Twins Still Viewing Themselves as Trade Deadline Buyers Despite Long Odds

[Parfigliano]

36 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

That hasn’t been working out too well either. 

 

I did my part.  Have 6 tiks for Phillies in August.

[nicksaviking]

17 minutes ago, amjgt said:

Perhaps Tom's confidence came, not from powerful confidence in his own team, but his deep knowledge of the AL and how bad they would be as a whole. 

Tom Pohlad, AL Whisperer. 

/s

Sure, but as we’ve seen for a quarter century, winning a terrible AL Central doesn’t make you a contender. 
 

Half the teams in the playoffs still have next to no chance of winning it all.

[amjgt]

1 minute ago, nicksaviking said:

Sure, but as we’ve seen for a quarter century, winning a terrible AL Central doesn’t make you a contender. 
 

Half the teams in the playoffs still have next to no chance of winning it all.

I'm curious to see the exact Pohlad quote.

It might seem like splitting hairs, but I wonder if he said "contender" or "contend for a playoff spot"

I feel like we've been down this road before, but what would you consider a successful 2026 Twins season to look like?

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, thelanges5 said:

This is the second time that Bowden has been quoted on TD this week. If everyone would stop clicking on his articles, maybe he would go away.

I especially liked how the Angels didn't respond by phone or text to this certified Insider.  Maybe he should have consulted his rolodex and mailed them a letter.  😁

[AceWrigley]

1 hour ago, Brandon said:

Baseball is a business.  You don't have to win all the way to win at the gate.  If the Twins are still in it they are going to be buyers.  Most of their reinforcements on offense will come from within.  However we need some pitchers who can get more outs.  We have too many floor guys and need more results.  From within only Culpepper really looks deserving on the mound.  I could see us trade Larnarch for a solid reliever.  And Boston will have Chapman available.  We can always use another lefty in the pen.  Here is an interesting trade idea.  How about Gabriel Gonzales and CJ Culpepper to Boston for Chapter.an and 5 million to offset most of his salary.  Feel free to make your own updated proposals.  This one is not well thought out but in the framework of something I would do.

You do know that Aroldis Chapman is 38 years old, right?

[AceWrigley]

39 minutes ago, amjgt said:

I'm curious to see the exact Pohlad quote.

It might seem like splitting hairs, but I wonder if he said "contender" or "contend for a playoff spot"

I feel like we've been down this road before, but what would you consider a successful 2026 Twins season to look like?

 

[amjgt]

1 hour ago, amjgt said:

I'm curious to see the exact Pohlad quote.

It might seem like splitting hairs, but I wonder if he said "contender" or "contend for a playoff spot"

I feel like we've been down this road before, but what would you consider a successful 2026 Twins season to look like?

For what it's worth I can't find a Tom Pohlad quote with any version of "contend" in it.

I've found:
"exceed expectations"
"be competitive" 
"That's ridiculous" (related to the 72.5 O/U)

[chpettit19]

2 hours ago, Brandon said:

Baseball is a business.  You don't have to win all the way to win at the gate.  If the Twins are still in it they are going to be buyers.  Most of their reinforcements on offense will come from within.  However we need some pitchers who can get more outs.  We have too many floor guys and need more results.  From within only Culpepper really looks deserving on the mound.  I could see us trade Larnarch for a solid reliever.  And Boston will have Chapman available.  We can always use another lefty in the pen.  Here is an interesting trade idea.  How about Gabriel Gonzales and CJ Culpepper to Boston for Chapter.an and 5 million to offset most of his salary.  Feel free to make your own updated proposals.  This one is not well thought out but in the framework of something I would do.

You want the Twins to trade any piece that may have a shot at being helpful for 6 years in order to get a 38 year old reliever on a team that is still 4 games below .500 despite being on a 4 game winning streak? A team with a negative run differential? A team that's gone 11-20 against teams over .500? It's hard for me to imagine this, but I may legitimately end my fandom of the Twins if they are trading guys like Gonzales and Culpepper for a Chapman rental.

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Even a blind squirrel can find an acorn once in awhile  ...

I don't expect the twins to find a acorn and improve to a contender ...

Lots of holes and they continue to do almost nothing to improve them ...

We are playing good competitive games now but are we going to continue to take 1 step forward and then 3 steps back as has been the case the past few years  ...

It's been a better team than anyone ever expected , I always said we would never win with falvey and baldelli and by them now gone we are playing more exciting games ...

Deadline aways away , but I see the twins selling , what they receive in return should be major league ready  caliber players to make us better  this year and beyond  ...

They're on pace for a win total in the mid-70s. Isn't that almost exactly what the majority of people on here said they'd do all offseason? I think it's been essentially exactly what I expected. Mostly good starting pitching. Horrid bullpen. Hot and cold offense. All leading to a team winning somewhere between 72 and 78 games.

They are who most of us thought they were.

[Wedman13]

1 hour ago, Vanimal46 said:

That hasn’t been working out too well either. 

 

Gotta love cherry picked figures to prove one's point.  Did the strib give context of other teams attendance?  Maybe they did and every other team is up wildly.....only the Twins being down.

[AceWrigley]

Wow. Off topic, but The Blue Jays just let Kevin Gausman throw 44 pitches in the first inning, 4 walks and 5 hits including a grand salami. And he's pitching the next inning.

[Brandon]

58 minutes ago, AceWrigley said:

You do know that Aroldis Chapman is 38 years old, right?

 

43 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

You want the Twins to trade any piece that may have a shot at being helpful for 6 years in order to get a 38 year old reliever on a team that is still 4 games below .500 despite being on a 4 game winning streak? A team with a negative run differential? A team that's gone 11-20 against teams over .500? It's hard for me to imagine this, but I may legitimately end my fandom of the Twins if they are trading guys like Gonzales and Culpepper for a Chapman rental.

Not SS Culpepper but reliever Culpepper.  Big difference.  Reliever Culpepper was left off 40 man and went unclaimed in rule 5 draft last year.  He is having another solid season in AAA and could get a call up to our team.  And like I said I didn't think the trade all the way through other than Gonzales is a good OF prospect and number 3 on our OF prospect list so kinda redundant.  If we got Chapman for the pen we would probably want cash which would make the trade for Boston better.  You tell me a fair trade proposal.

Also that negative run differenial comes from Topa, Woods Richardson and Garcia, Lawrence and Adams.  Get Chapman and the last of this group is gone.  The negative run differenial is not because of the 2nd best offense but a few bad pitchers 

With Abel and Rojas back from injury and an elite reliever and if we go get another reliever too.  The run differenial should be positive moving forward and yes the Twins will still have holes but be competitive down the stretch and could get into the playoffs.  It will be more entertaining if this is how it plays out 

[Mike Sixel]

57 minutes ago, Wedman13 said:

Gotta love cherry picked figures to prove one's point.  Did the strib give context of other teams attendance?  Maybe they did and every other team is up wildly.....only the Twins being down.

League attendance is up.... Twins are also counting tickets they give away as attendance this year....

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

They're on pace for a win total in the mid-70s. Isn't that almost exactly what the majority of people on here said they'd do all offseason? I think it's been essentially exactly what I expected. Mostly good starting pitching. Horrid bullpen. Hot and cold offense. All leading to a team winning somewhere between 72 and 78 games.

They are who most of us thought they were.

Agreed. It would be terrible to trade the future for this year, unless something drastic happens between now and August. 

[terrydactyls]

5 hours ago, Wedman13 said:

I think that's exactly what it comes down to, and making that judgement is as or more important than any specific deal- and every fan will have a different answer.  It sounds like your 'buyer or seller' decision is 'guaranteed first round win' or sell.  Mine would be 'have a shot and play meaningful late season games' or sell.  Others would be 'world series' or sell.  No one is right or wrong but it's critical in the short/long term decision making.  Wonder where Tom P is at.

also, this is why a guy like Joe Ryan is so damn valuable.  Yes it takes a good 5-7 starters to 'get to the playoffs'.  But it takes 2-2.5 really good starters to win once there.  The 85 twins are a classic example.

 

I think my decision is the same as yours.  Just the fact that the Twins are only 1.5 games out of the playoffs tells you how bad the AL is (my apologies to New York and Tampa).  And now that I think about it, the Twins are 2.0 games from being in the playoffs.  If they make up the 1.5 games, that only ties them for last.

[jorgenswest]

The Twins are second in the AL in runs scored. They have been willing to move on from old relievers and found a few younger relievers that should be there a while.  They are one of many flawed AL teams but that doesn’t stop other teams from filling the stands. It is a great venue and a great game. The Twins have played a lot of entertaining games this year. They have one of the elite talents in Buxton. Why not go out to Target Field and see a game?

[chpettit19]

2 hours ago, Brandon said:

 

Not SS Culpepper but reliever Culpepper.  Big difference.  Reliever Culpepper was left off 40 man and went unclaimed in rule 5 draft last year.  He is having another solid season in AAA and could get a call up to our team.  And like I said I didn't think the trade all the way through other than Gonzales is a good OF prospect and number 3 on our OF prospect list so kinda redundant.  If we got Chapman for the pen we would probably want cash which would make the trade for Boston better.  You tell me a fair trade proposal.

Also that negative run differenial comes from Topa, Woods Richardson and Garcia, Lawrence and Adams.  Get Chapman and the last of this group is gone.  The negative run differenial is not because of the 2nd best offense but a few bad pitchers 

With Abel and Rojas back from injury and an elite reliever and if we go get another reliever too.  The run differenial should be positive moving forward and yes the Twins will still have holes but be competitive down the stretch and could get into the playoffs.  It will be more entertaining if this is how it plays out 

I knew which Culpepper you meant and my answer remains the same. Cash considerations is the only thing I'd give up to buy anyone for this year. This team is not good enough to sacrifice any player who has even the slimmest of chances of contributing in the future when the team may actually be real contenders. 

I appreciate the optimism, but this team has been exactly what most of us predicted so far. Aroldis Chapman isn't turning them into an 85-90 win team.

[Andy MacPhail]

5 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Caller: “Hey Jeremy, are you guys buying or selling this summer”

Jeremy: “Well we’re obviously… Wait, who is this?”

Caller: “This is Jim Bowden, you know, the guy who’s constantly suggesting you trade your best players to the East Coast teams I pretty exclusively cover.”

Jeremy: “Buying. We’re 100% buying. Print it.”

Bingo. So many baseball journalists & podcasters I used to like, have turned to the dark-side. Being influenced by big coastal team mentality of smaller teams have no right to compete, they have to trade their best players to them, so I no longer follow them. My scope of MLB news has gotten much smaller.

I don't give any credence to what Jim Bowden says.

[Andy MacPhail]

Twins have good players, their biggest problem hasn't been their players. Whenever they decide to fix their BP, they can really compete. If they had made the BP their priority & got serious RPs to begin the season; we'd be easily leading our division.

[Blyleven2011]

2 hours ago, AceWrigley said:

Wow. Off topic, but The Blue Jays just let Kevin Gausman throw 44 pitches in the first inning, 4 walks and 5 hits including a grand salami. And he's pitching the next inning.

I watched the game , cubbies score 7 runs off gausman in first inning  , talk about taking the wind out your sail ...

Toronto couldn't muster more than 5 hits  , 16 to 2 loss to cubbies  ...

[Blyleven2011]

3 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

They're on pace for a win total in the mid-70s. Isn't that almost exactly what the majority of people on here said they'd do all offseason? I think it's been essentially exactly what I expected. Mostly good starting pitching. Horrid bullpen. Hot and cold offense. All leading to a team winning somewhere between 72 and 78 games.

They are who most of us thought they were.

I'm not going to speculate how many wins the twins are going to win , if they would have added less than 70 to the poll his spring I would have selected that ...

Yes they are playing better baseball than anyone expected and if and it's a BIG IF , they are 500 at the end of the year , I would consider that a  satisfying season  , even finishing better than last years record would be an accomplishment ...

The biggest improvement we made this past off season was replacing baldelli and falvey resigning , they were not winners ...

I will say it again , jeffers will be definitely traded regardless ( no way are they offering a qualifying offer , they have 2 other catchers to fall back on  ) and maybe a few others with no control after this year , six more weeks till deadline , we'll just have to wait and see how exciting and hungry the team is ...

Consistency and killer instinct  , do we have that in our roster ...

Sheldon has this team playing better than _______ ....

[chpettit19]

2 minutes ago, Blyleven2011 said:

I'm not going to speculate how many wins the twins are going to win , if they would have added less than 70 to the poll his spring I would have selected that ...

Yes they are playing better baseball than anyone expected and if and it's a BIG IF , they are 500 at the end of the year , I would consider that a  satisfying season  , even finishing better than last years record would be an accomplishment ...

The biggest improvement we made this past off season was replacing baldelli and falvey resigning , they were not winners ...

I will say it again , jeffers will be definitely traded regardless ( no way are they offering a qualifying offer , they have 2 other catchers to fall back on  ) and maybe a few others with no control after this year , six more weeks till deadline , we'll just have to wait and see how exciting and hungry the team is ...

Consistency and killer instinct  , do we have that in our roster ...

Sheldon has this team playing better than _______ ....

Yeah, I don't think they are playing any better than I expected. I guess I can't speak for anyone else, but they've been a super hot and cold offense, their bullpen has been a disaster, and the starting pitching has been mostly good. It's what the majority of us said was going to be the case all offseason. I think what you mean to say is that they're playing better baseball than you expected. Because they are playing exactly how I expected.