Tom Pohlad Promised He Wasn't a "Half Measures" Guy. This Trade Deadline Proved It.

[Matthew Taylor]

Image courtesy of Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

When Tom Pohlad was introduced as the Twins' new control person and ownership figure, he made one thing abundantly clear.

"Half measures are not good, and you'll probably get to know me over time," Pohlad said. "I'm not a half-measure guy. I'm a 'go big or go home' guy."

It was a bold statement from someone taking over an ownership group that has often been criticized for being too conservative. There was also an understanding that fans would have to wait before judging whether Pohlad actually meant it. By the time he assumed his new role, most of the top free agents had already signed elsewhere. There simply wasn't much opportunity to reshape the roster over the winter.

Instead, Pohlad pointed toward the trade deadline. If the Twins put themselves in position to contend, that would be his opportunity to prove he wasn't just making empty promises. The players held up their end of the bargain by climbing back into the thick of the playoff race, leaving Pohlad with the chance to support a team that had earned reinforcements.

That opportunity arrived last month, and matured nicely on Monday. During trade season, the Twins acquired Tommy Nance, A.J. Minter, Dean Kremer and—with roughly 30 minutes remaining before the deadline—Jeff Hoffman. The question coming out of the deadline is whether Pohlad lived up to the standard he set for himself. The answer is yes.

For the first time since becoming the face of ownership, Pohlad had a meaningful opportunity to back up the aggressive rhetoric with which he introduced himself. Rather than settling for one modest addition and calling it a successful deadline, he authorized four trades, added significant payroll and gave Jeremy Zoll the resources to meaningfully improve a roster that had earned reinforcements. The words were bold when he spoke them. The actions matched them.

The easiest way to judge Pohlad's aggressiveness is by asking whether the organization followed through on exactly what it said it wanted to accomplish. Going into the deadline, Zoll repeatedly identified pitching, and specifically relief pitching, as the club's biggest need. Pohlad could have taken the conservative route by approving one bullpen arm and leaving it at that. Instead, the Twins added one starting pitcher and three relievers, dramatically reshaping a pitching staff that desperately needed help.

Just as importantly, these weren't token additions made simply to satisfy fans. Dean Kremer immediately slots into the rotation. Tommy Nance gives the bullpen another quality arm with multiple years of team control. A.J. Minter has a legitimate case for being the best left-handed reliever traded before the deadline, while Jeff Hoffman can make the same argument among right-handed relievers. Hoffman immediately becomes the team's closer, in practice if not in name. If Pohlad was going to buy, he made sure the Twins were buying impact players rather than simply checking a box.

Perhaps the biggest statement, though, was the money Pohlad approved spending to acquire them. For years, Twins fans have questioned whether ownership would be willing to meaningfully increase payroll during a playoff push. Pohlad answered that question this week. The Twins assumed all of Minter's remaining $3.5 million in salary this season. They also took on the remainder of Hoffman's $3.25 million in salary for 2026, while committing to pay $7.25 million of his contract next season. They did all of that without offsetting those additions by trading away established major-league contributors.

As those trades were unfolding, it felt reasonable to wonder whether someone like Trevor Larnach or Ryan Jeffers might be moved simply to balance the payroll. Instead, Pohlad authorized adding salary while keeping the roster intact. That may seem routine for some organizations, but it represents a meaningful shift for a Twins ownership group that has often been accused of letting payroll dictate baseball decisions.

Could Pohlad have gone even further? Absolutely. The Twins could have pursued larger financial commitments like Tarik Skubal or Luis Castillo if ownership had wanted to make an even bigger splash. However, considering where the Twins stood entering the deadline, it's fair to wonder if that would have even been a wise decision. Minnesota is firmly in the playoff race, but it also isn't running away with the division or one player away from becoming a World Series favorite. Emptying the farm system while taking on massive long-term financial commitments would have bordered on reckless. Instead, Pohlad gave Zoll the flexibility to aggressively improve the roster without compromising the organization's future.

That's what makes this deadline so significant. It wasn't simply about adding talent. It was about whether the person leading the organization would follow through when the moment called for ownership support. Pohlad didn't hesitate. He approved four meaningful additions, authorized the largest payroll increase of his tenure at a trade deadline and resisted the temptation to offset those moves by subtracting from the major-league roster.

There will always be bigger names that weren't acquired and more money that could have been spent. Every contender can make that argument after the deadline passes. But if the question is whether Tom Pohlad backed up the words he spoke during his introductory press conference, this trade deadline answered it. He said he wasn't a half-measure guy. When the Twins gave him a roster worth investing in, he invested. He gave the front office the resources to address its biggest needs, spent more aggressively than at any previous deadline under his brother's leadership, and showed a willingness to support a contender, rather than simply protecting the bottom line.

For an executive who promised to be aggressive, that's exactly what this trade deadline looked like.

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What do you think? Did Tom Pohlad do enough to prove he's willing to be aggressive, or should the Twins have pushed even harder at the trade deadline? Leave a comment below and start the conversation!

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[chinmusic]

Additionally, although many think that not trading key contributors is foolish (Jeffers, Larnach, etc) it's also symbolic of a proactive approach. As for offensive reinforcement, it seems like a no brainer Jenkins will be called up shortly.

[tony&rodney]

The article is fair. People should not diminish the importance of keeping Jeffers and Ryan on this team. Trading these two players could have brought the team some talent. While I'm clearly a guy favoring talent acquisition I can see the benefit for 2026 in keeping your best bat and arm.

[chpettit19]

I'm going to stick with my answer from the last article about Pohlad proving himself, he can't prove himself in anything in a year. 

Isn't the idea supposed to be that there was some drastic change in how the Twins will be run now that Tom is in the big chair? 1 deadline can't prove that. The Mahle/Lopez deadline was a bigger "go big" deadline than this. They've done a stand-alone "go big" deadline before. The question isn't whether or not Pohlad will "go big" for a deadline, it's whether or not he'll go big year after year after year when it makes sense. 

Hoffman, Kremer, Minter, and Nance sets a pretty low bar for "going big," so, if this is what will impress fans, he has a great opportunity to "go big" for many years. Assuming they aren't just setting themselves up to sell the team after the new CBA. 

And 1 last note on the money thing. Well, 2 last notes. 1. The payroll is still at an embarrassingly low number. Again, if this is what impresses fans, good for him. 2. They still gave up more in prospects (likely Hill instead of a lower arm) to get money back. So, even his "go big" included getting money back. So, one last time, if this is what impresses fans, he's in a great spot to impress them for a while because the bar has not been set high.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

"Half measures are not good, and you'll probably get to know me over time," Pohlad said. "I'm not a half-measure guy. I'm a 'go big or go home' guy." 

Ok- he never bought this year for the bullpen to start the year that he said he would.  His 3 deals which cost 1 of our better young arms have increased our chances in the playoff (checks the stats . . . oh they have gone down from 30% to 27%).  This seems to be the definition of a half measure.  Do enough to get just enough positive articles,  a few more butts in the seat but this team doesn't have a shot at winning it all unless 3-4 batters go on an absolute tear.  I just don't see it.  

[chpettit19]

An article I would find interesting in assessing the "go big-ness" of Tom Pohlad/the Twins this deadline is comparing them to the teams they're fighting against for the division and wild card spots.

I'd argue Boston (maybe they shouldn't be included with how hot they've been?), Chicago, Cleveland, and Seattle improved their teams more than the Twins did. Texas and Houston did about the same as the Twins.

Is it really "going big" when 2/3 of your competition (including the 2 teams above you in the division) went "bigger?"

[MMBoys93]

The Pohlad’s only proved that their good cop, bad cop routine would fool the masses. 
Tom didn’t actually fix any of Joe’s mistakes. They did, however, create a plan to do a little that creates a big impact on their inheritance. 
I still believe they want to sell at some point but right now it’s about putting fans in seats, and fans fell for the act hook, line and sinker.

They didn’t get measurably better to make an impact on their playoff chances and certainly not their true contention status. 
Chicago and Cleveland brought in equal, if not better assets at the deadline. 
Twins are still third best in the division and still have a 30-40% chance of making the playoffs. 

What do the top tier small payroll teams do at the trade deadline to stay in contention for years to come? Not this. They don’t wave to their quality players as they leave for free agency and they certainly don’t half-ass buy at the deadline when their team is under .500

 

[umterp23]

One trade deadline under his belt is fine for starters, but not that exciting. Team is still dependent on long ball to score, defensively not sound and roster construction/moves questionable. A competitive team to win in a very weak division doesn’t carry a Roden, Gray on the 26 man yet alone playing them. Three catchers? Lose Buxton multiple times this year and you don’t call up a true outfielder. Some people use the phrase multi-position guys as the answer. I look at that as multiple positions because they really aren’t good at one position.

Didn’t address the abundant lefty OF’s in the organization with this trade deadline and you have some decisions to make in off season that being bold won’t be the definition of activity. It was nice not blowing up the roster on the 26 man roster at deadline, still feel like if they have a clunker next few weeks of games,, getting some return on assets was lost opportunity.

[The Great Hambino]

The more I think about this, the more I'm not loving the course they're taking here.

They bought a little, but no more than the teams they're chasing in the division

They bought, but without doing anything to improve an offense that's pretty clearly regressing to the mean after an unsustainable run of production with RISP (I think I saw they're something like 21st since the deadline in runs scored, which is more in line with their overall metrics)

They bought with a little bit of an eye toward the future in getting two players controlled beyond this season, but one of them (Kremer) will be a strong DFA candidate if he doesn't turn his season around (it would be bad roster management for a team on a limited budget to pay arb-3 prices for a swingman/AAAA depth type of starter, which is what Kremer could be next year if his current form holds)

They bought and took on salary, but only to an extent (how far down the prospect rankings does the return for Hoffman slide from Hill if they were willing to take on his full salary next year?)

They bought while retaining Jeffers (a month ago I would've included Ryan here, but his current shaky form paired with his overall second half history probably suppressed his value enough to make it a moot point for now), but at what opportunity cost given the wild market for catchers and the Yankees' obvious need for one?  Given what an injured Rutschman went for, I gotta believe it was worth much more than a comp pick plus two months.

They bought and supposedly garnered some goodwill for themselves with fans in the process (I seriously doubt this being any sort of meaningful amount of goodwill from most fans, but I'll play along), but are they just kicking the proverbial can down the road until the guys they're so proud of retaining end up walking in free agency anyway?  In other words, is this just a goodwill sugar rush?

Put those all together, and they sound neither like going big nor like going home.  They sound like half measures

 

[jmlease1]

I'm not going to hand Tom Pohlad an award for passing the bar minimum of not being a crap owner...but we've been well-trained to expect nothing from the Pohlads more than benign neglect at best and many poor business decisions at worst to go along with a low payroll.

But they addressed the team's biggest needs at the deadline, didn't let cash be a barrier, didn't sell off the vets for parts, and gave the team a chance to compete for the rest of the season. Could be a lot worse?

I don't know if this quite counts as aggressive or "go big" (it's not going home, though)...but I don't know how much bigger would have actually been smart? The biggest issue with Tom Pohlad's leadership so far is that he took over too late and pushed Falvey out too late to be more aggressive/engaged at the start of the season, and left them sitting with a pathetic budget for the roster to start the year. He has to take blame for that too.

But the deadline moves are a solid B for me. They might not work out, but the trades all made sense, and they might be what the team needs to push into the post-season. And in baseball, all you need is a chip a chair and a chance, IMHO.

[D.C Twins]

I personally do not think the Twins were a couple relievers and a #6 SP away from being playoff competitive. 

So, for me, this was the definition of a half measure.... Neither selling to improve the future, nor buying enough to change the present.

Congrats TP... or something.... 

I'm still rooting to defy the odds though... GO TWINS!

[NYCTK]

12 minutes ago, The Great Hambino said:

The more I think about this, the more I'm not loving the course they're taking here.

They bought a little, but no more than the teams they're chasing in the division

They bought, but without doing anything to improve an offense that's pretty clearly regressing to the mean after an unsustainable run of production with RISP (I think I saw they're something like 21st since the deadline in runs scored, which is more in line with their overall metrics)

They bought with a little bit of an eye toward the future in getting two players controlled beyond this season, but one of them (Kremer) will be a strong DFA candidate if he doesn't turn his season around (it would be bad roster management for a team on a limited budget to pay arb-3 prices for a swingman/AAAA depth type of starter, which is what Kremer could be next year if his current form holds)

They bought and took on salary, but only to an extent (how far down the prospect rankings does the return for Hoffman slide from Hill if they were willing to take on his full salary next year?)

They bought while retaining Jeffers (a month ago I would've included Ryan here, but his current shaky form paired with his overall second half history probably suppressed his value enough to make it a moot point for now), but at what opportunity cost given the wild market for catchers and the Yankees' obvious need for one?  Given what an injured Rutschman went for, I gotta believe it was worth much more than a comp pick plus two months.

They bought and supposedly garnered some goodwill for themselves with fans in the process (I seriously doubt this being any sort of meaningful amount of goodwill from most fans, but I'll play along), but are they just kicking the proverbial can down the road until the guys they're so proud of retaining end up walking in free agency anyway?  In other words, is this just a goodwill sugar rush?

Put those all together, and they sound neither like going big nor like going home.  They sound like half measures

 

Fair criticism. As decent as this was, there was no creativity. Selling Jeffers while buying arms or that Neto rumor? That's the action that would be deserving of praise. This merely gets a golf clap from me. Happy to watch the rest of the season but not expecting much. 

[Linus]

Seems odd to be patting him on the back about taking on payroll when they are running a $100 million payroll to begin with. This is why I wasn’t in the “buy” camp - in order to truly make a difference they would have had to make much bigger moves than they ever would be comfortable with. This deadline is the very definition of a half measure. And I hope it works - I’ll be watching tonight. 

[DJL44]

I think they improved the team by 2-3 wins over the remaining games. That could be enough to make the playoffs and it should be enough to have meaningful games in September. They didn’t sacrifice any talent who could help the team in the next 3 seasons.

[Road trip]

40 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

 

I'd argue Boston (maybe they shouldn't be included with how hot they've been?), Chicago, Cleveland, and Seattle improved their teams more than the Twins did. Texas and Houston did about the same as the Twins.

Is it really "going big" when 2/3 of your competition (including the 2 teams above you in the division) went "bigger?"

This is the crux of the problem.  The Twins have a better roster than they did a week ago.  However Cleveland had a very productive deadline.  Adding Foster Griffin, a solid #2 starter, along with Nathaniel Lowe as a clear upgrade at 1B really improves them.  Chicago also made moves, although I'm a little less impressed with what they brought in, and still trying to wrap my brain around the overall level of improvement they have shown after losing 100+ games for multiple years in a row.

I'm not certain it was "Go big or go home".  At least it wasn't "Hold my beer...".  The Twins didn't pull off a blockbuster, but in my mind they also didn't do something profoundly stupid (see: Ramos for Capps).

[The Great Hambino]

8 minutes ago, Road trip said:

I'm not certain it was "Go big or go home".  At least it wasn't "Hold my beer...".  The Twins didn't pull off a blockbuster, but in my mind they also didn't do something profoundly stupid (see: Ramos for Capps).

This is a good thing to point out.  Even though this wasn't the course I would've taken, it was far from irresponsible or reckless.  Short of Hill or Jhomnardo (hell of a name BTW) going super saiyan, nothing they did will kill them in the future.

I'm just not ready to throw them a parade for doing scarcely more than the bare minimum of investment.  It's a small start, but they must follow through in the offseasons and trade windows to come if they actually want to restore the goodwill they're hoping to regain from fans.  The mission is not accomplished

[Brandon]

My 2 cents.  They were perfect on offense.  We have lots of internal candidates for offensive improvement and Buxton if he gets better.  On the bullpen we added three relievers so that is much better.  The rotation they added a depth starter.  If they could have added a better starter they would be set up perfectly for the playoffs.  So my only gripe is they should have aimed higher in the rotation.  Detmers or Soriano 

[miller761]

Refreshing is the word I use to describe the deadline. Nice to see ownership make a statement and then back it up. We may not make the playoffs but we gave up little to give us a better shot. Morale in the clubhouse should be sky high as there were no subtractions of any significance there. Here is to 2 months of exciting and meaningful baseball for the Twins.

[Woof Bronzer]

Man, the Pohlads have set the bar so unbelievably low.

The deadline was the definition of a half measure.  A couple relievers and a #6 starter who wouldn't make a playoff roster is not "going big".  Their ceiling pre-deadline was squeak into the playoffs, and it remains that. They didn't commit to making a big push this year, nor did they complete the rebuild they started in 2025.  Half measure all around.  I'm not even saying this was a bad decision in a tricky year.  But it's 100% a half measure.  The 2027/8/9 teams didn't get better, and the 2026 team improved less than almost all the teams they are chasing.  Their payroll is still absurdly low, roster is still poorly constructed, and they don't have a single proven playoff starter.  Right now their playoff rotation would be Bradley, TBD, TBD, and TBD.  This wasn't a serious roster before the deadline and it isn't now.  

I understand why they held onto Jeffers, but leadership is about making tough decisions for the benefit of the organization.  I hope the 30ish additional games he gives us in a our push toward 81 wins are worth the sting of losing him for nothing in the offseason.  I just know that the Brewers and Rays would have traded him.  

So the Twins spend one deadline decimating their bullpen, and the next one rebuilding it.  I'll ask the same question I've been asking for decades:  what's the plan here?

[TJSweens]

 I would argue that Tommy Nance, A.J. Minter, Dean Kremer and Jeff Hoffman are the epitome of half measures. Especially considering Cleveland added more. This was s show of being serious to sell tickets down the stretch.

[Over The Hill Again]

In a macro sense the moves are commensurate with an 80-ish win team that might squeak into a wild card spot, and likely get bounced. Honestly, that’s more than I imagined coming out of ST. So I’m pretty OK with moves that don’t further erode fan support and obviously weaken the team for the future. Go Big? Naw, not really. Wasn’t the year for that IMO. 

Edited 57 minutes ago by Over The Hill Again
Typo omitted word don’t

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

1 minute ago, TJSweens said:

 I would argue that Tommy Nance, A.J. Minter, Dean Kremer and Jeff Hoffman are the epitome of half measures. Especially considering Cleveland added more. This was s show of being serious to sell tickets down the stretch.

We gave up a #12 prospect on some lists (Reyes) for what some view as a backend starter at best.  I am a little more optimistic. 

We gave up a #7 Pitching prospect for 210 games for a volatile closer.   I also like Hoffman.  

However you can't say we didn't give up a lot when both of those players have immense upside for both players who we control for 1 year and 2 months.   This is all about trying to sell tickets.  Thats its.  

[Possumlad]

I think Tom & Jeremy effectively threaded the needle here. Improve the team in obvious areas; spend some money; focus on players with control beyond this year; don't trade much (if any) current production; and don't sacrifice the future by trading a bunch of high-level prospects just for a chance to make the playoffs. Overall we gave ourselves a better chance to make the playoffs while keeping current & future fan interest high.

[rdehring]

Yes, they could have gone after bigger names which I see would make many of you happy.  But what would it have taken to do that?  Did we want to see them trade Houston?  EmRod?  K. Culpepper?  Mendez?  Or even Jenkins?  I don't see that as being a smart move and am happy they didn't trade any of those top prospects.   

Granted, they traded Hill who is an exciting young prospect.  But they got back a very good reliever who will be here for another year.

What may be most important is they replaced nearly a quarter of their pitching staff over the past few weeks.  I don't know who is leaving when adding Hoffman to the roster, but there no longer are two or three arms in the bullpen who no one wants to see in a game. 

[GNess]

Certainly the Twins have a long way to go to meet the standard of Go Big or Go Home.

What they did do was improve the BP in a substantial manner by bringing in some proven arms. That addressed an obvious need, which of course was created by the Twins themselves.

They did keep two of their top bats (Larnach and Jeffers) in pursuing BP improvement.

To date, the offense .is still amongst the top of the AL, but has been weaker since the all star break. . Not sure trading for Zach Neto as rumored would have done much to alter the situation. 

This team's offense largely depends on a healthy and productive Byron Buxton. His injury history has to be considered when calculating how the team is going to score runs over the course of the season. That should have been addressed in the offseason. Josh Bell is solid but not an answer to this issue.

So the Twins remain victims of their own making and until there are true moments of Go Big or Go Home  (i.e. spend much more and have  a few or more drafted players become  all-star level) the team's fortunes will be a bit murky.. 

 

 

 

[Nashvilletwin]

Not trading Jeffers was ludicrous. I wonder if we could’ve got just that one top RHer prospect from the BoSox.  That would have been a great deal.

Wait and see - we will get nothing for Ryan either.

The Twins actions at the deadline have not substantively moved the dial on competing this year, while missing the opportunity to substantively improve the franchise in the future.

Sorry, but this year’s deadline only proved that Tom P played the political game with the media and fans.  His illusion of aggressiveness has pacified many TDers, but did not contribute to the goal of creating a WS champion.

[Brandon]

They only half measured the rotation.  The big issue, the bullpen, was fixed and fixed right.  

If the goal was to sell more tickets, there were better mid rotation starters like Mize available or Soriano or Detmers, and these guys wouldn't add much to salary either.  Just cost more prospects.  That is my only gripe.  I don't see much on offense to fix really.  We still lead the league in scoring with help on the way.....

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

7 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Yes, they could have gone after bigger names which I see would make many of you happy.  But what would it have taken to do that?  Did we want to see them trade Houston?  EmRod?  K. Culpepper?  Mendez?  Or even Jenkins?  I don't see that as being a smart move and am happy they didn't trade any of those top prospects.   

Granted, they traded Hill who is an exciting young prospect.  But they got back a very good reliever who will be here for another year.

What may be most important is they replaced nearly a quarter of their pitching staff over the past few weeks.  I don't know who is leaving when adding Hoffman to the roster, but there no longer are two or three arms in the bullpen who no one wants to see in a game. 

The issue was, is this the year to spend at all.  We are 1 game below .500 and the only reason we are still in it because of how bad the majority of the AL is.  That isn't a vote of confidence.  The White Sox did a full tear down.  They are now seeing the fruits of that tear down and the fans are coming back.  We short circuited the tear down to avoid some fan discomfort for 1/2 a season and weakly buy using some decent prospects.  Yippee.  

[chpettit19]

18 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Yes, they could have gone after bigger names which I see would make many of you happy.  But what would it have taken to do that?  Did we want to see them trade Houston?  EmRod?  K. Culpepper?  Mendez?  Or even Jenkins?  I don't see that as being a smart move and am happy they didn't trade any of those top prospects.   

Granted, they traded Hill who is an exciting young prospect.  But they got back a very good reliever who will be here for another year.

What may be most important is they replaced nearly a quarter of their pitching staff over the past few weeks.  I don't know who is leaving when adding Hoffman to the roster, but there no longer are two or three arms in the bullpen who no one wants to see in a game. 

I think the disconnect here is the difference between doing very defensible things at the deadline and "going big" at the deadline. The article isn't about whether or not the trades are defensible, they got fair value, or they were buyers. The article is about Tom Pohlad proving he wasn't a "half measures" guy and that he "went big." 

He didn't. He didn't go big. He went half measure. Which makes sense. It's the type of investment this team deserved. What I (and I believe others, but won't speak for them) am disagreeing with is the premise that the Twins "went big." They didn't. By any measure. This deadline was absolutely a "half measure." The article claims it wasn't. That's what I disagree with. Tom Pohlad didn't at all prove he'd "go big" over the last couple weeks.

[Brandon]

32 minutes ago, TJSweens said:

 I would argue that Tommy Nance, A.J. Minter, Dean Kremer and Jeff Hoffman are the epitome of half measures. Especially considering Cleveland added more. This was s show of being serious to sell tickets down the stretch.

Kremer was a half measured.  What they did in the bullpen was perfect really.  The pen went from being one of the worst if not the worst to better than average.  The rotation just got a filler.  I hope Kremer pitches like his career norms and how he pitched for the Orioles this season is just getting rid of the rust.  Kremer in years past is still a number 4/5 starter.  There were better starters available with not too much more cost.