Derek Falvey’s Pitch for Hope in Twins Territory

[old nurse]

53 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

By the way, Brock Stewart is undergoing season ending shoulder debridement surgery. I think he’s pitched 4 innings for the Dodgers. Kind of explains why we don’t get much for him. More importantly, it now seems unlikely that he’ll be on the 40 man there so he might be available for next year. 

The only place a high value was placed on Stewart was by people on this site. 

[ashbury]

I look for the little moments in a friendly interview, when a competent and experienced public speaker starts to let down his guard and then catches himself.

"...going through some pains and moments in time."  No one speaks like that on purpose.  Moments in time, LOL.  He shifted gears mid-sentence. 

I don't know exactly what deeper truth he was about to divulge - probably that 2026 is gonna suck again in terms of wins.  But you could practically hear himself mutter, "oops, almost said the quiet part out loud."

[jorgenswest]

2 hours ago, Permanent Twins Fan said:

Did Falvey actually mention Lopez and Ryan, or was it inferred? If he did mention them it could mean that the Twins might not be actively looking to trade them this offseason.

From Inside Twins transcript

Quote

 “But if he's (Lopez) healthy and he's performing, and he's our anchor, and then Joe Ryan following that, Bailey Ober needs to get back on track to where we need him to. And then these young pitchers we just talked about.

To me, it's still a core of the team. We just talked about Cleveland. What they're doing right now, how they're winning games, it roots in pitching.”

From Minnesota Twins Podcast: Inside Twins: 9/21/25, Sep 21, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minnesota-twins-podcast/id902524292?i=1000727756362&r=832
This material may be protected by copyright.

Quote

“When they come, they will be a different player next February because of that. And I think that there's a lot of good talent out there that can change a game. I think about, you know, we still haven't talked about Byron Buxton or Joe Ryan or others that are still part of this core that I want to continue to build around.

So I feel really good about the group that we have at the base, and we'll see how the rest of the offseason shakes out going forward.”

From Minnesota Twins Podcast: Inside Twins: 9/21/25, Sep 21, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minnesota-twins-podcast/id902524292?i=1000727756362&r=1247
This material may be protected by copyright.

 

[tony&rodney]

Falvey gets pretty excited about a winning percentage below .400, which is very difficult to actually accomplish. Seems like that might be the goal for next year.

[JADBP]

At some point he had to stand up and take an interview.  That trade deadline trading frenzy needed an explanation.  Sadly, he stood up and said ….well, nothing.  Maybe he just said “just trust me.”  Hoping that it was even remotely possible.  
 

I believe that once he started trading, and the other teams picked up on it, they all jumped on him proposing any sort of trade. It became a feeding frenzy. And Falvey just kept taking those calls.
 

I can’t believe he didn’t trade Ryan almost as much as I can’t believe he did trade Varland! Because Varland is an excellent young pitcher just coming into his own in the Biggs.  So if we want to believe all this youth movement BS, then why did he trade Varland?  That trade was an abomination. 
 

so how can we trust him?  

[sweetmusicviola16]

This 2025 version of the Twins is the team that Falvey built. But we're just supposed to ignore that matter of fact. He should be fired.

[Linus]

I’m excited for 2027-28. we should have a drastically different lineup which will be faster and better in the field. Hopefully some of this pitching pans out as I believe Ryan and López will be traded by then. 
 

Next year could be rough if we are just running it back. 

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, Linus said:

I’m excited for 2027-28. we should have a drastically different lineup which will be faster and better in the field. Hopefully some of this pitching pans out as I believe Ryan and López will be traded by then. 
 

Next year could be rough if we are just running it back. 

There has to be some changes to improve the defense, speed, and hitting through roster moves. 

Next year will almost surely be rough but with a more athletic, better fielding team there could be some excitement. This might be similar to the 1984-85 teams.

Running it back again can not be an option.

None of the decisions will need to include a team roster budget above $110M, which removes financial concerns from the table.

[LastOnePicked]

Again, this has become an insular, coddled organization filled with yes men and third-tier talent. Without a doubt, this team will lose 95+ games in 2026. Just be honest, Derek. This is a total teardown. Tell fans to come out to the park because it won't be crowded and they'll get to see a lot of young players try to establish themselves as big leaguers. But the nonsense has got to stop.

[twinsfansd]

How can any of you have any fun at all watching your team play baseball while you are so negative. I like to take the hopeful perspective. I feel so much better about it. There really are a lot of good young players who will continue to get better. I know there will be plenty to be frustrated about going forward, but hopefully more good than bad.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

6 hours ago, JADBP said:

At some point he had to stand up and take an interview. That trade deadline trading frenzy needed an explanation.

I am guessing he thought he would go off and execute all those trades, and then come back to a hero’s welcome. He would do all the usual interviews, the local media would be friendly as usual, and everyone would tell him how great he did. Instead, it was the opposite. And it was a shock. So he went silent for a while. Just a guess. 

 

[Major League Ready]

I don't think a real candid answer would have gone over very well with the players and manager.  He could have said our big acquisition (Correa was very mediocre.  Larnach regressed and we just need to wait for Walker Jenkins to fill that spot.  Lewis was below average, and we need to hope he fulfils his potential or move on.  Wallner has many holes in his game.  We will audition a host of good prospects for his spot.  Pablo only pitched 75 innings.  Hopefully he is healthy next year.  Ober was bad but we have guys that will be here soon that should be better than him.  We will finally get Vasquez out of the lineup next year.  Pereda can't be any worse and showed some potential.  Maybe we can get a good back-up in free agency.  Lee is too slow to be a major league SS and we hope Culpepper will be here by June.

What should he have said?  I suppose it would make people happy if he said I put together a roster of players that have not performed but it wouldn't go over to big with the players and also would be a good way to sell even less tickets.   

[Killer Rod Tony]

On 9/26/2025 at 2:20 PM, Doctor Gast said:

LOL! How can he believe that anyone falls for that BS anymore, besides the Pohlads? Falvey has failed on so many levels. They can't develop, have terrible philosophy, terrible player evaluation in all aspects (like in trades, needs & position players), can't initiate an essential trade, say one thing, do another, so players have no idea what they are doing, that plus not being able to put together a competitive team, the club culture is bad. 

There is no way they can put together a competitive team in '26 or anytime soon. There is no hope as long as he is at the helm. Only when they change management can we start to have hope, 

If Mr Falvey is true to his word then to give 2026 a real hopeful season then they would not even consider trading either of their two top pitchers because if they do there are no suitable Replacements on the roster with any history of success even though there's some guys on the roster like this last week of the Season that have pitched incredibly well but you can't base one game on how they will perform with no record of real success as of yet so if you want to accomplish that like you say Mr Falvey then you can't trade those guys then you have to replace the best half of the bullpen and that's not going to be totally cheap. Baseball doesn't work in such a way that everybody with potential can pop up to the Major Leagues and get the job done not everybody's going to make it so you got to trade for somebody that you need.

[Killer Rod Tony]

On 9/26/2025 at 12:25 PM, ziggy said:

Hope is all he has to has to sell right now.

The Twins are a bottom 5 team right now.

Every team has a Cullpepper, a Jenkins and many hopefuls in the minors 'just waiting in the wings'.

But only the Twins have a Gasper and Davis battery on the roster. 

Another comment on this is the pitching staff needs an earn running average of around 3.00 because going into the next season with the batting averages that this team has stealing bases is essential because the guys throwing the baseball know when they get on the mound they're going to lose some wins and all teams are going to lose some wins after a good pitching performance but this team loses more timely hitting is rarely there so go in the next season with the same bunch and you're going to have the same problem. These are great young men however but it's about results.

[Riverbrian]

22 hours ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

I think that’s at least starting to happen. I expect Keaschall, Lee, Martin, and Roden to all be in the bigs most of next year. Fedko, Ohl, Adams, and Matthews all have a real chance to do the same and I expect Jenkins and Culpeper to be up by July. Rodriguez and Gonzalez also have a shot. I wish we had more particularly at SS and C. 

It's good to see... However with all the expiring contracts (except one) dealt away. There is no choice at the moment. The vets were dealt. Having no other choice isn't a strong commitment. 

It is still possible that the Twins sign 6 or 7 low dollar one year deals this off-season. When they choose youth... instead of signing Ty France or Jonah Bride or IKF. That's when we know it's starting to happen. 

The current evidence isn't heart warming. Only Vazquez's contract is expiring. Back from injury and he's getting the reps. Pereda nope.

In other words. The only place they could choose... they chose the expiring vet. 

[Jayred]

The Twins have been in a youth movement for 30 years.  Having a highly rated farm system is meaningless if the goal is to win a world series.  You need to spend money and get good players.  A coach that knows baseball and doesn't just read a spreadsheet also helps.  Falvey has been terrible since day 1.  As long as he and Rocco are in charge, there is no hope for this team.

[Whitey333]

Typical Falvey BS although i guess what do you expect him to say?  That's all he is a salesman with a worn out refrain.  All he sells is hope and hype, over hype

[TNtwins85]

18 hours ago, JADBP said:

At some point he had to stand up and take an interview.  That trade deadline trading frenzy needed an explanation.  Sadly, he stood up and said ….well, nothing.  Maybe he just said “just trust me.”  Hoping that it was even remotely possible.  
 

I believe that once he started trading, and the other teams picked up on it, they all jumped on him proposing any sort of trade. It became a feeding frenzy. And Falvey just kept taking those calls.
 

I can’t believe he didn’t trade Ryan almost as much as I can’t believe he did trade Varland! Because Varland is an excellent young pitcher just coming into his own in the Biggs.  So if we want to believe all this youth movement BS, then why did he trade Varland?  That trade was an abomination. 
 

so how can we trust him?  

Varland is not young. Soon to be 28. They got Roden who despite his small sample size with the Twins was a top 10 prospect for the Jays who put up a career minor league line of 302/409/457 with solid BB/K ratios. They also got Rojas who is an exciting lefty who put up video game numbers up until his  one start with AAA Buffalo and 8 starts with the Saints after the deadline. Those 2 guys for a RP? I call that a win in the baseball trade world if one takes emotion out of the picture. The more time goes on the better these trades are looking if we’re being honest. As far as Falvey goes, if he keeps Lopez, Ryan, Jeffers then we know he’s not lying. Even if he trades one of them for close to MLB talent or actual high end MLB talent that still holds true. 

[Russ]

You want Falvey to fix what he created?

[TNtwins85]

1 hour ago, Major League Ready said:

I don't think a real candid answer would have gone over very well with the players and manager.  He could have said our big acquisition (Correa was very mediocre.  Larnach regressed and we just need to wait for Walker Jenkins to fill that spot.  Lewis was below average, and we need to hope he fulfils his potential or move on.  Wallner has many holes in his game.  We will audition a host of good prospects for his spot.  Pablo only pitched 75 innings.  Hopefully he is healthy next year.  Ober was bad but we have guys that will be here soon that should be better than him.  We will finally get Vasquez out of the lineup next year.  Pereda can't be any worse and showed some potential.  Maybe we can get a good back-up in free agency.  Lee is too slow to be a major league SS and we hope Culpepper will be here by June.

What should he have said?  I suppose it would make people happy if he said I put together a roster of players that have not performed but it wouldn't go over to big with the players and also would be a good way to sell even less tickets.   

He’s now got guys waiting in the wings at all positions. If the lineup fails he’s got guys to plug in. If he keeps the SP’s they’re solid there with depth behind them. The bullpen… sure you’ve got some guys auditioning there and some guys that can be converted during the season to step in. That’s going to be the big question mark. Bring in a FA or two, a bunch of non roster invites and maybe one or two stick, transition a couple minor league guys there and see what happens and that’s your bullpen. He’s flipping a coin and that’s bullpens really in general for most teams. Will he keep his word and does his belief in this team match reality? I guess we’ll see. He knows more about these guys than we do. Is he lying with corporate speak? 2026 will tell us. 

[Brandon]

The youth movement will consume the 2026 season too.  We have too many holes in the pen.  In fact we have a solid mop up reliever Tonkin, a 6th inning (Topa) and 7th inning maybe 8th (Sands).  There isn’t another reliable reliever you can count on right now.  
 

We have 3 OF and a SS coming up next year so reinforcements are on the way.  The Twins need one or two of their starting pitchers to develop Then it comes down to the bench.  The Twins have been good at finding solid offense off the bench.  Hope that trend continues.  Happy that Vazquez contract comes off the books.  I bet payroll sits at 90 million next season.  I wonder who the Twins are planning to bring in next year.  

[Twodogs]

Since Falvey left Cleveland, they have played baseball at 141 games over .500.  At what point in time do we realize that he wasn't the genius behind Cleveland's success.  The Twins fans are pinning their "Hope" on this guy.  I don't see it getting considerably better until he is gone.  I don't think it's the players, it's the leadership that has let us down thus far.  

[JD-TWINS]

On 9/26/2025 at 2:54 PM, The Great Hambino said:

Keep fighting the good fight, jorgenswest.  I hope you're right, for all our sakes, but especially yours

But I gotta ask: did he even attempt to address the bullpen situation?

What’s he supposed to say about the PEN?

Write us the “proper statement”. ?????…….

”……,we need to strengthen the PEN both with internal options and  by exploring the Free Agent market……” Just as basic & empty as saying nothing.

People at TD (many to most) thinking that any professional sports organization owes its fans details of the specifics on personnel plans is nuts. The bullpen obviously has to be addressed. Until a budget is established by (the real problem) OWNERSHIP, there’s no plan that can be discussed nor implemented.

Prielipp - Rojas - Funderburk are all lefties that can be in the mix.

Sands - Topa - Adams - Matthews - Festa - Raya are all in the mix. ………Seems Abel & Bradley, their pedigrees, gets them more in line for the rotation mix.

Coulombe - Thielbar are 1 year guys (1 of them) to consider as FA’s that are effective & affordable………Thielbar is having an excellent year with 60 plus appearances and a .86 WHIP  & 2.37 ERA……currently $2.75M/yr …….bring him back home for $3.6M??

SWR - Ryan - Lopez - Ober - Bradley/Abel in rotation seems pretty probable.

To me, the fate of Matt Wallner and how he gets fixed or tracking in a better direction is a big key for what direction/how the position players shake out.

Lewis - Lee - Keaschall - Larnach - Martin - Buxton - Jeffers - Wallner ………. couple FA’s that have offensive track record can help supplement the coming of Gonzalez - Jenkins - Rodriguez. Clemens is “maybe” a 13th guy on the roster in April………next 4 months will be enlightening.

[JD-TWINS]

2 hours ago, TNtwins85 said:

Varland is not young. Soon to be 28. They got Roden who despite his small sample size with the Twins was a top 10 prospect for the Jays who put up a career minor league line of 302/409/457 with solid BB/K ratios. They also got Rojas who is an exciting lefty who put up video game numbers up until his  one start with AAA Buffalo and 8 starts with the Saints after the deadline. Those 2 guys for a RP? I call that a win in the baseball trade world if one takes emotion out of the picture. The more time goes on the better these trades are looking if we’re being honest. As far as Falvey goes, if he keeps Lopez, Ryan, Jeffers then we know he’s not lying. Even if he trades one of them for close to MLB talent or actual high end MLB talent that still holds true. 

Generally, I agree completely.

I didn’t like trading Varland (3-4 more years of control) but Rojas seems to be a worthwhile risk to take for your 3rd/4th best reliever. ……. Roden seems like another AAAA guy, IMO.

Abel & Bradley are both upside guys along with Rojas. The odds of 2 of them being productive are pretty strong!

Complaining about “all the trades” is just emotional nonsense due to a terrible outcome to the season. Understandable. Can’t abandon logic though, as you point out.

Paddack - Coulombe - Bader - Castro were all getting traded if not competitive enough at deadline. All impending FA’s. Dobnack was always up for trade for 2-3 years. That’s 5 of the eleven guys. Stewart has always been an injury waiting to happen - went to LA & then got put in IL within 2-3 weeks…… FO took a flyer on Outman. Can’t argue that with his fragile physique…….getting off Correa made sense!

Duran - Jax - Varland were all tough to see go but the returns were at least reasonable even if not embraced by fans.

[bean5302]

I don't think anybody cares about any of the specific trades. It's the combination of all the trades gutting the entire bullpen. It's a strategy Falvey employed and watched blow up in his face a few years ago as well.

[JD-TWINS]

3 hours ago, Jayred said:

The Twins have been in a youth movement for 30 years.  Having a highly rated farm system is meaningless if the goal is to win a world series.  You need to spend money and get good players.  A coach that knows baseball and doesn't just read a spreadsheet also helps.  Falvey has been terrible since day 1.  As long as he and Rocco are in charge, there is no hope for this team.

“You need to spend money & get good players”

Spending money at “a reasonable rate” (i.e. $154M in ‘23) is a pretty big factor in getting the players. The GM/President doesn’t decide on the spend level of an organization. If $$ spent went the right direction, modestly, in ‘24, the results of last 2 years would have been different (4-4.5%/yr.)……….imagine if payroll increased $7M/yr each year since ……… $161M & $168M the past 2 seasons. They are more likely to be above .500 at deadline, and trades of relievers don’t happen at end of July and Team is giving Guardians & Tigers problems.

Can’t reduce spending from $150M (‘22) - $156M (‘23) - $130M (‘24) - $138M (‘25) & expect a bunch of positive moves from the GM.

[David Maro]

How about I did the best I could and resign. As long as you and Rocco remain this is 4th or 5th place team in the central. You have taken prospect after prospect and failed again and again. It is well past time to move on. It has become a unwatchable team with you at the helm.

[EGFTShaw]

On 9/26/2025 at 2:17 PM, Sjoski said:

"The foundation remains strong"???

If you compare the 1986 team that turned it around to win a World Series with the 2025 team!??

From the :

 A) Players: Puckett, Gaetti, Hrbek, Gagne, Viola,  Blyleven, etc, etc vs Buxton, Lewis,  Lee,  Pablo, Ryan, etc

B) Front Office:  Andy MacPhail vs Falvey

C) Manager: TK vs Rocco 

I see little to no potential for a 1987 like turn around for the Minnesota Twins in 2026. 

 

Technically it was a return to the top of the Central vs a WS, but I get your point.

I don't remember that feeling regarding the Twins after the 85 season, but it sure wasn't WS hope.

That said, I ponder how we can develop pitchers, which we never could do very well, but we seem to fall flat on our faces with the hitters.

I don't see that kind of turn around.  But if they don't sell off the proven assets, then they have a decent floor for competing in the Central.

For a WS appearance to happen, a lot of things must change AND go right, and quite frankly the Germans have outlawed miracles. (ripped off from Casablanca)

 

On 9/27/2025 at 9:34 AM, Riverbrian said:

FIX YOUR DAMN DEVELOPMENT NOW

This
This
This

I am OK so far with the pitching development pipeline, but the other side.

How do we take hitters who rake in every level of the minors and not coach them into at LEAST MLB average players.

I am SHOCKED.  Shocked there is lack of player development here (another rip off from Casablanca)

 

[Riverbrian]

11 minutes ago, EGFTShaw said:

Technically it was a return to the top of the Central vs a WS, but I get your point.

I don't remember that feeling regarding the Twins after the 85 season, but it sure wasn't WS hope.

That said, I ponder how we can develop pitchers, which we never could do very well, but we seem to fall flat on our faces with the hitters.

I don't see that kind of turn around.  But if they don't sell off the proven assets, then they have a decent floor for competing in the Central.

For a WS appearance to happen, a lot of things must change AND go right, and quite frankly the Germans have outlawed miracles. (ripped off from Casablanca)

 

This
This
This

I am OK so far with the pitching development pipeline, but the other side.

How do we take hitters who rake in every level of the minors and not coach them into at LEAST MLB average players.

I am SHOCKED.  Shocked there is lack of player development here (another rip off from Casablanca)

 

If they don't get serious about development... they are going to regret it... maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but soon and for the rest of their lives. 

I'm no good at being noble but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of 3 baseball players doesn't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world of rebuilding this roster. 

[LA Vikes Fan]

On 9/28/2025 at 6:13 AM, Riverbrian said:

It's good to see... However with all the expiring contracts (except one) dealt away. There is no choice at the moment. The vets were dealt. Having no other choice isn't a strong commitment. 

It is still possible that the Twins sign 6 or 7 low dollar one year deals this off-season. When they choose youth... instead of signing Ty France or Jonah Bride or IKF. That's when we know it's starting to happen. 

The current evidence isn't heart warming. Only Vazquez's contract is expiring. Back from injury and he's getting the reps. Pereda nope.

In other words. The only place they could choose... they chose the expiring vet. 

You may be right, but I hope not. I'm not sure the catching situation is the litmus test given that Preda is a 29 year old career minor leaguer who will be 30 in April. Choosing him would be akin to choosing to play Outman and Fitzgerald a lot with the idea that they would be big contributors next year.  The main reason we haven't promoted a young catcher is we don't have one ready to promote. 

You absolutely right about the off season. The team will have failed if we sign a bunch of Ty France or IKF types to play a lot. If we're going youth, go youth wherever you can while keeping a few vets to build around. Keep Buxton, Pablo, Ryan, Ober, Jeffers, Sands, and (probably) Topa, and then add 1 or 2 veteran relievers. Go young everywhere else you can. Promote Roden and play him and Martin most every day until they show they can't cut it. Martin's .282/.374/.365(.739) slash line in his first real taste of starting in MLB, along with his improving defense, sure makes it look like he can be one of the top 4 OFs on a good team. Give Roden the same shot - the man hit .321/.423/.556 in AAA in 2025, after having an .916 OPS in AAA in 2024, and he can play a passable CF behind Buxton so we don't have to keep guys we know can't hit like Kiersey and Outman as more than AAA depth. Promote Jenkins and Gonzalez early; they've earned it, especially Gonzalez. Give Fedko a real shot in ST to win the RH hitting 1B/OF job and play him with Clemens at 1B (Clemens only because we don't have anyone else unless Wallner or LArnach moves to 1B). If you're going to keep vets like Outman and Fitzgerald, they ride the bench until someone at AAA is ready like Eeles, Culpeper, Jenkins or Gonzalez, and then they are gone. Let's lean into rebuilding with youth and creating a new core. Let's not go half-assed about it.   

I do think Catcher may be the one exception after watching the starting pitching dramatically improve the second Vasquez and Jeffers came back. It may just be that we were playing scrub lineups or teams that didn't care he last week, but you have to notice that Vasquez comes back and we get 6 quality starts in row with him behind the plate for 4 of them, including Ryan and Matthews' best starts in a month. Coincidence? Timing? Maybe, but it may be that he has that effect on pitchers. I've read that Ryan really likes pitching to him; might be an incentive for Ryan to stick around with a good attitude. I expect Vasquez back next year on a one-year deal, and that he and Jeffers will be the catching tandem again in 2026. I just hope Vasquez can hit .210 with an over .600 OPS. Hell, at .225 with a .650 OPS he's a solid backup.