What The?!: Derek Falvey to Depart Minnesota Twins Front Office

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of John Bonnes

The Minnesota Twins and top baseball executive Derek Falvey are parting ways, the team announced to staff in a stunning internal email Friday morning. Falvey, 42, ran baseball operations for Minnesota for nine seasons. The team issued a press release announcing the move shortly after sharing it internally.

Falvey began his career with Cleveland, worked his way through a variety of front-office roles, and ultimately rose to assistant general manager. He joined Minnesota in the fall of 2016 as the Twins’ top baseball decision-maker, with a background built on process, research, and analytics (particularly in regard to pitching) and emphasizing relationships and culture. 

The Twins hired Falvey to lead a reset after a 103-loss season, and much of his early impact came behind the scenes. Under his leadership, Minnesota invested in technology and information, modernizing how they integrated pro scouting, player development, medical/performance, and research. That foundation helped fuel competitive peaks, including a quick return to the postseason in 2017, and the 2019 breakout, when the Twins won 101 games with their Bomba Squad. 

These efforts were recognized by Executive Chair Tom Pohlad in the Twins press release. "When he joined the Twins nine years ago, it was, in many ways, a watershed moment for this franchise. His leadership was transformational. He helped modernize every aspect of our baseball operations and led with strong values, intention, and purpose," stated Pohlad.

With success came some bold roster bets: signing Josh Donaldson, committing long-term to Byron Buxton, aggressively pursuing Carlos Correa, and trading Luis Arráez for Pablo López. He also developed the pitching pipeline the fans were promised, with somewhat middling results. 

After the 2023 season, when the Twins snapped their 18-game postseason losing streak, won a Wild Card series, and advanced to the ALDS, the club’s payroll was cut by roughly $30 million. Those reductions have continued, with next year’s payroll currently projected around $100 million, down from roughly $160 million in 2023. With fewer resources, the team’s offseason additions have been modest, and at the most recent trade deadline the Twins pivoted sharply toward shedding salary and stockpiling depth, moving 11 players in total, including Carlos Correa.

In this latest phase, Falvey was elevated to President, expanding his responsibilities to include both the baseball and business sides of the operation. He’s held that role amid major organizational turbulence: an effort to sell the franchise, a restructuring of approximately $500 million in team debt, and an ownership transition, with Tom Pohlad succeeding Joe Pohlad as the club’s Executive Chair. His role, his boss, and the franchise's trajectory have changed significantly over the last two years compared with his first seven years with the franchise. 

"Ownership transitions naturally create moments for reflection and honest dialogue about leadership, vision, and how an organization wants to move forward," wrote Derek Falvey in the team's press release. "Over the past several weeks we had those conversations openly and constructively and ultimately reached a shared understanding that this was the right step both for the organization and for me personally."

Those changes were also recognized by Tom Pohlad. "Over the past several weeks, Derek and I had thoughtful and candid conversations about leadership, structure, and the future of the club," Pohlad wrote in the team's press release. "We reached a shared understanding that the needs of the organization are evolving and that a leadership transition is the best way to move forward."

Jeremy Zoll, previously Falvey's lieutenant and the general manager, will take over his duties running baseball operations, while Tom Pohlad will become the point person for business operations, which Falvey had taken under his purview in 2024. 

Falvey is not leaving for another job, or at least that has not been announced. The Twins released a statement saying the two sides "mutually agree to part ways."

"On a personal level, I’m looking forward to taking some time to be with my family, reflect and consider what comes next," Falvey wrote in the press release. "I don’t have specific plans yet, but I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve had here and excited about the next chapter when the time is right."

Zoll will not get an immediate title bump, but he becomes the new head of baseball operations, which Pohlad said would remain true. Dave St. Peter, who served in that role since 2002, stepped down last March, but has remained with the team as an adviser. It's hard to predict how soon the team will find a suitable candidate for a vacancy that comes at the most unusual point in the baseball calendar.

That timing is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the news. It is unusual for any organization to have a leadership vacuum without a transition plan at this critical time of year. For instance, when Dave St. Peter left the Twins, the announcement was made in November 2024, but the move didn't take effect until Opening Day. 

Tom Pohlad has been leading the organization for just over a month. On the baseball side, the offseason moves are not yet complete. On the business side, the season is ramping up. And while the Twins' press release says that there have been going on for the past several weeks, this change is sudden and seemingly unforeseen.

The team is holding a press conference today at 11:15, with Pohlad and Falvey answering questions, though at separate times. 

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Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story indicated the team would begin an immediate search for a new president of baseball operations. During his press conference, a reporter asked Pohlad about that search, and Pohlad corrected the record: Zoll will be in charge of baseball ops. The team is not pursuing a replacemeny for Falvey outside the organization at this time.

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[UK Twin]

Well I didn't see that coming. 

[Parfigliano]

An off-season move that definitely moves the needle.

[Vanimal46]

Shocking news. I've wanted this to happen, but right now? Less than a couple weeks before spring training? The timing is bizarre

[Chembry]

The timing of this is definitely odd...

[Cory Engelhardt]

Um, wow.

[Brandon Glick]

Thankfully this is happening right in the middle of the peak time to hire a new front office staff and not weeks before spring training

[Twodogs]

Thank God!  It is going to be a mess with the timing, but the Twins needed a new direction, might as well be sooner rather than later.  Hopefully, they will be able to still sign a relief pitcher or something before spring training.

[Chembry]

Wondering if this is fallout from the deadline fire sale. 

[dberthia]

Finally some good news.

[Cris E]

Sooo many questions...

Was a proposed move shot down? The last $5m not actually there? A hard discussion about real expected 2026 outcomes finally laid out? Was this planned since Tom P stepped in a month ago? 

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Wow. I wonder if Falvey is out because he wanted to be - i.e., tired of the penny pinching - or if Tom Pohlad grew tired of the roster construction.

[old nurse]

If the team was losing so much money at the payroll they were at that means the front office was inefficient with the money they were spending with the results they were getting. Perhaps this is the effect of the investors. Falvey had no answer to spending less. 

[Aggies7]

Never should have let Darnold walk.

oh wait wrong guy 😂

[Vanimal46]

First thought... The business side (namely ticket sales) must be at an all time low. Since he was responsible for the business side, which he never should have been in the first place, he got a lot of heat. On top of that, there's been a clear lack of interest in changing up the roster construction. 

[TheLeviathan]

I am happy to see this.....but I have too many questions to list here.

[nicksaviking]

OK, I was going to type that this is the right move but the wrong time as this doesn't make any sense. But I think I got it.

Falvey was hired to be in charge of the baseball part of the operations. He then got promoted to run the whole show after Dave St. Peter was fired retired. Which was still a baffling move because Falvey cut his teeth scouting pitchers, not negotiating TV deals and approving marketing campaigns.

However, the TV deals and marketing campaigns almost certainly are what the new ownership group is most concerned with, as their primary goal right now is to reverse the downturn in revenue. Putting someone with experience in those areas in charge should have been a no-brainer this whole time.

But I bet Falvey didn't want the demotion so I bet they 'mutually parted ways.'

[USAFChief]

8 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

First thought... The business side (namely ticket sales) must be at an all time low. Since he was responsible for the business side, which he never should have been in the first place, he got a lot of heat. On top of that, there's been a clear lack of interest in changing up the roster construction. 

Concur. 

Giving Falvey the business side was always a really weird move. 

And if they're to be believed, one that coincided with a lot of additional debt. I mean, their claims went up ~$100m just this past summer.

 

 

[ashbury]

"Be careful what you wish for, you may get it."

Strap in and buckle up, fans.

[TJSweens]

Falvey's legacy of draft and development failures finally caught up with him.

[Dawgzilla]

I think it was time for a change, same like with manager change, but I do think it was more Falvey's move rather than the Twin's ownership!  The reason for the "mutual decision" was because Falvey needed more money to make team successful and ownership, right now, wouldn't oblige.  I think Falvey basically said he had enough with one hand tied behind his back...and I don't blame him.  Give him the wherewithall monies of the Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Dodgers, etc. and he would be a genius and baseball front office legend.  Joe Torre was a good manager, but he had the options....and money to be a good manager.

[jharaldson]

Quote

Derek Falvey says he'll be "taking some time to be with my family, reflect, and consider what comes next. I don’t have specific plans."

Gleeman quoted Falvey saying that he doesn't know what is happening next.  These are not the words of someone that "mutually" decided it was time to go, these are the shell-shocked words of someone who got fired.  

[Major League Ready]

3 minutes ago, Twins_Fan_in_NJ said:

Wow. I wonder if Falvey is out because he wanted to be - i.e., tired of the penny pinching - or if Tom Pohlad grew tired of the roster construction.

A change based on lack of results would be reasonable.  There is also the possibility he started down the path of a rebuild which you would have to believe was blessed by ownership.  Was the decision to stop in the middle of a rebuild made by management?  In other words, did thy do a 180 in the middle of a rebuild.  If so, that's a no win situation for a CBO, especially if they insisted on keeping the spending level down which certainly looks to be the case.  If that happened, one could see why Falvey would want out.

[USAFChief]

5 minutes ago, Dawgzilla said:

I think it was time for a change, same like with manager change, but I do think it was more Falvey's move rather than the Twin's ownership!  The reason for the "mutual decision" was because Falvey needed more money to make team successful and ownership, right now, wouldn't oblige.  I think Falvey basically said he had enough with one hand tied behind his back...and I don't blame him.  Give him the wherewithall monies of the Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Dodgers, etc. and he would be a genius and baseball front office legend.  Joe Torre was a good manager, but he the options....and money to be a good manager.

 No, I think Falvey was canned. He's not stepping away from that job voluntarily. 

[USAFChief]

At the least, not a "half measure."

[Patzky]

24 minutes ago, UK Twin said:

Well I didn't see that coming. 

Friday means joke articles..

 

Scrolling..

 

Friday means joke articles..

 

Whoa!

[Patzky]

If they hire that Bovino clown..

[The Great Hambino]

4 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

 No, I think j Falvey was canned. He's not stepping away from that job voluntarily. 

"When someone says something's mutual, it never is.  But this was mutual."

- Michael Scott

[ashbury]

7 minutes ago, Dawgzilla said:

I think it was time for a change, same like with manager change, but I do think it was more Falvey's move rather than the Twin's ownership!  The reason for the "mutual decision" was because Falvey needed more money to make team successful and ownership, right now, wouldn't oblige. 

That's my working theory also. Some small disagreement between Falvey and ownership escalated, lines were drawn in the sand, and next thing you know it's "You can't quit me, I fire!"

That hypothesis will be discarded as soon as we learn further.  😁

[Ex-Iowegian]

Best news I’ve heard out of Minneapolis in weeks.