Could Someone—Anyone At All—Give Twins Fans Any Reason To Believe? Please?

[Nick Nelson]

Image courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The bookending results of Minnesota's matchups against the White Sox thus far in 2025 are almost poetic. Back in April, in their first meeting with the reigning worst team ever, the Twins lost 9-0, falling to 0-4 on the season as Chris Paddack was bashed into submission. On Sunday, in their most recent tilt against the Sox — once again destined to finish with the worst record in baseball — the Twins fell 8-0. 

The product on display at "Rate Field" last weekend was simply a joke: one franchise that long ago stopped caring, and another that has freshly and emphatically joined its ranks. The White Sox are a perfect example of the fallacy of low-budget rebuilds — they've been in a perpetual state of non-competitiveness for 20 years, fueled by the false promise of a better future. Their sell-off of superstar assets in the 2010s — "nailing the art of the sale," as Jayson Stark put it — resulted in one division title and two postseason appearances, which went nowhere. At least Chicago now has a future ownership transition in place that could spell real change to their pitiful status quo. For the Twins, not so much.

I've been writing about this team online for 20 years now. My first blog byline was back in 2005. In all that time, I've legitimately never felt this hopeless about the present state and future direction of the franchise. At least the dark days of 2011-16 were coated in the gloss of a still-fresh Target Field, which now sits emptier than it's ever been. 

Believe me, I don't want to feel this way. I generally try to remain upbeat and positive about the team's outlook, which is why I was (perhaps naively) attached to the idea they could turn things around. I believed in the guts of this roster, led by Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis, Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, and a deep bullpen. Maybe not this year, maybe not with this manager or leadership. But the foundation was solid. At least, that's where I stand.

Derek Falvey and the front office ripped it to shreds. They sold off parts and dumped salary to an extreme that spiraled this current roster into unwatchable oblivion while offering no real promise of future improvement — other than to the balance sheet. 

In return, they sell hope. I'm ready to buy! But I don't even see much of an effort to market it from a leadership regime that increasingly reeks of apathy. 

Falvey's empty media quotes, often delivered in friendly and unchallenging environments, offer no more assurance than the sum result of his track record up to this point. The Twins are on their way to missing the playoffs for a fourth time in five years, despite spending as much as any team in the division. On a micro level I tend to understand, if not endorse, the decisions made by this front office (prior to this past deadline). Yet on a macro level, no one can deny that the results have been unacceptable.

Now, we are supposed to take it on faith that this same group of baseball decision-makers and development staffers are the right ones to spearhead the next generation of competitive baseball after the last one was deemed a complete failure and dismantled. 

That's a tough sell, and the toughest part is that they don't even really seem to be trying to make a case. I've seen Falvey pop up for a few bland interviews offering his usual flavor of meaningless corporate babble. No sign of the general manager Jeremy Zoll. Joe Pohlad is better off keeping his mouth shut. Anyone else want to take a shot at explaining the thought process or vision for how this unprecedented talent purge will lead to a better future? 

I guess not, so then we'll let the results speak for themselves. Thus far, they've been almost laughably bad. Alan Roden, James Outman, Mick Abel and Taj Bradley have looked horrible in the MLB action they've seen with the Twins, to a man. Is that meaningful in such a small sample? Not really. But good lord man, with the way fan morale and confidence have been ravaged, it would be great if one of these guys would put forth a remotely competent effort. 

There's nothing here to inspire real hope other than a farm system that's undeniably pretty good. But even that advantage offers faint solace, because the Twins have relentlessly failed to develop top prospects into quality major-league players. Former first-round draft picks and elite minor-league talents like Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Austin Martin, Alex Kirilloff, Edouard Julien and José Miranda have been instrumental in the collapse of this team over the past two years. Whether due to injury, stalled growth or both, the Twins' internal talent pipeline has not paid off as desired in almost every single case. Why expect different? 

The dream of new ownership and a true organizational reset was beaten to a pulp by the Pohlad family's reassertion of control earlier this month. It was a moment that dampened the already fizzling aspirations of fans everywhere, who now find themselves grasping desperately for hope that's nowhere to be found in an aimless franchise devoid of accountable, trustworthy leadership.

Good luck with selling those season tickets.

View full article

[theBOMisthebomb]

The mode of 'just enjoy each game regardless of outcome' and don't worry about the future is my plan. It seems the only reasonable choice to stay grounded. 

We're still watching major league baseball, it's the sport I love. 

[thelanges5]

They have concepts of a plan. 

Be nice to know who the limited partners are. Could they help Joe P with some of the decision making? payroll? Joe and Pablo?

[Whitey333]

Great article Nick.  My sentiments exactly.  This team overall has been a major disappointment during g the Falvey/Baldelli regime.  It's already been nearly 10 years of mostly boring and poor baseball and the  continual philosophy of selling hope and hype instead of good baseball.  They have had only a couple of decent short and small successes relative to Falveys tenure.  After following Twins baseball religiously for over 60 years this has to be about the lowest point in the franchise.  They play the fans as idiots constantly trying to tell us how great the team is and selling the prospects as such a great future.  Then they repeat the process while not developing their prospects as major league good players.   It they are selling they have the number 2 best prospects in baseball. More hope and hype.  More losing and no real direction.  Falvey and Baldelli need to go as do the Pohlads.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Nick, I am very sorry to say this, but I feel the same way that you expressed in your article.  My long, solitary morning walks and my daily workouts, have helped me cope.  

[thelanges5]

Can this quote be trusted?

“I look at a Pablo López- and Joe Ryan-led pitching group,” Falvey said.

[Glorybound]

Well we have Micky Gasper. 3 hit night and game tying home run and threw out a would be base stealer. Not much else to see positive on the horizon. If you have followed the team the last 45 games you well know it’s not just the play on the field that is the problem.

[insagt1]

This season is toast. So 2026 is the 'hope' right now. They are going thru the motions motionless. Buck is into one of his classic slumps that will see his BA drop over 30 points. Thought for sure 30+ HR s was a lock and maybe 80-85 RBI. not anymore. Wallner is hitting long balls but nothing else. Keaschall looks very good. But overall the team is lifeless. CHISOX won't be the worst team this year. (In the AL..yes) Rockies will probably lose 110. Just an overall lousy season. Needs to be over but there is still 4 weeks of bad baseball left.

[Glorybound]

3 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Can this quote be trusted?

“I look at a Pablo López- and Joe Ryan-led pitching group,” Falvey said.

No because I don’t believe they will be with the team in 26. I don’t trust that they will get requisite talent for them in the trades that send them away.

[stringer bell]

Luke Keaschall, Walker Jenkins and maybe K Culpepper as the new, young core. 

[In My La Z boy]

11 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Luke Keaschall, Walker Jenkins and maybe K Culpepper as the new, young core. 

But we are still in the midst of the old/new young core Larnach, Lewis, Wallner, Lee, Jeffers
Can we just flip to the new young core when the old/new young core is still "developing"
What a mess we find ourselves in

[Matthew Taylor]

Good stuff, Nick

[big dog]

One of the interestings things is how they have changed from passive on the basepaths to stupidly aggressive, with slow runners trying to advance and fast runners taking silly chances. Does Baldelli provide any guidance at all, or is it just red light-green light?

 

[Nshore]

"Reason to believe"?  Probably no baseball at all played in 2027.  Probably start costing twice as much to even watch the games on TV.  Pohlads, Falvey, and Baldelli continue their vaudeville show.  And the Twins personnel cut to the bone.  If they were actively trying to destroy interest in baseball here, they couldn't do a better job.

  

[mikelink45]

Your essay is too correct. It's just really hard to see where we're going and everybody in baseball looks to the prospects to be the next great heroes. But you outlined and your essay how we have failed with previous wonderful prospects. What makes us believe that this next group will get here prosper and develop to what we hope they can be? 

 

Perhaps the most puzzling thing to me is how the owners can be so deaf to the fans and their responses I really think it's not just a low point in twins on the field. I think it's going to be really hard the fans back into target field.  

[IndianaTwin]

White Sox, “once again destined for the worst record in baseball.”

Apparently you have lots of hope in the Rockies, given that they are 10 games behind Chicago at this point. 

[bunsen82]

Nick I think you are in the depression stage of the 7 stages of grief.  

Abel had 2-3 great performance in AAA.   Anything at the MLB level is a work in progress.  I think Lee is closer to a .260 to .270 hitter as he figures things out but lets look at August.  He has a .238/.326/.413 slash line for a .739 OPS.  Is there room for improvement.  Absolutely.  Is that a massive improvement on what we have see absolutely.  He is a +.7 War since the trade deadline.  He is not someone I am giving up at all on.  His approach is so much better.  He is learning weak contact is bad contact, and walks are just as good as a hit and he is having so great at bats.  10 or 11 pitches on an at bat with the White Sox the other day.  

Lee, Keaschall and Buxton is your core moving forward.  Lewis we need to find out what he gives us.  There is a lot of hope out there,  currently you just don't want to see it.  Its understandable.   

[Woof Bronzer]

1 minute ago, bunsen82 said:

 

Lee, Keaschall and Buxton is your core moving forward.  Lewis we need to find out what he gives us.  There is a lot of hope out there,  currently you just don't want to see it.  Its understandable.   

If Lee, Keaschall, and Buxton are the core of a team it's a 90 loss team minimum, probably closer to 100 losses.  

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, theBOMisthebomb said:

The mode of 'just enjoy each game regardless of outcome' and don't worry about the future is my plan. It seems the only reasonable choice to stay grounded. 

We're still watching major league baseball, it's the sport I love. 

Last night was 2 1/2 hours of the pure emotional rollercoaster that a fun game brings.. exasperating first inning with a glimmer, concerned middle innings with little pitching or hitting, and a flash at the end, compete with a great play by Gasper and the subsequent heroics as the first batter up in the next inning..

Micro enjoyment.. it's still valid. 

[bunsen82]

2 minutes ago, Woof Bronzer said:

If Lee, Keaschall, and Buxton are the core of a team it's a 90 loss team minimum, probably closer to 100 losses.  

Keaschall at 3-5 WAR Buxton at 3 WAR and Lee at 2 WAR you can build an offense around.  You have solid starters in Ryan, Lopez and Ober plus 5 other starters to fill the last 2 spots.  This isn't a 90 or 100 loss team.  You can't be running Martin, Julien and Gasper out there regularly (even with Gaspers 3 hit night).  

[TheLeviathan]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

Luke Keaschall, Walker Jenkins and maybe K Culpepper as the new, young core. 

Plus a top 5 pick.  The last time we had that we netted 2 out of these 3 guys.

[TheLeviathan]

Good article, the vibes should be pissed off.  

It all starts with this ownership group.  They employ Falvey.  They employ St. Peter.  They've been the ones f$@%@$ing up our experience as fans for my entire life.

It's hard to have hope for the future when the status quo doesn't change.

[ladrossetwin]

I am depressed about what has happened with this team. What is needed is not words it is actions this off season, ie. retain Lopez Ryan and Ober then use savings from dumping Correa to fill openings like1B backup catcher and bullpen  

[DEVA]

I don't remember a Twin's team being this boring. They've been bad before, but it seems like there was always something to get excited about. Molitor as coach, new stadium, Mientkiewicz flirting with 400 briefly. This team has nothing. 

 

[In My La Z boy]

34 minutes ago, Patzky said:

Last night was 2 1/2 hours of the pure emotional rollercoaster that a fun game brings.. exasperating first inning with a glimmer, concerned middle innings with little pitching or hitting, and a flash at the end, compete with a great play by Gasper and the subsequent heroics as the first batter up in the next inning..

Micro enjoyment.. it's still valid. 

I went from "we are the worst team in baseball" to "oh my, maybe we have a chance" all in the same game. I love baseball. I just want to play well and watch some good baseball. C'mon!

[jmlease1]

57 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Your essay is too correct. It's just really hard to see where we're going and everybody in baseball looks to the prospects to be the next great heroes. But you outlined and your essay how we have failed with previous wonderful prospects. What makes us believe that this next group will get here prosper and develop to what we hope they can be? 

 

Perhaps the most puzzling thing to me is how the owners can be so deaf to the fans and their responses I really think it's not just a low point in twins on the field. I think it's going to be really hard the fans back into target field.  

Seriously. It's really a shocker how staggeringly tone-deaf the organization has been over the past 2 seasons. Starting with the "right-sizing" of payroll it's been blunder after blunder, a textbook case in how not to speak or act about your franchise. (If I were a marketing major in need of a capstone project, a "What Not to Do" about the MN Twins would be a slam dunk.)

I can't think of a single statement from ownership that has been well-received since 2023, except for them saying they were putting the team up for sale. (which if course, was a bait & switch) Every public comment from the front office has been meaningless pablum. Rocco almost seems life-like in comparison, but as team spokesperson he hasn't done well either. (not that he's got much to work with with the team struggling so much)

They've bungled their media rights, and compounded their lack of foresight and ability to negotiate with a staggering inability to communicate effectively with fans about it. FFS, even once they finally pulled the plug on Bally they still couldn't get their act together so people knew how to watch games until the last minute, and were incommunicado throughout.

Everything from them screams cluelessness or disinterest. Their most recent public statement look like they were written by AI, not an actual human with any connection of compassion for fans.

There are some players on this team and prospects that could make it worth watching, and even possibly turn the ship around more quickly than seems likely with the frequently lifeless product we're getting right now...but the leadership has given us no reason to believe in them. The Pohlads are prioritizing their bottom line (again). We don't even know who the new partners are, and there's little reason to believe they'll get a real voice, especially if 3rd Generation Joe is still calling the shots. Falvey handled the sell-off in callous fashion and then didn't have the courage to really stand up behind it.  While I don't have the built-in hate for Rocco that some do...what has he done recently to instill any additional faith that things are going in the right direction? Or calm the waters after a massive sell-off?

Worst part is, ownership does not care.

[Reptevia]

“Trust me Bro”!- Pohlads/Falvey, probably. 

[Rod Carews Birthday]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

Your essay is too correct. It's just really hard to see where we're going and everybody in baseball looks to the prospects to be the next great heroes. But you outlined and your essay how we have failed with previous wonderful prospects. What makes us believe that this next group will get here prosper and develop to what we hope they can be? 

 

Perhaps the most puzzling thing to me is how the owners can be so deaf to the fans and their responses I really think it's not just a low point in twins on the field. I think it's going to be really hard the fans back into target field.  

This is all very well said.  I would only add that usually the “new core” doesn’t replace the “old core” in the out with old and in with the new sense. .  The new core usually comes in to supplement the old core who provides guidance/leadership/production, then as the new core develops, it displaces the old core as they phase out. The problem is that there is no old core left to slowly displace.  In the Twins’ case, they are starting from scratch or ground zero in terms of remaining talent.  

I’m afraid that barring some big changes or an absurd amount of fortunate luck, we’re looking at several years of wandering in the desert.  

[Fire Dan Gladden]

Good lord, are we really panicking about the upcoming youth based off of an extremely small sample size?

I am as ticked off about the current situation with the Twins as anyone, I do not need to retread the last 18 months here, especially how the trade deadline was handled. But this is not the mid-90's. The cupboard is not bare.

You can sit here on the comment board and continue to wail and moan about the current status of the Twins. You can complain about Falvey, Rocco, anyone else you want to blame for the current situation. Feel free to live in a world of negativity (beware that studies show that negative people have shorter life spans). I have barely touched the articles and comments over the last three weeks here because it is a broken record. The same stories spouting the same tone. The same people post the same old comments regardless of whatever the story content is.

The Pohlads do not care about the fans. They do not care about the product. They treat the team as a business, not a social responsibility. You need to accept this and move on. You need to accept the fact that winning is nowhere near the top priority for the organization right now. Winning will not even be on the radar until after the new CBA. All of the b**ching and complaining will not change that.

The past is the past. I advise you to enjoy the game for what it is right now. Be excited for Keaschall and Lee showing some life. Be excited to see Buxton be healthy and finally play like everyone expects him to. Be excited to know that there is a young crop of potential SP that could lead this team back to contention fairly quickly. Be excited to know there are still 3-4 players coming up in the next 12 months that could re-vitalize this team.

(The sad part is that the same people will read this comment, thumbs-down it, and say the Twins have need to fire Rocco and Falvey before anything good can happen with the younger players and the team, entirely missing the point of this comment.)

[Woof Bronzer]

1 minute ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

The past is the past. I advise you to enjoy the game for what it is right now. Be excited for Keaschall and Lee showing some life. Be excited to see Buxton be healthy and finally play like everyone expects him to. Be excited to know that there is a young crop of potential SP that could lead this team back to contention fairly quickly. Be excited to know there are still 3-4 players coming up in the next 12 months that could re-vitalize this team.

Thanks for the advice!  I'll be whatever fan I want to be though.  Enjoy the losing!