact, good and productive. 

[NYCTK]

6 minutes ago, Killer Rod Tony said:

Mr varland put people in a stands.

Ok. This is getting ridiculous. I don't doubt there are a handful of people with personal connection to Varland that went to Twins games with more frequency, but ain't no one else going to games to see a middle reliever. 

I assure you the Twins are not concerned about lower attendance because they traded Louis Varland. 

[hitterscount]

You have to take the emotion out of all of the trades that were made. Every trade should be made with the goal of making the team better, whether immediately or in the future. The strength of the team prior to the trade deadline was the pitching staff. They gutted and dismantled a very serviceable BP. As well as we played during this last road series, there are red flags everywhere with the BP. So back to Varland trade, having a difficult time understanding what value we got out of it…. maybe dumping France, although he could have been DFA’d. We received another LH outfielder, although a superior defensive player over Larnach and Wallner. After trading the other top 4 BP guys this trade made zero sense, unless we were blown away with the return, which wasn’t there. So from a the standpoint of making the team better, it didn’t.

[Wedman13]

16 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Why do we watch the Twins? Is it because they are the best team in baseball or full of superstars? No! We watch them because of the human MN connection. Otherwise, I'd be watching the Dodgers.

You raise a great and interesting question - why do we follow the teams we do?  I don't have the answer.  I think generally it's geography, but sometimes something else, something deeper.  You are right it's a human connection, but generally not to an owner, player, coach, etc.  College sports arguably have the most rabid fan bases, yet kids are there only 3-4 years... (and even less now with the portal)  so it's something bigger than human to human.

regarding the article, I simply think it was a good trade talent wise.  It doesn't matter to me where the player is from.  That's just my opinion.

[Wedman13]

28 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

For the same reason I applaud Buxton for staying where he wants to be I have to think about Curt Flood and his stance against a trade that he did not want to participate in.  No matter the callous and objective look at the players as chattel that can be moved and traded whenever and wherever I do think the Varland trade was bad for a team that needs fan loyalty and also needs a shut down arm in the pen.  

We brought Winfield, Morris, Molitor here to finish their careers because of their hometown appeal.  We had Hrbek and then Mauer to keep the local connection.  I do think it adds to the team if the players are, in fact, good and productive. 

You realize you just put Louis Varland, a set up man's set up man in the same context as Winfield, Morris, Molitor, Hrbek and Mauer?  I must be losing my mind...

[Rufus]

OMG, Twins daily has had some ridiculous articles...but this one takes the cake.  

[Fire Dan Gladden]

What does the public not know?

Trades like this get made, spin is put out by the team to address perception backlash, stories are written about the travesty of the trade, a few days pass and life goes on.

Why was the trade made? What are the real reasons Varland was moved? We-as-fans will probably never know.

[srlarson]

ok..maybe a left handed starter is a good thing....but varland could have moved to the setup man this year, and have the chance to be the closer starting next year...must have been something between him and the front office.....having a closer at league minimum for 5 more years of control would be a huge benefit.....Don't understand this one...but see what this looks like 5 yrs from now....

[chpettit19]

37 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

Why do we watch the Twins? Is it because they are the best team in baseball or full of superstars? No! We watch them because of the human MN connection. Otherwise, I'd be watching the Dodgers.

I have never once in my entire life watched a baseball game because of where a single player was born. If you're just talking players, I watch the Twins more for Byron Buxton than I ever watched for Louie Varland. Byron wasn't born anywhere near MN. Pitchers? I watched far more for Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, or Pablo Lopez starting games. None of them were born in MN, nor did they have any "human MN connection." If you just want to go with the pen, I watched infinitely more in anticipation of seeing Jax strike out the side or Duran throw 100 MPH "splinkers" than Louie Varland. 

The only "human MN connection" I have to the Twins is that my dad was a Twins fan, so I was taught to be a Twins fan. I have multiple friends who are from MN but are fans of teams from other states because that's where their parents are from so it's the teams they watched and were taught to cheer for. My niece and nephew cheer for some Chicago teams and some MN teams despite being from Milwaukee because my sister is from MN and my brother-in-law is from Chicago. Where the players are from have nothing at all to do with my connection to the MN Twins. Does it make Varland, Wallner, or Mauer types cool stories? Absolutely. But it doesn't make me watch any more than if they'd been born anywhere else on the planet. The Twins weren't exactly selling out Target Field because of their 2 home grown players this year. Because, as it turns out, that isn't actually why people watch the Twins or go to games. I'd bet most of the people who've walked through the Target Field gates this year don't even know the Twins had 2 home state players on the roster for most of the year. Because that isn't why they go to the games.

[TopGunn#22]

This article is remarkably similar to one I read on Fansided a couple of days ago.  

I did not like the Varland and Stewart trades at all.  We got way less back for Stewart than we should have.  Straight up, one-for-one for Outman, was a failure on Falvey's part.

As far as Varland.  There is value, and then there's "VALUE."  Roden and Rojas were not bad "value."  They were actually pretty good value.

But when your major league team is loaded with LH hitting OF and a couple of your top prospects are LH hitting OF, you don't need to "settle" for another 2 LH hitting OF in trades that YOU should have the leverage.

After gutting our BP at the deadline, Varland was set to be the closer the rest of the season and if he had preformed reasonably well, the closer for 2026.  In my opinion, getting a chance to see Varland in the closer role the last 2 months held more value to the Twins than either Roden or Rojas. 

We probably don't stand much of a chance to earn a Wild Card THIS season, but now we've got a revolving door of never been's and nobody's trying to close games.  (Michael Tonkin ?!?!?!)  All to add yet another LH hitting OF to the Wallner, Larnach, Jenkins, E-Rod mix that now also has Roden and Outman.  

Once this ownership situation is resolved and a new FO and manager are hired, I expect more wheeling and dealing this winter.  Roden and Outman are both far superior defensive OF to Wallner and Larnach.  Despite Wallner's impressive slugging and OPS numbers he's never come close to the 23 HR's Outman hit in 2023. Wallner just can't stay healthy (and he's a native Minnesotan as well).  I wouldn't be surprised if the Twins traded BOTH Wallner and Larnach and had one of Outman or Roden in the OF to begin 2026 with Jenkins and E-Rod getting closer and closer to becoming big leaguers.  

And I expect there will be a Herculean effort to reconstruct the BP.  But it would have been much better if Varland was closing games for the Twins NOW and would at worst, be the 8th inning guy for whoever the Twins pick up to be their closer in 2026.  Instead, with about 5 minutes to go before the deadline, Falvey, seemingly drunk on "deal making" made a trade that on paper might have been O.K. but in reality was a failure on many other levels.    

[PDX Twin]

I so totally agree with the premise of this article. The Twins seem to ignore the human side of baseball and the human side of their players. It seems like they are just Strat-o-Matic cards: swap them based solely on the spreadsheet.

I found today's Economist quote of the day profound and relevant: "A mind all logic is like a knife all blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it." (From Rabindranath Tagore.) There are a lot of bloody hands in the Twins offices the last few years.