The Twins' Reluctance to Rebuild, and Whether It Will Remain This Winter

[Brandon]

I think the Twins plan revolves around many young and inexperienced players.  Keaschal, Wallner, Lee, Martin, Gonzales, Jenkins, E Rod, Culpepper, and eventually Tait at C.  and also young pitchers, Woods- Richardson, Festa, Matthews, Abel, Preliepp, Rojas, Morris, Ohi and others are all at or near the league minimum.  The question is are we better off trading the few vets we have for even more prospects as we could use more pitching prospects.  Having all of this low-cost talent will keep payroll low for the next 4 seasons as we develop the next wave of prospects.  

[NYCTK]

1 hour ago, terrydactyls said:

Ticket and merchandise sales?  Should I buy season tickets?  Build fan interest?  Being honest/transparent for a change?

You've been given plenty of information. We know they are in what is at a minimum a one-year rebuilding period. 

Use that information to make your ticket and merchandise purchase decisions. You don't need to see their financial statements in order to make these sorts of decisions. 

[NYCTK]

15 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

False. Completely, totally, epically false. Pressly was having a fine season in 2018 and anyone paying attention (like Houston) could see the potential emerging into performance. 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pressry01.shtml

And BTW, it's Pressly. 

He had a 1.303 WHIP and 3.71 FIP with the Twins with one more season of control. They screwed up, but the trade made sense and this wasn't some egregious error at the time. They failed to tap the full potential of a player. It happens. 

[NYCTK]

18 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

And BTW, it's Pressly. 

This, this is a pet peeve, but how do so many people here get seemingly every single name wrong?

You get Keirsey wrong? I get it, he's one of the worst players in franchise history and he hasn't really earned the respect of remembering how to spell his name. Keaschall? It's a bit tougher, but hopefully is a very important name and you should learn it.

But come on people. You have to spell their name right to look at their BBRef page, so spell it right here. 

[Brock O. Lee]

I think the point being made here is that not rebuilding has not worked. Each of the teams in the AL Central cannot be perennial greats because they don't have the finances to sustain it, so they have to ebb and flow and pool their talent for competitive windows separated by lean years. The Twins have certainly had lean years, arguably interrupted by competitive windows, but not obviously because of Falvey's strategy, but just because baseball is weird and sometimes you get lucky. The thing about the trade deadline deals that irked me is there I couldn't identify the year the team planned to rebound. With so many near-ready pitchers and AAAA outfielders in the mix, it would seem to be 2026, but then you can't field a competitive team with a trash heap bullpen, can you?

And folks are right that Falvey has never attempted a rebuild, but the team has never been in this situation. The writing was on the wall two years ago when the payroll was "rightsized". The Pohlads had already blown their wad, realized two years later than everyone else that the commercial real estate bubble had happened, and needed to set the team on an unprecedented trajectory. The pity is that the rebuild didn't start sooner. But it certainly needs to continue now. Unless ownership can let the cash flow, this team needs to ebb. 

[Doctor Gast]

Even after that major sell-off, we still have a good core to build on, but it's nothing compared to what we had prior. There are 3 ways we can build off a core: #1 development, #2 trade & #3 FA, with a great system of player evaluation to help maximize every avenue. The best & cheapest way is development, preparing players for MLB & helping them to adapt once they arrive. Twins have a great wealth of redundant & hyped-up players that should be traded to fill holes & add depth to the roster. We are not a NY or LA team where we have a ton of money to burn on FA, so FA is not a real option to depend on. Yet there is where the Twins depend on. If only we had the money on that big pitcher or that big bat to target. We just have to trade off good assets, so we can afford a FA, (IMO, Falvey tends to overpay for players he targets) is not good business. 

We failed to build off our '23 core because we failed to develop, we failed in trading to fill our needs & our faulty player evaluation system failed to locate needs, finding the player to promote, trade or sign. So if we failed to build off the '23 core, how can we build off this fractured one? I'm not saying we need to rebuild. Because Falvey will be responsible for trading away Ryan, Lopez & Buxton; also in the development. I'm saying, for this team to improve, Falvey has to be removed from this equation somehow.

[IndianaTwin]

4 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

I don’t think rebuilding is about selling as much as it is about building. In order to rebuild they need the building blocks and you need to use them. They also need a foundation to build upon.

After the midseason trades no one has more FV45 or better prospects than the Twins. they have 16. That doesn’t include the recent graduates like Keaschall, Martin, Lee, Bradley, Woods Richardson, Festa, Matthews and even Wallner, Lewis and Julien. That is a full roster of players with upside and prospect pedigree. They are the building blocks. Adding more only diminishes their ability to provide opportunities.

The second piece is the opportunity. They need to use these blocks. It may be a roller coaster of their first 1500 plate appearances. They are going to need a manager that will put them in the line up over the decline phase team friendly contract veteran.

The third piece that helps is a foundation. They need a veteran presence from which to build. That veteran presence needs to be established starters and not aging veterans on the bench.

The Twins have the three elements they need to build.

1. They have the prospect pool.
2. They have the playing time opportunity.
3. They have the foundation in Ryan, Lopez, Buxton and Jeffers.

Yes, let's combine this with the mathematical concepts outlined by @Riverbrian above. 

• Correa: $10M
• Lopez and Buxton: $36.9M
• Higher-dollar arb guys (Ober, Jeffers, Ryan): $17M per MLBTR
• Pre-arb guys* -- 13 guys at $820k: $10.6M (Note: This is below RBs suggested 18, but see next line).
• Low-dollar arb guys (Lewis, Sands, Topa): $6M per MLBTR

That's $80.7M among 20 roster spots, leaving a C2, 1B, RP, RP, RP and another hitter. Start with $5M for the 2nd catcher (Caratini?) and $15M for the three relievers (Coulombe, Pressly, Thielbar, Sewald and some of the others that have been mentioned; I'd also be glad to claim Alex Lange off waivers) and you're at $100M.

RB mentions Naylor, but jeepers, if they went to $140M they could fish in the Alonso pond for the 1B if they wanted to. Or use some of it to splurge on Luke Weaver/Ryan Helsley/Kyle Finnegan or even Raisel Iglesias, all of whom MLBTR projects at $26M or less over two years and all of whom have closed, 

People routinely say you can't build a team on hope, but I can't recall an overall collection of pre-arb guys that provide as much hope and opportunity as the current collection. I think there's even enough in that pool to (judiciously) trade perhaps one of the SP extras and one of the OF prospects for a cost-controlled need.

Also, Wallner only OPSed .771 against RHPs, which brought his career OPS down to .881 against RHP. Last year he also improved his OPS against LHPs to .790. He turns 28 next month. That screams bounce-back candidate to me. Lewis had 11 HRs and 12 SBs after the All-Star break, which was only 66 team games (and he was healthy enough to play in 62 of them). That's 27/29 pace over 162 team games. From what I gathered, his 3B defense was improved as well. He's still just 26. I'm willing to see hope in both of those guys as well.  

I think there's a path forward that doesn't require waiting until 2027.

*3 SPs from among SWR, Bradley, Abel, Festa, Matthews, et. al; 4 RPs from the converted starters and others; 3 OFs from among Outman, Wallner, ERod, Jenkins, Martin; 3 INF in Lee, Keaschal. 

--------------------------------------------------

EDIT to add: See https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6806576/2025/11/14/twins-derek-shelton-managing-approach-royce-lewis/. Summary: Title is "Twins' Royce Lewis notices 'something new about the culture' manager Derek Shelton is bringing." Shelton visited Lewis in person, plans to visit Jeffers over Thanksgiving. Key quotes from Lewis: 

“We started off building a really good relationship. He told me I was important to him and our organization. I told him at points last year I didn’t feel like that. It was really important to me to feel that kind of confidence. 

“It just feels like there’s something new about the culture he’s trying to build,” Lewis said. “I just look forward to some of his ideas he had for us. Whether it’s implementing them in spring or in season, I loved the mentality he had — the ‘It’s going to take every man’ approach. It was unbelievable.”

I'm willing to read hope here. 

[IndianaTwin]

3 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

Ticket and merchandise sales?  Should I buy season tickets?  Build fan interest?  Being honest/transparent for a change?

Thing is, when they were honest/transparent a couple years ago and said that payroll would decrease, they got excoriated for it.

The hints they've given this offseason have not suggested further decrease. If anything they've pointed some level of the other direction. But they've only been hints. If they came out and said that they were planning to increase and then it didn't turn out, they would be excoriated even more severely (if that's possible). 

[Woof Bronzer]

19 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

“We started off building a really good relationship. He told me I was important to him and our organization. I told him at points last year I didn’t feel like that. It was really important to me to feel that kind of confidence. 

“It just feels like there’s something new about the culture he’s trying to build,” Lewis said. “I just look forward to some of his ideas he had for us. Whether it’s implementing them in spring or in season, I loved the mentality he had — the ‘It’s going to take every man’ approach. It was unbelievable.”

I'm willing to read hope here. 

Very interesting.  Hard to read this as anything but a shot at Rocco.  

[IndianaTwin]

4 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

 

2026 World Series is the destination. Whether this team bus arrives at its destination in October, 2026 will be played out during the season, one game at a time, one inning at a time, one at bat at a time, one pitch at a time. Onward and upward. Now I feel better. I'm going for my daily walk next. The sun is shinning and it will soon be 60 degrees here in North Carolina. As the song says: "Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morning."

"Carolina in My Mind" (deservedly) gets huge props, but here's the Carolina song I love. Some of the instrumental riffs -- wow. 

Oh, and if your walk's in the Raleigh suburb of Fuquay-Varina and you see IT Jr., say "Hello." Also, tell him to move back to Indiana. I miss having him around.

 

[IndianaTwin]

6 hours ago, Woof Bronzer said:

Very interesting.  Hard to read this as anything but a shot at Rocco.  

I wasn't as Rocco-averse as many (most) on TD, but sometimes a change is needed. I thought the same thing when I read the quotes, but in a different spot he says Baldelli "had consistently offered him encouragement." 

 

I try not to play amateur psychologist, because I'm not in the room, but I can't help but having a sense that Lewis didn't click with the player to his left. He seems like a player who would respond better to Buxton's leadership style than Correa's.

[KirbyDome89]

4 hours ago, NYCTK said:

Why are Fans under some misguided belief that they should be kept in the loop on these sorts of details? 

Pohlads suck, but not because they are keeping a target payroll figure from the public. 

I don't think anybody is asking for a hard number, or to be in on meetings, they just want a general sense of direction. Provide actual ****ing responses to legitimate questions rather than meaningless word salad. 

2 hours ago, NYCTK said:

He had a 1.303 WHIP and 3.71 FIP with the Twins with one more season of control. They screwed up, but the trade made sense and this wasn't some egregious error at the time. They failed to tap the full potential of a player. It happens. 

They dealt from a position that was far from a strength/surplus, for 2 prospects, during a time you're trying to contend. 

[NYCTK]

39 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

I don't think anybody is asking for a hard number, or to be in on meetings, they just want a general sense of direction.

Which fans already have. They sold 11 players at the deadline including their starting SS. They're very obviously not trying to contend in 2026. 

40 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

They dealt from a position that was far from a strength/surplus, for 2 prospects, during a time you're trying to contend. 

Eh, it's a RP. A smart GM should be able to replace a mediocre RP for little cost. The issue is he continued to grow and became a very good RP. If would have been very nice to have him on the 2019 roster, absolutely. 

[The Great Hambino]

1 hour ago, KirbyDome89 said:

I don't think anybody is asking for a hard number, or to be in on meetings, they just want a general sense of direction. Provide actual ****ing responses to legitimate questions rather than meaningless word salad. 

For me, not communicating to the fans on this is kinda annoying but ultimately understandable.  There's nothing to be gained by tipping your hand to other teams or by delivering bad news to fans before you have to.  And I really don't think they're in a position to withhold good news.

My issue is the apparent lack of communication with their own front office.   The offseason is here.  The GM meetings are going on and 40 man decisions are due in days.  If Falvey truly doesn't know the direction they're going in, then it's putting them behind the market for no good reason.  Yet another avoidable rake stepped on by this ownership group.  

It could be that Falvey knows but isn't willing/able to divulge the info yet.  But again, they're not in a position to withhold good news from a fanbase desperate for anything resembling optimism.

Either way, it looks to me like the forecast is grim

[KirbyDome89]

28 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Which fans already have. They sold 11 players at the deadline including their starting SS. They're very obviously not trying to contend in 2026. 

Eh, it's a RP. A smart GM should be able to replace a mediocre RP for little cost. The issue is he continued to grow and became a very good RP. If would have been very nice to have him on the 2019 roster, absolutely. 

Yeah, I don't think anybody is eyeing the WS in 2026, but there's a pretty wide chasm between where the roster currently sits vs. a continued teardown. 

Sure, Alcala and Celestino flamed out, but they weren't exactly a bag of balls so Idk how easily replaceable Pressly really was. That 2019 bullpen was turnstile beyond Rogers, May, and Duffey. 

[NYCTK]

24 minutes ago, The Great Hambino said:

If Falvey truly doesn't know the direction they're going in, then it's putting them behind the market for no good reason. 

He's the top dog. He's the one in charge so the idea that he doesn't know is impossible. The owners can be mad with the decisions he makes, but he is the decision maker. 

[KirbyDome89]

16 minutes ago, The Great Hambino said:

For me, not communicating to the fans on this is kinda annoying but ultimately understandable.  There's nothing to be gained by tipping your hand to other teams or by delivering bad news to fans before you have to.  And I really don't think they're in a position to withhold good news.

My issue is the apparent lack of communication with their own front office.   The offseason is here.  The GM meetings are going on and 40 man decisions are due in days.  If Falvey truly doesn't know the direction they're going in, then it's putting them behind the market for no good reason.  Yet another avoidable rake stepped on by this ownership group.  

It could be that Falvey knows but isn't willing/able to divulge the info yet.  But again, they're not in a position to withhold good news from a fanbase desperate for anything resembling optimism.

Either way, it looks to me like the forecast is grim

Idk how basic communication (not outlining an exact offseason plan) with fans would be tipping their hand. If they're moving Ryan and/or Lopez it's for financial reasons. If we know that, other GMs definitely know it, and if Falvey plans to move one or both of those guys I'd rather have a bidding war as opposed to some Lakers/Mavs fiasco. 

I very much doubt Falvey is in the dark. He's paid to be a mouthpiece for ownership, and that's what he's doing. I do get a little chuckle out of him starting to subtly put some distance between himself and ownership now that the mob has turned more of their attention towards him. 

I think it's safe to assume that no news is bad news at this point, but rip the band aid off if that's the case. At worst you give yourself a longer runway to maybe soothe some angst before you need a**** in seats. The complete lack of communication a) builds false hope and b) allows fans to fill in the blanks with potentially whatever worst case scenario they can imagine. 

[jorgenswest]

6 hours ago, NYCTK said:

Brewers traded Burns and then had the leagues best record. 

You keep asking these questions cause you don't like the answers, as they don't fit the narrative you've already constructed. 

Yes. Agree. They traded him in his last year of control. The Twins should follow that Burnes path with Ryan. 

[weitz41]

If the goal is to have a shot at the division. Run it back and add a few middle of the road free agents. If the goal is to hang a flag a target field, I don't see it happening, in today's game, without doubling payroll or making bold moves. I lean towards the cash in the chips you have and bloat the farm with high upside prosects 1-3 years away.

[NYCTK]

40 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

Yes. Agree. They traded him in his last year of control. The Twins should follow that Burnes path with Ryan. 

But if his value is greatly reduced after a season in which the team does not plan on contending, why not trade him early? 

It makes perfect sense to trade him now which is why I fully expect them to do so. 

[jorgenswest]

47 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

But if his value is greatly reduced after a season in which the team does not plan on contending, why not trade him early? 

It makes perfect sense to trade him now which is why I fully expect them to do so. 

I concede that his future value is significantly more than double it will be next offseason if he continues at the same performance level, I don’t think they will get anywhere near that extra value.

I need to be convinced. I need to see comps. I do believe that that teams were much more willing to trade top flight prospects last decade so there may be some from the teens. I don’t think that is true now. Are there any similar (all star level or something around his 125 ERA+) starting pitchers traded with two full years of service time within the last three or four years? Did the get that greatly increased deal?

Last year Luzardo was traded with two years of service. The return was disappointing. stealing Caba is an FV45 and Boyd isn’t listed among the Marlins top 60 prospects. Luzardo is different. He came off a poor year that was mixed with injury. The Marlins motivation to trade him was not the added prospect value for the extra year. They didn’t want to pay his arb2 salary. Crochet’s return was pretty good but he was traded with one year of service time left. Two years ago Burnes was traded with one year left. I don’t see any Ryan level starting pitcher traded with more than one year left. Theee years ago the Marlins were at it again. They traded Pablo Lopez with two years of service time. Though not an all star he was close to Ryan. I am confident that the Marlins regret both the deal for Luzardo and the deal for Lopez. I don’t think there were any four season ago. Going any further back in the COVID season and the last decade.

I don’t see any other recent comps of trading a starter of Ryan’s level with at least two full years of service time. I think the argument that the value is greatly reduced is correct in theory but not in practice. That is probably why teams (other than the Marlins) aren’t moving those starters with two years service time anymore. I fear the Twins motivation is the same as the Marlins with Luzardo. They don’t want to pay the arb2 salary and will be willing to accept reduced value to get him off the books.

[Major League Ready]

1 hour ago, jorgenswest said:

Yes. Agree. They traded him in his last year of control. The Twins should follow that Burnes path with Ryan. 

I was about to make the same point as NYCTK and then I saw his post.   They need impact players and the odds of getting an impact player for 2 years of Ryan is considerably higher than 1 year of Ryan.

[theBOMisthebomb]

These are valid points and an interesting perspective. When people are griping about Falvey and the Pohlads and I'm feeling combative, I just might use some of these examples. 

[jorgenswest]

2 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

I was about to make the same point as NYCTK and then I saw his post.   They need impact players and the odds of getting an impact player for 2 years of Ryan is considerably higher than 1 year of Ryan.

There just aren’t comps to say that is true. The market has changed since 10 years ago. You might get an extra FV45 or FV 50 but teams haven’t been trading those elite prospects. No one has more FV45 or better players than the Twins. They are more similar in value to players around 200 than players around 10. They need someone that will have a greater chance of making an impact. I am looking at the top 20. A Walker Jenkins before he dropped in status after several injuries. If they don’t get that impact player they may as well wait. There are a whole bunch of FV50s and 45s and then it comes down to identifying the one that is going to performs beyond that level. They identified Joe Ryan and acquired him for a rental DH. They didn’t need to trade two years of a good starting pitcher. 

If they get that truly get that impact player I am in. If they get someone in the middle quartiles of the 100 with someone in the bottom half they should have waited. That might look like a Franklin Arias and Brandon Clarke. If that is the offer I hold onto Ryan. Arias and Clarke both have an ETA of 2028. So much can happen as they move up in the minors. Arias has elite contact skills but needs to develop power. We have seen that elite contact doesn’t always play well in the majors when major league pitchers turn that into consistent weak contact. Clarke doesn’t have a change up yet. They deserve their high prospect rankings of 25 and 86 but neither should be seen as likely to make an impact. They are too far away and have significant work to do.

[old nurse]

10 hours ago, NYCTK said:

Brewers traded Burns and then had the leagues best record. 

You keep asking these questions cause you don't like the answers, as they don't fit the narrative you've already constructed. 

The Dodgers won the deal if you talk about the season. Hard to say what would happen if they retain Byrnes. Now winning the trade is a different story Ortiz can’t hit, DL Hall is Diabled List Hall. Maybe that is fair compensation for 1 year, 

[old nurse]

7 hours ago, IndianaTwin said:

Yes, let's combine this with the mathematical concepts outlined by @Riverbrian above. 

• Correa: $10M
• Lopez and Buxton: $36.9M
• Higher-dollar arb guys (Ober, Jeffers, Ryan): $17M per MLBTR
• Pre-arb guys* -- 13 guys at $820k: $10.6M (Note: This is below RBs suggested 18, but see next line).
• Low-dollar arb guys (Lewis, Sands, Topa): $6M per MLBTR

That's $80.7M among 20 roster spots, leaving a C2, 1B, RP, RP, RP and another hitter. Start with $5M for the 2nd catcher (Caratini?) and $15M for the three relievers (Coulombe, Pressly, Thielbar, Sewald and some of the others that have been mentioned; I'd also be glad to claim Alex Lange off waivers) and you're at $100M.

RB mentions Naylor, but jeepers, if they went to $140M they could fish in the Alonso pond for the 1B if they wanted to. Or use some of it to splurge on Luke Weaver/Ryan Helsley/Kyle Finnegan or even Raisel Iglesias, all of whom MLBTR projects at $26M or less over two years and all of whom have closed, 

People routinely say you can't build a team on hope, but I can't recall an overall collection of pre-arb guys that provide as much hope and opportunity as the current collection. I think there's even enough in that pool to (judiciously) trade perhaps one of the SP extras and one of the OF prospects for a cost-controlled need.

Also, Wallner only OPSed .771 against RHPs, which brought his career OPS down to .881 against RHP. Last year he also improved his OPS against LHPs to .790. He turns 28 next month. That screams bounce-back candidate to me. Lewis had 11 HRs and 12 SBs after the All-Star break, which was only 66 team games (and he was healthy enough to play in 62 of them). That's 27/29 pace over 162 team games. From what I gathered, his 3B defense was improved as well. He's still just 26. I'm willing to see hope in both of those guys as well.  

I think there's a path forward that doesn't require waiting until 2027.

*3 SPs from among SWR, Bradley, Abel, Festa, Matthews, et. al; 4 RPs from the converted starters and others; 3 OFs from among Outman, Wallner, ERod, Jenkins, Martin; 3 INF in Lee, Keaschal. 

--------------------------------------------------

EDIT to add: See https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6806576/2025/11/14/twins-derek-shelton-managing-approach-royce-lewis/. Summary: Title is "Twins' Royce Lewis notices 'something new about the culture' manager Derek Shelton is bringing." Shelton visited Lewis in person, plans to visit Jeffers over Thanksgiving. Key quotes from Lewis: 

“We started off building a really good relationship. He told me I was important to him and our organization. I told him at points last year I didn’t feel like that. It was really important to me to feel that kind of confidence. 

“It just feels like there’s something new about the culture he’s trying to build,” Lewis said. “I just look forward to some of his ideas he had for us. Whether it’s implementing them in spring or in season, I loved the mentality he had — the ‘It’s going to take every man’ approach. It was unbelievable.”

I'm willing to read hope here. 

every team is built on hope. Baseball is a game of uncertainty. All you ever have is hope it works out 

[tony&rodney]

Agree that there are fewer and fewer top prospects or young players traded. Guess the hope is that some wild gambles are tried or that conversations take place at the least. I get that teams could be put off by certain suggestions but if the clubs aren't talking deals don't get done. 

Agree also that trading Ryan for a couple of middling, far off prospects such Arias and Clarke is a no-no. If we could have any confidence that the Twins would spend Lopez's dollars for Bichette or Naylor, then i could get behind a trade of Pablo for someone like Ceddanne Rafaela, who I believe is still improving in his game. 

In the meantime let's hope Falvey and the boys throw out some crazy ideas. How does offering Ryan, Royce, and Emmanuel Rodriguez for Nick Kurtz sound? Crazy? A's say no way and Twins say way too much? Detroit is a #2 starting pitcher away. Is Ryan, Roden, and Charlee Soto for Max Clark crazy? 

It feels like the Twins want to turn things around. There is a couple of investors aboard, a new manager, and a six new coaches. A couple of solid/good relief pitchers, a bat or two (Bichette, Naylor), and a few simple trades along with the emergence of a couple of our own prospects should help the rebuild.

[DocBauer]

20 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Really? Please tell everyone else who cannot see what direction the team is headed. 

I actually pretty much did in another post in the same OP. But what I've been seeing is an evolving change in personal the draft and in personal they acquire.

For instance, regardless of what anyone's opinion of Outman is, they took a swing on a defensive CF/OF who has power and speed potential. I'm not a fan, or believer, but he was targeted for his skill set. Roden isn't a top prospect by any means, but he was brought in because he can play good corner defense, run a little, and still has some power in his back. (I think almost a direct replacement for Larnach if he can translate hus bat to the ML level).

Ignoring Jenkins because we kind of lucked in to him, they've concentrated more on some contact, speed, and defense players in recent drafts such as Keasschal, K-Pepper, DeBarge, Schobel, and Ross. Two of those are looking great, one...Schobel...bottomed out and then rebounded in 2025 before getting hurt. DeBarge is a work in progress but shows some real potential, and Ross just can't seem to get the hitting part right. They've also taken a few big swings on high ceiling guys like Winokur a couple years ago, and Young in this past draft. Now, they aren't ignoring power, and they shouldn't, but there has been a greater focus on athleticism and defense.

Even on the pitching side we saw some changes this past draft with a willingness to grab a couple power arms early vs the mid round arms they can work to develop. Still a mix, as it should be, but a more aggressive approach at velocity arms that already have the big FB to begin with.

It takes time for prisoects to arrive. Keaschal was basically the first to do so. But they are slowly moving toward a more athletic, more balanced team/lineup, and letting the "Bomba Squad" days to fade away.

Or so it seems to me. That's what I've been seeing over the last couple of seasons. And that's what I mean when I can squint a bit and see a plan in place.

[old nurse]

12 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

I agree... my gut tells me to point my derision toward ownership because my assumption is that the Pohlad's OK'd this direction. 

On the other hand... By Allowing them to go this particulur direction also suggests that the Pohlads were willing to invest in the team and that is going to fly in the face of the popular narrative that the Pohlads don't care that is all over this website. 

 

You talked of a 1 40 million payroll https://www.mlb.com/twins/team/front-office Fire ever vice president. Andy McPhail never needed them. How assistant coaches and other coaches did TK have? He did alright. Fire the game day experience person, except if she doubles as the Sober Cab, lots and lots of people. Might as well fire the marketing people, too. All that should surely get the player salary up to Maylor money 

[old nurse]

1 hour ago, DocBauer said:

I actually pretty much did in another post in the same OP. But what I've been seeing is an evolving change in personal the draft and in personal they acquire.

For instance, regardless of what anyone's opinion of Outman is, they took a swing on a defensive CF/OF who has power and speed potential. I'm not a fan, or believer, but he was targeted for his skill set. Roden isn't a top prospect by any means, but he was brought in because he can play good corner defense, run a little, and still has some power in his back. (I think almost a direct replacement for Larnach if he can translate hus bat to the ML level).

Ignoring Jenkins because we kind of lucked in to him, they've concentrated more on some contact, speed, and defense players in recent drafts such as Keasschal, K-Pepper, DeBarge, Schobel, and Ross. Two of those are looking great, one...Schobel...bottomed out and then rebounded in 2025 before getting hurt. DeBarge is a work in progress but shows some real potential, and Ross just can't seem to get the hitting part right. They've also taken a few big swings on high ceiling guys like Winokur a couple years ago, and Young in this past draft. Now, they aren't ignoring power, and they shouldn't, but there has been a greater focus on athleticism and defense.

Even on the pitching side we saw some changes this past draft with a willingness to grab a couple power arms early vs the mid round arms they can work to develop. Still a mix, as it should be, but a more aggressive approach at velocity arms that already have the big FB to begin with.

It takes time for prisoects to arrive. Keaschal was basically the first to do so. But they are slowly moving toward a more athletic, more balanced team/lineup, and letting the "Bomba Squad" days to fade away.

Or so it seems to me. That's what I've been seeing over the last couple of seasons. And that's what I mean when I can squint a bit and see a plan in place.

People forget that when Falvey took over it was 3 outcome baseballl. The changes made to the baseball shifted the paradigms. Defense became more important when HR became more difficult to obtain. After a few more years the analytics changed for when to steal. Sabato was the last of the lumbering lumber players  it does take ime to develop a player. There is the sage shaman’s observation  “We want the the world and we want d we want it now”