Team Identity ...

[Dave Borton]

I am wrestling with two issues.

   1. Who are these players on the Twins?
   2. What is the team identity?

As far as (1) above, after last year's firesale and consequential gaining players, as well as the off-year dumpster diving, I find myself lost. As I listen to radio streams and dig thru box scores, I quickly scour baseball reference.com to figure out the ballplayer's college, minor league and MLB experience. Who are they?

In past years, I would have to do this on occasion. But now? Spring training didn't help as ST is like an auto lot where they juggle what sells and what gets turned in. I. AM. LOST.

With (2) above, there really isn't a club leader, a spokesperson I can lean on to get a sense of the clubhouse, how the club is responding to Shelton's leadership or what this group is going to be known for. Listening to as few games as have been played, it seems the club is as lost as I am.

I am not trying to badmouth the organization. This is not a good club. What I am saying is that if I, a devout fan, am struggling with these "identity issues", they are going to have a heckuva time with a PR issue in filling those seats, pushing the paraphernalia, caps, jerseys.

Anyone else in this rowboat as well?

 

 

[UpstateNewYorker]

I agree that there is no team identity.  But that's mainly because the team is not good. Not enough power to be a Bomba Squad; not enough speed to run the bases like the Brewers; not enough good fielders to be a pitching and defense team like the Guardians.  We need more talent before we can choose a course by then filling in around the margins, IMHO. 

[Mike Sixel]

16 hours ago, Dave Borton said:

I am wrestling with two issues.

   1. Who are these players on the Twins?
   2. What is the team identity?

As far as (1) above, after last year's firesale and consequential gaining players, as well as the off-year dumpster diving, I find myself lost. As I listen to radio streams and dig thru box scores, I quickly scour baseball reference.com to figure out the ballplayer's college, minor league and MLB experience. Who are they?

In past years, I would have to do this on occasion. But now? Spring training didn't help as ST is like an auto lot where they juggle what sells and what gets turned in. I. AM. LOST.

With (2) above, there really isn't a club leader, a spokesperson I can lean on to get a sense of the clubhouse, how the club is responding to Shelton's leadership or what this group is going to be known for. Listening to as few games as have been played, it seems the club is as lost as I am.

I am not trying to badmouth the organization. This is not a good club. What I am saying is that if I, a devout fan, am struggling with these "identity issues", they are going to have a heckuva time with a PR issue in filling those seats, pushing the paraphernalia, caps, jerseys.

Anyone else in this rowboat as well?

 

 

I can't imagine most fans care about team identity. They want winners. Also, the lineup is almost exactly the same as last year, and three starting pitchers have been here multiple years, so I'm not sure I understand?

[MN Brian]

Feels like the only reasonable option for a "team identity" is if they wipe the slate clean and go with the youngsters.  Then the identity will be something along the lines of young, inexperienced, & hungry!  Would be more interesting than what we've got right now.

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

I can't imagine most fans care about team identity. They want winners. Also, the lineup is almost exactly the same as last year, and three starting pitchers have been here multiple years, so I'm not sure I understand?

I agree, and in the past, I don't think a lot of good Twins teams had a specific identity, most just had good young players that had good skill sets that balanced each other out. Good starters, good bullpen. The lineup had a mix of power, average, speed and decent defense but rarely did the individual players possess all of those traits. Those are just well rounded teams, that's not exactly an identity.

The identity fans crave, is the actual identity of the players. Casual fans don't want to look at a roster and not recognize 70% of the names. And that's what this team has been doing for three years now. They need to stop signing stop-gap free agents, and they absolutely need to stop cycling through AAAA players constantly. Not just in season but off season too. We should be able to look at the roster and say that most of these guys are going to be here for the majority of their rookie contracts. Instead the team is intent on finding a dozen diamond in the rough late blooming 28-year-olds other teams have given up on. The odds that ONE of those types of players will be here long term is extremely unlikely yet this team is banking on a half dozen of them doing it.

So maybe there is an identity to this team, and that's a roster full of Powerball tickets?

[stringer bell]

It seems to me that you have to regard the current roster as a team in transition. The fan base will have a much better view of the future after the All-Star break and trade deadline. It is also very evident that the club has changed from a mid-market team to a small market team. Since the "right sizing" comments, the Twins haven't issued multi-year contracts, and haven't pursued players in the top third of salaries. We are looking at a club trying to compete with a real payroll number of considerably less than $100M. 

Right now as @UpstateNewYorker pointed out, they don't have enough of anything to have an identity or brand of baseball. It is a collection of potential and loose ends with little connection. The addition of the top position player prospects some time this year as well as subtractions might give the team more of an identity. I expect the current group will slog along until those changes are made.

The 3-6 start is unfortunate in that several guys the Twins thought reliably could contribute offensively have sputtered out of the gate (Buxton, Keaschall, Jeffers and probably Lewis). With better production from those four, the record could easily be 5-4 or maybe 6-3. Long term, this club has issues that won't permit them to be good--lack of team speed, defensive soft spots and a jigsaw puzzle bullpen, 

[Sjoski]

Their identity is what they are.

"The best Triple-A team in the Majors"

It is what it is until it isn't. 

 

 

[Possumlad]

2 hours ago, MN Brian said:

Feels like the only reasonable option for a "team identity" is if they wipe the slate clean and go with the youngsters.  Then the identity will be something along the lines of young, inexperienced, & hungry!  Would be more interesting than what we've got right now.

Maybe I'm too optimistic (not sure that's even right word here?), but I think they're setting up for a post-trade deadline youth movement. They stink now & they're gonna continue to stink - that will give them cover to trade most of their remaining productive vets at the deadline & fully turn the page. No reason at all for Bell, Jeffers, Larnach, Wallner (or really Joe Ryan or Buxton if we're being honest) to be on this roster at the end of the year. They should trade those guys along with whatever random one or two relievers meaningfully outperform expectations.

I could see Jenkins, Culpepper, Erod, Gabe Gonzales all here in in the 2nd half, along with Prielipp, Morris, and maybe Rojas. Would be more fun than what we're watching now! 

[nicksaviking]

22 hours ago, Possumlad said:

I could see Jenkins, Culpepper, Erod, Gabe Gonzales all here in in the 2nd half, along with Prielipp, Morris, and maybe Rojas. Would be more fun than what we're watching now! 

For sure, but by then most fans will have stopped watching. And getting fans to watch was very clearly the goal of this organization this offseason. And like usual, they absolutely bungled it.

[Possumlad]

1 minute ago, nicksaviking said:

For sure, but by then most fans will have stopped watching. And getting fans to watch was very clearly the goal of this organization this offseason. And like usual, they absolutely bungled it.

I don't believe "getting fans to watch" was the actual goal this offseason. No way they made the moves they did if that was the actual goal - no collection of human beings is that incompetent.

I believe it was the "goal" as it relates to messaging & soundbites, but not actual roster-building & execution. The goal this offseason was to save money & increase future flexibility (eg. future ability to save money) in anticipation of the upcoming CBA negotiation.

[I Miss The Lakes]

13 minutes ago, Possumlad said:

The goal this offseason was to save money & increase future flexibility (eg. future ability to save money) in anticipation of the upcoming CBA negotiation.

Absolute gold, thank you.

[stringer bell]

45 minutes ago, Possumlad said:

The goal this offseason was to save money & increase future flexibility (eg. future ability to save money) in anticipation of the upcoming CBA negotiation.

CBA negotiation or not, this club looks like they will be a <$100M payroll team in the immediate future. Their functional payroll at present is in the $70M range, no veteran players beyond Buxton have a contract beyond 2027. They have transitioned from close to middle of the pack to one of the lowest payrolls in MLB. 

The “team control” guys just haven’t done enough to keep the team competitive. Hopes for competitiveness would need steps huge steps forward from the likes of Lewis, Wallner and Lee and contributions from unproven arms. I’m not holding my breath, but I haven’t given up on all of them.

How many of that group survive to mix with the rookies will be the team’s identity for the late 2020s IMHO.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Team identity is what a team hangs its hat on - how they win games. The closest thing for the Twins at this point is the rotation - presuming Ryan meets expectations and Bradley / Sim continue to pitch they like have. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

On 4/6/2026 at 12:05 PM, stringer bell said:

It seems to me that you have to regard the current roster as a team in transition. The fan base will have a much better view of the future after the All-Star break and trade deadline. It is also very evident that the club has changed from a mid-market team to a small market team. Since the "right sizing" comments, the Twins haven't issued multi-year contracts, and haven't pursued players in the top third of salaries. We are looking at a club trying to compete with a real payroll number of considerably less than $100M. 

Right now as @UpstateNewYorker pointed out, they don't have enough of anything to have an identity or brand of baseball. It is a collection of potential and loose ends with little connection. The addition of the top position player prospects some time this year as well as subtractions might give the team more of an identity. I expect the current group will slog along until those changes are made.

The 3-6 start is unfortunate in that several guys the Twins thought reliably could contribute offensively have sputtered out of the gate (Buxton, Keaschall, Jeffers and probably Lewis). With better production from those four, the record could easily be 5-4 or maybe 6-3. Long term, this club has issues that won't permit them to be good--lack of team speed, defensive soft spots and a jigsaw puzzle bullpen, 

The Bugs Bunny Special is on a two year deal.

[Dave Borton]

On 4/6/2026 at 11:53 AM, nicksaviking said:

The identity fans crave, is the actual identity of the players. Casual fans don't want to look at a roster and not recognize 70% of the names. And that's what this team has been doing for three years now.

I had the Cleve game on the radio. Tom Hamilton:

Quote

The Twins and Sox will have a battle for the basement. The Twins are a club in transition. It started last summer. And believe me, they aren't finished yet.

They will take it down to the bone come the end of July, 2027 we will have a partial season at best.

What season tix holders remain will head for the game and we will have 8,000 butts in the seats on a good night.