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.

[DocBauer]

Without repeating my rant from another post concerning players that might be traded, I'm sick of all the discussion of "having" to move good players that we've developed. (I understand that goes back to ownership). And the whole playoff idea is fun. Regardless of final record, who would be upset to see the Twins play a few more games in the post season? Do I think this is an actual contending team? Not at all. But IF they were in the playoffs and not sitting at home, I'd watch, cross my fingers, and see if they could sneak in a couple of wins.

What I care about is finishing the season better than it began. (Excluding the first couple of weeks which were also fun BTW). 

IMO, the Twins have a fairly short list of what they SHOULD do.

1] Tom and the FO need to step up to the plate and reach to Jeffers and Ryan about extensions.

So close to FA, I doubt Jeffers would sign up, and no question Boras will advise him not to. But what if Jeffers would actually LIKE to stay a Twin? IDK, maybe 4yrs and $60M? Maybe front load the first couple of years a bit considering how low the payroll sits currently?

Ryan, OTOH, is still 1 1/2 seasons away from FA status. While he's been a great performer and great teammate, maybe he's not interested. But again, what if he LIKES being a Twin and would like to stay one? And financial security is a good thing. Again, IDK what it would take. Does 4yrs and $100M at least get the conversion started? Maybe 4 and $115? And once again, with such a low current payroll, maybe you front load the deal? Remember, Lopez only has one more year on his deal. That may or may not affect the final number the Twins would be comfortable with.

I'm just saying, you are REALLY running the organization poorly if you don't make an honest attempt to reach out and test the waters. Time for TP to put his $ where his mouth is.

If the answers are no, despite an honest effort, then you might have to consider moving BOTH. 

2] Cross your fingers and hope all of Rodriguez...still out for a while I know...Jenkins, Roden, Rojas, Sands, and Festa can get/remain healthy and get them ALL involved ASAP and begin the roster turn over for the future.

Additionally, K-Pepper has only a mild injury and should be full go again very soon. Mendez is a scary good looking hitter, and Rodriguez has been getting really hot after a bitterly cold start. I think CJ Culpepper has a shot to be really good in the pen. And is Raya FINALLY starting to put it together? His last few weeks have looked pretty impressive.

3] Even IF SOMEHOW Jeffers and Ryan DID accept extensions, there are players that are just not part of the future. Does Larnach really have a future beyond this season with the Twins? I seriously doubt it. Bell is following his career MO and heating up. There's probably a market for both for a playoff bound team that could use another bat. Would the return be of any great value? Probably not. But could either maybe bring back a AA or recent AAA promoted live arm destined for a pen? Possibly. Rogers probably wants to go out as a Twin. But it would be a nice reward if he could finish his career...just speculating he's about ready to retire...in the playoffs and have a shot at a ring. He probably only brings back an A flyer, but that's OK. Banda maybe, even though he's still under control. That makes him a nice "keeper" but might also increase his trade value.

I rambled, but I think the point is made. You need to make room for the young talent, and you might get a surprise or two in any return. 

4] I don't believe the Twins should be buyers in the classic sense. They're just not going to bring in a big name that could somehow push them over the top. This really IS a transition season, and it was always going to be one. (Unfortunately, some injuries have slowed that transition). But is there a live arm or two in another organization that sits at AA or AAA or even on the 26 man of another organization that is blocked, or struggling somewhat, or is just begining a bullpen transition? Think Varland just before he broke out in the Twins bullpen. THAT could be an example of being a "buyer" at the deadline, in addition to whatever the likes of Bell, Larnach, etc might bring back.

THAT should be the checklist. In a baseball fantasy world, ownership would STEP UP as promised and make solid offers to Jeffers and Ryan and we can STOP with all this "Twins are sellers" nonsense and get back to our regularly scheduled program. But they can still move some small pieces, and maybe make a small move or two for a couple young arms.

Unfortunately, step #1 probably doesn't happen. Or if they attempt it, they probably end up low balling and the result is the same. But one more time, you don't KNOW unless you make an HONEST effort.

So while I don't believe the Twins are "buyers" other than some potential, smaller deals, they might end up as both sellers AND buyers based on moving the BIG TWO, and some additional smaller deals. We can only hope the return is really, really good.

But one last time, I'm sick and disheartend that we're even talking about 2 very good and very important players that we have developed simply due to financial restraints that just seem bizarre to me.

[thelanges5]

Twins could do a little buying and selling at the deadline. Guardos, Rays, Brewers operate this was all the time. Trade some of the post hype prospects that aren’t going to be part of the future core and lean into some of the young guys that are. Don’t wanna go into 2027 not knowing if Roden, Jenkins, Erod, Gabby can play in the MLB.

[Jacksson]

Other than serving as window dressing as a means of propping up fan interest in the team, if Zoll and TP truly believe that the Twins are SERIOUS Trade Deadline Buyers, then both should be spending their time reviewing the contents of the Fairy Tale section of the Downtown Minneapolis or Downtown St Paul Public Library.

[karcherd]

3 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

They have been willing to move on from old relievers and found a few younger relievers that should be there a while

Are you referring to the 31 year old Lawrence as a younger reliever.  They have not committed to youth, when they need an arm, they don't go to St. Paul unless they are on the 40.  They just bring in another old retread.  And we still have two others over 30 and one should be moved and the other has looked better.