So, Was the Falvey Era a Success?

[Matthew Taylor]

In a major change to the organization’s leadership structure, the Twins announced last week that they had “mutually agreed to part ways” with Derek Falvey, ending a tenure that spanned nearly a decade and reshaped the franchise in ways both celebrated and criticized. Falvey, who had overseen baseball operations since 2016 and was promoted last March to run both the baseball and business sides, was suddenly gone. Jeremy Zoll will continue to run baseball operations, while new principal owner Tom Pohlad assumes interim oversight of the business side as the Twins begin a search for new leadership.

It was a stunning development not because Falvey had been universally beloved, but because of how central he was to everything the modern Twins became. From the depths of the worst season in franchise history to division titles, blockbuster free agent signings, and eventually a jarring teardown, Falvey’s tenure covered nearly every possible outcome for a front office.

Which leads to the unavoidable question now that it is over. Was Derek Falvey a good president of baseball operations for the Minnesota Twins?

The way his tenure ended makes that question harder to answer emotionally than it should be analytically. Falvey’s final years were defined by shrinking payrolls, roster stagnation, and ultimately a fire sale that left the organization hollowed out. Offseasons became quiet, often limited to low-impact signings and internal optimism that rarely translated on the field. Trade deadlines passed without meaningful action, even when the roster’s flaws were obvious and opportunities existed to reshape a core that had clearly run its course.

Over time, Falvey’s reputation shifted from aggressor to bystander. Players like Edouard Julien, Brooks Lee, Max Kepler, and others held trade value at various points, yet the Twins repeatedly opted for continuity. Budget constraints from ownership were real, but they increasingly felt like a reason to stand still rather than a challenge to navigate creatively. That frustration reached its peak at the 2025 trade deadline, when the Twins abruptly pivoted from inactivity to a full-scale fire sale, trading away ten major league players and gutting any realistic hopes of near-term contention. Ownership influence was likely significant, but Falvey was the one making the moves, and the returns did little to inspire confidence.

Those low points matter, but they should not erase what came before them.

When Falvey took over following the 2016 season, the Twins were in disarray. They were coming off a 59-103 campaign, the worst record in franchise history, and had lost 90 or more games in six of the previous seven seasons. The roster lacked impact talent, the farm system needed a reset, and fan engagement was fading. Turning that situation around quickly was far from guaranteed.

Instead, Falvey helped engineer one of the most impressive turnarounds the organization has ever seen. In just three seasons, the Twins built a 2019 roster that won 101 games, the second-most in franchise history, and captured the division for the first time since 2010. That team was built through a series of smart, assertive decisions. Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco were signed to extensions that paid immediate dividends. Nelson Cruz was brought in as a culture-altering free agent who became the heartbeat of the lineup. Complementary additions like C.J. Cron and Jonathan Schoop filled critical roles. While the postseason ended quickly, the regular season dominance reinvigorated the fan base and fundamentally changed the perception of the franchise.

Falvey’s willingness to push payroll was a defining feature of his success. Unlike previous regimes that took pride in underspending, he consistently pressed ownership to the limits of what was allowed. That approach resulted in some of the largest contracts in team history, including Josh Donaldson and Carlos Correa. For the first time, the Twins operated as a team willing to play in the upper tiers of free agency. Even though that approach faded as ownership priorities shifted, Falvey proved that Minnesota could compete in that space and benefit from it.

He brought that same aggressiveness to the trade market. Not every swing connected, and trades for players like Sam Dyson and Tyler Mahle ultimately cost the organization. But acquisitions like Sonny Gray and Pablo López were franchise-shaping moves that raised the ceiling of the roster. Falvey was willing to take risks, and that mindset alone marked a meaningful shift from what Twins fans had grown accustomed to.

Those moves culminated in the defining achievement of his tenure. The 2023 Twins won the division, snapped the playoff losing streak, and captured the franchise’s first postseason series win since 2002. It was a long-awaited release for a fan base burdened by decades of October frustration. That moment does not happen without Falvey’s smartest and boldest decisions, and it should stand as a central part of his legacy.

When weighing the totality of Derek Falvey’s time in Minnesota, my view is that it was a success. His best years showed what this organization could be when leadership was aligned, ownership was willing to invest, and aggression was encouraged. The lowlights were real and damaging, but many of them were born from an ownership environment that no longer supported the very approach that had produced success. With an ownership group that consistently cared about winning and empowered its baseball operations department, those late-stage failures likely never occur.

The Falvey era was imperfect and frustrating at times, but it also delivered one of the best regular season teams in franchise history and one of the most meaningful postseason moments Twins fans have experienced in decades. That matters. It should not be overshadowed by how things ended.

As the Twins move forward yet again, I hope Derek Falvey is remembered not for the collapse, but for the progress, the ambition, and the moments that made fans believe again.

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[jmlease1]

A success? Not really. Not an utter failure or anything, but making the playoffs a couple of times and winning 1 series is a low bar to success. 

I guess it depends on how you measure it. If success is improvement from where we were, then...I guess? I don't think most people measure sports success that way, even if they're not one of the "win a title or it's a failure" types.

I'm not a reflexive Falvey hater, but I think it was time to move on. He did some good things, definitely had some debits, and definitely was part of the senior management crew (including ownership) that had lost a large portion of the fanbase. I just thought they should have done it before hiring a manager, rather than after...

[Richie the Rally Goat]

The aggressive approach from the beginning of Falvey’s tenure that I loved, corresponded with Thad Levine’s tenure too. Mysteriously when Levine left so too did the aggressive moves.

From the outside, Falvey’s largest failure is in managing up and aligning the ownership team, something TR was very good at. It led to stagnation and underspend, but from the outside it looked like TR always had a clearly aligned directive. It probably wasn’t because the disfunction of ownership we saw over the last couple years didn’t just crop up.

Falvey’s legacy appears to me as transforming the FO, becoming more modern. That’s a huge success. While marred by significant failure, the success outweighs the failure.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness..." Who knew when Charles Dickens wrote "A Tale of Two Cities", that the two cities he was writing about were Minneapolis and St. Paul during the Minnesota Twins' Dereck Falvey era.

[Eris]

Success is having a team that is competitive enough to put fans in the seat and to make a decent playoff run every few years. So no, the Falvey era was not a success. 
 

i think one of the failures of the Falvey era was because of the early success of the bomba squad in 2019 that perhaps drove years of player development strategy which then failed because pitchers became more successful in neutralizing the upper cut swing and of course the end of the juiced ball. The team seemed to be very slow adapting to the new style of baseball that came after the bomba era. 

[bean5302]

Opening day payrolls: 2017-2025
101MM
131MM
121MM
128MM
125MM
131MM
141MM
128MM
146MM

While the end of 2025 saw a payroll sell off, according to thebaseballcube.com, as of opening day, 2025 had the highest payroll in Twins history. The idea the Pohlads cut payroll in Falvey's final years is BS. I realize it's 2026 and this is the internet so I should expect misinformation everywhere, but the facts are the Pohlads allowed the highest payrolls in club history for the years prior to 2026. Last single year. Last two years. Last three years. Doesn't matter.

Honestly, I do think the Pohlads had a chilling effect on the payroll earlier in Falvey's tenure. When the Twins missed out on guys like Yu Darvish and Zack Wheeler due to what was reported as pushback from ownership to give out longer contracts. That's partially on ownership, but also partially on Falvey to sell them on the idea. I think if the Twins would have landed Wheeler or Darvish, we may well be singing a different tune today, but then again, when given the opportunity to keep Gray, Falvey failed to recognize the value in having a playoff caliber rotation. Maybe that was the impact of Levine on his way out?

In any case, Falvey was given a team with an outstanding, cost controlled young core and he failed to build a serious threat in the playoffs. The talent level on the current MLB roster is inferior to what he inherited, and the farm system is no better. Any GM would have been expected to rebuild the front office, scouting and analytics. The fact Falvey oversaw the bare minimum isn't impressive, just a "meets expectations" part of his review.

[old nurse]

1 hour ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

The aggressive approach from the beginning of Falvey’s tenure that I loved, corresponded with Thad Levine’s tenure too. Mysteriously when Levine left so too did the aggressive moves.

 

Blowing up the bullpen was passive?  

[old nurse]

The team cycled up and down under Ryan. No different under Falvey, no different than the other non large market teams. Did he improve anything they were doing? Hard to say. He spent money on staff. Maybe improving the pitching, maybe just luck. The judge of how welll he has done will be if a large market teams hires him 

[Road trip]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

Opening day payrolls: 2017-2025
101MM
131MM
121MM
128MM
125MM
131MM
141MM
128MM
146MM

 

This may be a case of "misinformation is everywhere".  There are different numbers in different places. If you look at Spotrac salary data, which is used to compute MLB Luxury tax numbers, you get a different picture of the Twins payroll.  It includes "dead money" for players that are gone but on payroll, not just the active roster:

2020: 168 million
2021: 145 million
2022: 173 million
2023: 177 million
2024: 160 million
2025: 141 million
2026 (projected): 110 million

In that time, the Twins went from being consistently middle of the pack in MLB salaries to 23rd in 2025.  2026 is too early to project, but it likely won't be much higher in the rankings.

I was also ready for Falvey to move on, for many of the reasons listed above, but the idea that the Pohlads didn't change spending habits seems suspect.

[farmerguychris]

It just feels incomplete to me because he never got the chance to continue the momentum we were building with our playoff victory in 2023.  

I'm from the mindset that only 1 team every year has a successful season - but until a payroll cap and floor go in place, some teams will never likely taste 'success'.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

I think that initially, Falvey brought with him a modernizing of the approach and definitely made some good deals.  Unfortunately, I think that his tenure will seem like “what might have been” instead of credit for the good things.  I absolutely agree that the wrong approach was taken post-2023.  Whether that’s a Falvey issue or a Pohlad issue is likely something we don’t entirely know.  

[Linus]

I would not characterize his tenure as a success nor an abject failure. Given the payrolls relative to the division and the weaker competition within the division, we should have made the playoffs more often. One thing I want to push back on was the statement that he inherited a horrible roster. Buxton, Sano, Kepler, Polanco, Berrios, Gibson, Pressly, May etc. with the exception of 2019 you could argue he never assembled a roster as good as the one he inherited. 

[Ricky Vaughn]

For may of those years the Twins were the only team in the central really trying to compete. So winning a couple division titles was not a sign of success.

[Danchat]

He would still be the GM / would have taken a better GM job elsewhere if this era had been a success. Even the most generous critique of him should top out at "mixed", but Falvey promised "sustained competitiveness" and missing the playoffs 4 of the last 5 years in a mediocre division is not that. He clears the lowest of bars, but why not have high expectations? I want to see this organization operate like the Brewers and Guardians, and instead we are nowhere close to that.

[NYCTK]

The Twins franchise value was an estimated $1.025 B when Falvey started. With his departure, the franchise value is about $1.75 B. That's an annual return of 4.5%. The Pohalds view him as a failure. In baseball, his teams won a single 3 game playoff series, (partially) in an era of expanded playoffs. The fans view him as a failure. 

He wasn't a complete disaster, but there's very little good that came of this era.

He gets a D. 

[NYCTK]

2 hours ago, old nurse said:

Blowing up the bullpen was passive?  

The two trade deadlines prior he was nearly inactive. He was passive. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

2 hours ago, old nurse said:

Blowing up the bullpen was passive?  

That was reactive to two passive offseasons in a row that should have been more aggressive (buy or sell).

[OregonTwinsFan]

He wasn't great, but he wasn't terrible. The Pohlads are responsible (right sizing the payroll) for some of his negatives. Hopefully the new guy Zoll will be better.

[old nurse]

7 hours ago, NYCTK said:

The two trade deadlines prior he was nearly inactive. He was passive. 

Read what I responded to then respond appropriately 

[old nurse]

7 hours ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

That was reactive to two passive offseasons in a row that should have been more aggressive (buy or sell).

Your quote was clearly that he was passive after Levine left which was before last season. You said he was aggressive when Levine was here so therefore he would not have been passive until last year. If you want to say he was passive the two previous offseasons then you still are contradicting yourself. About the only time the Twins have been aggressive in the offseason selling had been with Smith as the GM. Those out sales led to a huge hole for Ryan to dig out of 

[Twodogs]

On another note.  The Twins attendance was the lowest since the year 2000 (besides the covid season), and contraction was looming back then. 

[Twodogs]

On 2/6/2026 at 9:08 AM, NYCTK said:

 

 

[Twodogs]

On 2/6/2026 at 9:08 AM, NYCTK said:

The Twins franchise value was an estimated $1.025 B when Falvey started. With his departure, the franchise value is about $1.75 B. That's an annual return of 4.5%. The Pohalds view him as a failure. In baseball, his teams won a single 3 game playoff series, (partially) in an era of expanded playoffs. The fans view him as a failure. 

He wasn't a complete disaster, but there's very little good that came of this era.

He gets a D. 

Dodgers, meanwhile in the same time frame went from 2.75 Billion to 4.8 Billion.  Not that we are comparing apples to apples.  But I think if the Twins were a little better or even had players that had a better following, a la Nelson Cruz guys like that.  Maybe they have better participation from their fanbase??  (I mean, I know Nelson is too old and they traded him at the perfect time, but if they had a few more polarizing players to add to Buxton maybe they'd be more popular?)  Correa was a start, but he didn't quite pan out.  Or go with the young guys like back in the day, Puckett, Hrbek, Gaetti.  Etc.... and develop a following.  The Dodgers have done a pretty good job bringing in personalities and really good players too.

[Parfigliano]

On 2/6/2026 at 8:00 AM, old nurse said:

Blowing up the bullpen was passive?  

Passive aggressive.

[JADBP]

"As the Twins move forward yet again, I hope Derek Falvey is remembered not for the collapse, but for the progress, the ambition, and the moments that made fans believe again."

YEAH,,,,NO!  I won't remember the progress or ambition.  I will remember all the losses, the bizarre coaching decisions, and the horrible trades.  Yeah, he was an abject failure.  That's all I will remember.  Sorry, Derek!

[old nurse]

10 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

Passive aggressive.

Can’t figure out if you are trying to be funny or or oblivious to what passive aggressive means