The Most Encouraging Early-Season Stories for the Twins Have, Sadly, Faded Fast

[Woof Bronzer]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

I just paid almost $5 for gas, thanks, Pohlads!!!!

Uh, what?

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

Tom Pohlad favored a bolder approach last fall. He's on record lamenting the fact he wasn't in charge earlier where he could have presumably fired Falvey sooner and hired a GM with a different philosophy. 

 This is nonsensical.  Tommy first showed up at a press conference in September.  He officially took over in mid December.  Yet he waited til February to fire Falvey.  Why didn't he fire Falvey on day 1?  day 5?  day 30?  

The original poster was saying this plan - to contend with a talent-starved roster while not investing any resources - was dumb, and Tommy Pohlad was dumb to think it would work.  You seem to think it was a good plan and it's Falvey's fault it didn't work.  Ok. 

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

Here's what I did for Feb 4th.  

The Twins start off with an absolute blockbuster of a trade with the Washington Nationals moving Emmanuel Rodriguez, Brooks Lee, Taj Bradley and Dasan Hill to the Nationals to get a return of (SS) CJ Abrams and (LF) James Wood.

lolololol yes why didn't the Twins simply do this, it's so simple.  

Finally, the Twins package Hendry Mendez to sweeten the deal for a team to take on Josh Bell's contract in return for a PTBNL.

Ah yes, the classic 1) sign a guy  2) trade him 2 months later before playing a single game 3) give away another prospect in the deal too 4) get nothing in return 5) ?? 6) compete for the playoffs!

[karcherd]

21 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

You think Falvey was dictating the budget to the Pohlads?

Well, we found why you're wrong here.

Yes, Falvey was just a passive bystander thru the whole process.  In no business does ownership dictate day to day needs, they are presented with options or they give parameters to operate in.  I know you hate the Pohlads and I not a huge fan, but Falvey has decimated this organization and until we get a real baseball executive in here, nothing is going to change.  That is where I hold the Pohlads, get somebody in here who knows how to run a baseball team.

[weitz41]

The flaws were bound to show. No fan who paying even a little attention to the team should be shocked.  This has been coming since the 2025 sell off.  Maybe sooner. There's lots of work to be done.

I want to give Zoll some credit. He managed to move Correas's contract and get some prospects, from other trades, we're talking/thinking about this season. That is no small task...

Tom and the rest of the Pohlad's have to TRY and sell hope after taking 500ish Mil from investors. 

Now that reality seems to be rearing its head. Zoll and Tom P. need to get on the same page.

Clear out some 26-man spots and let the kids play. Find out if Buck wants to go for a championship or a statue at Target field. I'd cut Bell. Sorry I don't think waiting till the trade deadline will get the Twins anything. I'd DFA 2 of the 4 utility players (read the utility post as well, earlier today) on the 26-man roster. Keeping Clemens and Arcia. Maybe one makes it to the Saints for depth. Then start the adds from the Saints.  3 open 26-man spots so Ross, Sabato and one of Wallner/Hendez. WAIT no K. Culpepper you say? After the trade deadline and Arcia get traded.

It's Friday and I'm a beer or two, maybe more...into it... so trash my thought's. I'll read them after a pot of coffee tomorrow...

[TheLeviathan]

2 minutes ago, karcherd said:

Yes, Falvey was just a passive bystander thru the whole process.  In no business does ownership dictate day to day needs, they are presented with options or they give parameters to operate in.  I know you hate the Pohlads and I not a huge fan, but Falvey has decimated this organization and until we get a real baseball executive in here, nothing is going to change.  That is where I hold the Pohlads, get somebody in here who knows how to run a baseball team.

I hate to break it to you, but this is not how this works.  Not for Falvey.  Not for Terry Ryan.  Not for any PBO/GM.  

Falvey was the one given the parameters.  He has to abide by them.  So when those parameters are severely changed, those responsible with setting the parameters (read: Pohlads) are to blame.

Again, and you may want to read this, even Tom Pohlad agrees with this take.  You're disagreeing with a fact here.

[karcherd]

17 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

I hate to break it to you, but this is not how this works.  Not for Falvey.  Not for Terry Ryan.  Not for any PBO/GM.  

Falvey was the one given the parameters.  He has to abide by them.  So when those parameters are severely changed, those responsible with setting the parameters (read: Pohlads) are to blame.

Again, and you may want to read this, even Tom Pohlad agrees with this take.  You're disagreeing with a fact here.

Yes you are right, Tommy wakes up one day and throws a dart at the dartboard and says yep that is the payroll for next year.

[big dog]

5 hours ago, DJL44 said:

To really give Sabato a shot, they would need to bench Royce Lewis. Likewise, Fedko would steal playing time from Austin Martin. That seems short sighted.

Lewis can play second- he would help the team more there if he can do it. Fedko can have Larnach's spot.

Why are you making this so hard? What has the team got to lose?

[big dog]

2 hours ago, HeresWaldo said:

They traded away the largest contract in team history.

To be fair, they didn't trade it away- they gave away the player and part of the contract.

[DJL44]

4 hours ago, karcherd said:

Sabato could replace Bell if they are going to insist on a DH spot on the roster.  Clemens moves around and starts 3 or 4 times which should be his role.  There are AB's for Fedko, have Larnach DH a couple of days a week and Sabato the other days.  Then Fedko plays in LF 2 days and can play RF two days for Martin.  Plenty of AB's to go around if the manager wants it to happen.

If Sabato plays DH he will be stealing playing time from Mendez. I suppose you could use both of them as a platoon DH but that seems like a waste of a roster spot.

[karcherd]

1 minute ago, DJL44 said:

If Sabato plays DH he will be stealing playing time from Mendez. I suppose you could use both of them as a platoon DH but that seems like a waste of a roster spot.

I wasn't considering Mendez on the roster with my comment.  You are correct there probably isn't room for both at this point.  I would prefer Sabato first just to see if he has something to offer, this is probably the last chance for him with the Twins.  But I wouldn't be if it was Mendez over him.  Just get Bell off this roster.

[DJL44]

26 minutes ago, big dog said:

Lewis can play second- he would help the team more there if he can do it. Fedko can have Larnach's spot.

Why are you making this so hard? What has the team got to lose?

So Sabato gets playing time and Keaschall gets benched.

Why do you think this is so easy?

[stringer bell]

Who is just having a snag, who is cooked? Which prospect has really earned a promotion and which guy is benefiting from weak depth of pitching in AAA? These are the questions the field staff and front office need to answer and their livelihoods may depend on it. Nothing tells me Aaron Sabato has finslly closed the holes in his swing and I don’t bdlieve Gabby Gonzalez or Fedko will help the club. I’m all for Culpepper taking over shortstop and moving Marek Houston to AA. I am willing to give Josh Bell until the All-Star break and think Caratini will be okay. Move on from Larnach—he might net something at the deadline. I want to give Austin Martin a little more time to get his second wind. I am hoping Bradley is in a lull and if I’m in charge Gomez is the only bullpen guy who has earned much trust. A little for Orze and Banda. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

12 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Too true! The team is just mediocre. The lineup lacks any real excitement. Jeffers going down really diminished the lineup. The rotation has been damaged by injury, but also by its own and ineptitude. 

I had hoped for a lot more from Morris and Adams. It looks like Parades is the best of the call-ups.  

The team needs a jolt. DFA for SWR seem like the message but they need to follow that up with more moves. Right now the lethargy is spreading among twin fans.  

This team wishes it were mediocre…

[Wedman13]

Interesting comments.  We're all looking for a villain, but it's not that easy - which makes a solution even harder.

this has been a total system failure.  From trainers, development, players, Falvey and ownership.

our starting pitching was to be a strength.  Pablo out, ober stinks now out, Taj up and down then out, Abel out, SWR implodes, Zebby implodes, is Festa still alive?   That's 7 of 8 either completely out, became terrible or out for a period.  So Blame injury, performance, and an over reliance on unproven arms.

catcher-Jeffers strong, then out.  Not only implodes catcher, but DH (Caratini was DH in game 1)

bell? Not good.  Probably on Falvey

Brooks and LK?  Very average at best.  More questions than answers.

Lewis? He killed us and we counted on him.

larnach/Martin platoon?  Meh.  On Falvey

Wallner? Like Lewis, completely screwed us.  Keep in mind... many on here fought like heck based on analytics that despite hitting .202 last year, he was a top 5 RF''er in baseball

the farm?  Our best prospects are made of glass.

buck and the bullpen, better than expected.

 

so I have no idea where we go, but believe if we are looking for 1 scapegoat we are chasing a ghost.  But if responsibility has to lie somewhere (and I suppose it does),  it has to start with ownership IMO

[RpR]

3 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Who is just having a snag, who is cooked? Which prospect has really earned a promotion and which guy is benefiting from weak depth of pitching in AAA? These are the questions the field staff and front office need to answer and their livelihoods may depend on it. Nothing tells me Aaron Sabato has finslly closed the holes in his swing and I don’t bdlieve Gabby Gonzalez or Fedko will help the club. I’m all for Culpepper taking over shortstop and moving Marek Houston to AA. I am willing to give Josh Bell until the All-Star break and think Caratini will be okay. Move on from Larnach—he might net something at the deadline. I want to give Austin Martin a little more time to get his second wind. I am hoping Bradley is in a lull and if I’m in charge Gomez is the only bullpen guy who has earned much trust. A little for Orze and Banda. 

Sabato has a .990 career fielding average at 1st base; bring him up and send Clemens to Second Base..

[karcherd]

8 hours ago, RpR said:

Sabato has a .990 career fielding average at 1st base; bring him up and send Clemens to Second Base..

And sit Lewis?  

[DJL44]

18 hours ago, RpR said:

Sabato would not be a bad idea at First Base.

He’s worse than. Royce Lewis at basically everything - offense, defense, base running.

[USAFChief]

15 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

I hate to break it to you, but this is not how this works.  Not for Falvey.  Not for Terry Ryan.  Not for any PBO/GM.  

Falvey was the one given the parameters.  He has to abide by them.  So when those parameters are severely changed, those responsible with setting the parameters (read: Pohlads) are to blame.

Again, and you may want to read this, even Tom Pohlad agrees with this take.  You're disagreeing with a fact here.

Derek Falvey would have known current and likely future budgets as PBO.

In addition, he took over as chief business officer after Dave St Peter retired in 2024.

There is zero chance Falvey was unaware budgets would drop. None. Zero. Zilch. 

Falvey ran the baseball business. His responsibility.

 

Edited Saturday at 12:56 PM by USAFChief

[tony&rodney]

The comments are interesting and present numerous options. Posters also display some frustration, which is understandable.

My take is that the organization hit a pothole after trading (was it 11 guys?) a pile of players last July. I don't lament those moves but the quantity of trades seemed to portend a further sell-off in November. That didn't happen and the club added a couple of veterans to DH. So the path forward veered away from what seemed like a strategy. 

The decision to stand pat was more curious after signing Bell and Caratini plus the expected minor league additions such as Kreidler, Gray, and Arcia. The prospects didn't surge forward (especially Emmanuel Rodriguez) and then came injuries. The Twins team was fielding numerous DH players that didn't exactly hit and their gloves hurt the pitchers. Luke Keaschall has struggled to adjust to the pitches he sees and his defense devolved. Patience has its limits.

The start and stop, herky-jerky, spasms of the team are ongoing which is pretty frustrating for fans. At some point the Twins could see a decent swing in their position player alignment. Players like Walker Jenkins and Rodriguez could arrive this season (August?). It would seem that Kaelen Culpepper is pushing to be called up soon. His play at AAA has him as the guy who stands out. Last night alone, Culpepper showed off his legs, arm, defense, power, and patience as a hitter. Can he make a smooth transition to being an MLB shortstop? It is what the White Sox and other teams have already done.

A team that puts defenders at seven positions behind the pitcher and young talent can provide hope. I see the Twins as a team on the upswing. That may be because as I watched the Astros defeat our Twins in 2023, my feelings were that that roster had zero chance to win anything until major changes were made to the roster.

Help is on the way.

[RpR]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

He’s worse than. Royce Lewis at basically everything - offense, defense, base running.

Only in your mind.

Sabato defense.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, RpR said:

Only in your mind.

Sabato defense.

I hope you realize that 90% of what fielding percentage measures for a first baseman is “can he catch a ball thrown directly at him?”.

Royce has two steps more range than Sabato in either direction.

[bean5302]

19 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

Those “couple of relievers” are 2 of the top 5 relievers in all of baseball by fWAR with multiple years of control left. 

I feel like most fans on this site don't have a good experience with what a rebuild actually looks like.

Rebuilds are when you trade away your most valuable and highest cost assets to acquire prospects who won't be ready for a year or two, clear a ton of payroll to allow for the ability to extend those prospects and fill the gaps with free agents over the next 2-3 years. It's a long shot the team will be competitive for 1-2 years. 

The Twins have never run a payroll under $100MM since Falvey became the head of baseball operations. Every single other team in the AL Central has. $100MM is not rebuild for a mid market team.

The White Sox bottomed out at $71MM in 2018.
The Guardians bottomed out at $49MM in 2021.
The Tigers bottomed out at $80MM in 2021.
The Royals bottomed out at $89MM in 2021.
The Twins bottomed out at $105MM this year.

Buxton, Ryan, Lopez get moved in a rebuild. Bare minimum 2 of 3. Ryan probably gets moved. Jeffers probably gets moved. Assets with less than 2 years of control and increasing salary get moved. Payroll for the Twins would be dropping down into that $50-70MM range. There were no signs that was in Falzoll's plans. Ever.

[Vanimal46]

19 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Rebuilds are when you trade away your most valuable and highest cost assets to acquire prospects who won't be ready for a year or two,

They literally decimated the bullpen. But we can end the conversation here. 

[Hunter4848]

23 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

All due respect....what?  They had a great season with a  great postseason....how is the GM responsible for their owners crappy asset portfolio when planning a payroll?

Only a Twins fan would consider a series win a great postseason...

Talk about loser mentality 

[Hunter4848]

23 hours ago, bean5302 said:

I just paid almost $5 for gas, thanks, Pohlads!!!!

Tom Pohlad favored a bolder approach last fall. He's on record lamenting the fact he wasn't in charge earlier where he could have presumably fired Falvey sooner and hired a GM with a different philosophy. 

Here's what I did for Feb 4th.

 

 

 

Found Tom Pohlad's burner account!

[Mike Sixel]

5 minutes ago, Hunter4848 said:

Only a Twins fan would consider a series win a great postseason...

Talk about loser mentality 

Simply not true. Also, if winning the WS is the only success, every team sucks and are losers but one. That seems like a recipe for unhappiness. 

[Hunter4848]

3 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Simply not true. Also, if winning the WS is the only success, every team sucks and are losers but one. That seems like a recipe for unhappiness. 

Maybe the Twins should hang a playoff banner for making it out of the first round!!!

Such loser mentality 

[Twinsrtheworst]

On 6/12/2026 at 2:12 PM, RpR said:

Sabato would not be a bad idea at First Base.

Are we talking about the same Sabato that was strongly criticized and demanded to be cut by all the brainiacs on TD. The same guy that I said trust me there’s more in the tank. I’m starting to question the thought process and legitimacy of the commenters of TD.. Bean are you there? Hello!

[Riverbrian]

On 6/12/2026 at 1:04 PM, karcherd said:

Sabato could replace Bell if they are going to insist on a DH spot on the roster.  Clemens moves around and starts 3 or 4 times which should be his role.  There are AB's for Fedko, have Larnach DH a couple of days a week and Sabato the other days.  Then Fedko plays in LF 2 days and can play RF two days for Martin.  Plenty of AB's to go around if the manager wants it to happen.

You are correct.

Playing time should never be a concern, There is enough to go around.

Unless you insist on playing players with Sub .699 OPS every day which is just self inflicting a problem into your system.  

Buxton should play every day he is able to play every day. If you have 7 or 8 guys like Buxton who have earned every day. Go ahead... restrict opportunity to anybody down the line. Glue their pants to the bench. It won't matter... we will have .700 winning percentage.

If Royce becomes what Royce is supposed to be. OK... there's two but I think we should let him earn it first. If Royce becomes two... That still leaves plenty of playing time. 

There isn't another player on this roster besides Buxton that has earned everyday playing time. 

Playing time for young players is only an issue if you self inflict the stress on it by allowing average to below average performance run you off a cliff with steps toward the cliff,,, every... single... day.  

[Riverbrian]

On 6/12/2026 at 1:09 PM, karcherd said:

Or Falvey took a swing and missed.  All this was post Covid, he had to know the team was accumulating debt and to think in that situation payroll was going to grow was naive.  He didn't win enough to justify further debt.  He could have passed on Correa the second time and built the roster with the known resources that he would have.  He wanted to played with the big boys but didn't have the pocketbook behind him to back it up.

When Falvey and Lavine walked in the door. The roster decisions that they made left me with the impression that they were told the money would be there and they made roster decisions like the money was going to be there and it was... and then something changed. It's like the brakes were slammed and Lavine went flying through the windshield. 

I have no inside information but actions speak louder than words. Just looking how they built the team. They were trading prospects for players. They turned prospects into specialists. 

They were building with a little money. Not as much as most on this website would like them to spend but they were building with some money at levels I have never seen before. I get that it wasn't enough but... the front office had to know that payroll was going to go up when you travel down this road because they didn't have players making the minimum picking up the slack. 8 pre-arb players on the roster in 2024 told you everything you want to know about the direction they were heading... someone had to tell them that the money was going to be there. And then something changed. The brakes were slammed. Development could have been an airbag when those breaks were slammed but development was not properly installed. 

[Riverbrian]

On 6/12/2026 at 1:55 PM, karcherd said:

the President of Operations should know the financial situation and make decisions accordingly.   Did he really think payroll would go to $160, 180 or even 200m. 

These two sentences are important and worth strong consideration. I think you are on the right track. 

I agree with almost everything you are saying. I just don't believe that Falvey knew. 

Those are perfect sentences... if you look at what you wrote. You are correct... he should know the financial situation and make decisions accordingly. Payroll going up further was the only way to sustain momentum without minimum making options for an alternative.  

However... He didn't make decisions accordingly... you and I agree that he didn't and we agree that with knowledge he should have staffed accordingly and he didn't. Therefore I don't think he knew. I think he was told the opposite... evidenced by payroll going up to levels I've never seen. The signing of Correa, the trading for Mahle. These are not moves made by a team about to run out of money. 

Anybody who buys a house with no money left over to pay down the mortgage or pay the property tax. No money for food to keep you alive. 

Somebody who does that wouldn't get one of these 30 jobs. 

I don't know... I can only guess... but those were two great sentences and those two sentences are something we should all think about. Why did he staff with money when there wasn't enough money? Those sentences are which way is the wind blowing sentences for consideration.