3 Reasons Why the Twins Stood Pat at the Trade Deadline

Pretty much reason 3 stands as the most logical. Even in rentals Lopez showed them to stay awa y from career year players.  Significantly better than average players would require significantly better than average prospects,, even for relievers. To fill the holes in the roster with these types of players would cost more capital than the Twins have, Adding only slightly better players has a low probability of changing  the outcome.for the season.. The players they have playing up to their capabilities is what is needed,. That there is that difference is the problem with the team. Is it then the player, managers and coaches or front office’s fault? Maybe all three. The team still leads the division. Winning the games against the division opponents will be the determinant of the outcome of the season. 

No, I don't agree with # 3. This team reminds me of the 87 Twins. Going through that season experts wrote that team off many times (and so did I) yet when they got to the playoffs with a mixture of youth and experience, the team began believing in themselves (or maybe the coach got them believing in themselves) and did some damage. I don't believe this team can win it all but maybe they can end that 20 year old losing (0-18) streak and do some damage.

If the roster isn’t worth investing in, trade players for prospects.  Doing nothing with all of these expiring contracts (Gray, Maeda, Kepler, etc.) is so cowardly and such awful resource management.

Without knowing what the trade discussions were, it is hard to really say if the FO did the right thing or not.  I feel like the roster is at a bit of a crossroads.  Our vets have not been hitting like we need, and the young guys have shown flashes, but the team is not always willing to count on them.  Also, the young guys have had some injuries putting us in the, what will they be when they return.  

For the fans that wanted a huge splash it was going to cost big prospects, and I feel the FO did not want to give up any big names, hoping those names, at least on the offense will be up helping the team in the next year or two.  Larnach was being floated, and will most likely again in the off-season, but he has very little trade value in my opinion.  The likes of Lewis, Lee, and E-Rod were really the only names that were going to net a big return.  When you need to build a team for not just 1 year but years to come, it is hard to justify giving up on those guys for a 1 or 2 year rental that could or could not push us over the top. 

I think mainly is we should make the playoffs with no one else trying in our division, and actively selling.  As long as you make the playoffs you have a chance.  Then the question is, was there a trade out there that would make us feel that much better about winning in playoffs?  Most likely not, unless Buck and company start hitting better.  Our team is far from a top competitor, but sometimes it just takes the team being hot and having guys have great runs.  

We have the potential pitching to keep us in games, if we can get some timely hitting we could have a chance to win in the playoffs.  I am not expecting it, but if our pitching is hot, we just need a few timely hits. 

The three "sounds" like it makes some sense but.... 

If your "competition" is selling and giving you an opportunity to take control of the division and you do nothing... not good. 

As far as the roster not good enough to invest in... self incriminating statement I would say. Seems like fixing the roster to make it worth investing in as a fan .... would be their job. 

Not saying making big deals were expected but making some "tweaks" made too much sense and not making moves looks terrible to the fans. 

#3 makes little to no sense. We are to believe they put together a team that is in first place and 2/3 of the way though the season the don't think it is good enough so they do nothing? First if they believed that then they should be fired for putting this team on the field or they should be fired for not trading away FA to be, simple as that.

It is more likely they found they were no real upgrades at a cost they were willing to pay and believe the team they put together that is in first place 2/3 of the way though the season is good enough as is (or when healthy) to make a legit run.

To all of those people that don't think this as isn't good enough to make some sort of run (not saying they will) is very defeatist attitude. They have three maybe 4 pitchers that can on any day and any start shut down any lineup for 6/7 innings. They have Jax and Duran who can close out any lineup. They have Correa, Buxton, Julien, Lewis who if they get hot at the same time can carry a team for a week or so.

With that said I would have tried like heck to upgrade the pen, it would be nice to have 4 or 5 guys you feel comfortable throwing out there at anytime. (Duran, Jax, Theilbar, Stewart and another)

14 minutes ago, saviking said:

I'm thrilled we didn't trade Larnach and that we DIDN'T pick up a right handed bat. Lewis will be and is that right handed bat ..

Totally makes sense not to trade a 26 year old AAA player that will be 27 when next season starts, I get that.

Or .... there just were not any teams very interested in any of the players within the Twins system at least enough to have a full conversation about a fair exchange.

Some of the relievers changed teams without much going back in return, yet those teams must have felt it was ok.

Your #2 is absurd!! Twins need to look beyond the division. They have the starting pitching to make some noise in the playoffs. But the Pen is certainly sub-par. That's where they needed to focus. Who cares about just winning the weakest division. That is nothing to pat yourself on the back for. Look to win a playoff series or two!! Again it looks to be a pocketbook thing!!

I think #3 is a weak argument. This is the time of year where, while the rest of your division sells, you buy. The goal can't be just "winning the division." It has to be winning in the playoffs, why did we sign Correa to a 6 year deal if all we want to do is win 87 games/year?

If you don't like this roster, and I don't, getting a RH bat or 2 had to happen. Buxton, .205, Vazquez, .224, Taylor, .220, and Correa, .224. That's not beating Houston, Baltimore, Tampa Bay, or Texas; they needed help.

Now, I understand that giving up Lewis, Kiriloff, or Bryce Lee were not options but, Holy cow, there had to be moves to make.

Kepler and Polanco options cannot be picked up for next year, Gallo should be DFA'd today, and 2024 is now my focus. This team is doing nothing for me, again. 

I read someplace, I think mlb.com but not sure, that Keukel opted out of his contract when the Twins said they didn't have a spot on the 40 man roster.  If that's true it's outrageous.  There's plenty of candidates on the 40 man and even a couple on the 26 man.  Regarding the artcle:  well done!  Well thought out.  I agree with the comments but it just points to the inability of this FO to manage a roster.  If #3 is correct that there isn't enough talent on this team for a serious playoff run. That very well may be true but this FO is the one that pit this "team" together.  They only have themselves to blame for it.  We will back into the division title and this great FO that has brought some of the poorest baseball for Twins fans, will be strutting around like peacocks telling us what a great job they did.  Then when the playoffs start and we face mainly left handed starting pitching they will show their true colors.  I do understand to some extent not trading.  A trade for the sake of a trade is foolish.  But to stand there and tell us you have a great team is being disingenuous.  We should all be used to that by now. They brought us a mediocre team the past 3 years.  That must have been what they were hired for.  We are supposed to. As longtime twind fans, just sit back and be happy with it.  IMO this team, manager and front office are frauds.  If we somehow don't make the playoffs that the other central division teams don't want then our management team must go.

Rd

G.

1 hour ago, Beast said:

If the roster isn’t worth investing in, trade players for prospects.  Doing nothing with all of these expiring contracts (Gray, Maeda, Kepler, etc.) is so cowardly and such awful resource management.

I agree , my thought was since Cleveland and the rest of the central selling we could win the division with youth and trade away some veterans on expiring contracts ...

1 pitcher , an outfielder and reset for next year With the return  .,.

If the FO are pretenders  we will win in the playoffs with this constructed roster  , they are mistaken  unless our goid starting pitchering each throws a shutout , we will have a hard time scoring runs in the playoffs .

The Twins decided they didn’t need to improve since the other teams decided to throw in the towel. That’s not exactly a vote of confidence on the current underperforming team. That said, I’m happy they didn’t do what they did last year, trading highly successful minor leaguers for damaged pitchers. That’s part of the reason the team is in its current position and why Cincinnati is playoff bound.  

1 hour ago, Beast said:

If the roster isn’t worth investing in, trade players for prospects.  Doing nothing with all of these expiring contracts (Gray, Maeda, Kepler, etc.) is so cowardly and such awful resource management.

If you're just playing in GM mode then that makes some sense, but here in real life there are other considerations, like actually playing the games.  In real life things like winning games, winning the division, reaching the playoffs, have monetary value, and the primary goal of a MLB team in real life is not winning the WS, it's making money. If you sell every year that you don't think you can make the LCS you'll diminish fan interest by telling everyone Don't Bother, This Isn't The Year. There are also real concerns about wrecking the lockerroom like the Brewers did last year when they dealt Josh Hader. You can and should be free to deal who you want, but making deals for deals' sake is not without consequence.

On The Other Hand if you think you want to win some games, win a division and try to make some waves in the playoffs then you have to do basic roster maintenance.  The money's not free, you have to do your part. In this case you have a weak pen and some empty uniforms running around not providing value. I'm going to be charitable and assume Gallo is only here because Kirrillof is out, but I have no idea why they didn't replace Stewart. That was not good work. 

2 hours ago, kenneth frank said:

No, I don't agree with # 3. This team reminds me of the 87 Twins. Going through that season experts wrote that team off many times (and so did I) yet when they got to the playoffs with a mixture of youth and experience, the team began believing in themselves (or maybe the coach got them believing in themselves) and did some damage. I don't believe this team can win it all but maybe they can end that 20 year old losing (0-18) streak and do some damage.

The 87 Twins basically only added Shatzader by trade that helped the team win. Niekro was ineffective as a starter and pitched 1 inning in the WS. Carlton added nothing . Baylor was along for moral support.  Floro would be the similar relief addition. Citing the 87 Twins actually supports the article 

3 minutes ago, saviking said:

It's not Larnach's fault the Twins spent 11 million on a retread like Gallo preventing a 26 year old from being able to adjust to the majors this year. I'll pit Larnach up against Gallo all day and all night. 

It isn't Larnach fault that the FO make a huge mistake and signed Gallo, that is 100% correct. I would take Larnach over Gallo as well. But Larnach has done nothing in 3 years and close to 600 at bats in the majors to earn the allocates people are giving him. It is a Ok major league player, he is not a foundation player.

Props to Matt for putting it out there. Clearly some here really aren't buying most, if not all the reasons. But thats the reason for this forum. After frustrating loss after loss, a place to vent for the diehard fan is very therapeutic. Its especially important for those of us who can only follow the Twins from afar (either here, on radio or MLB.com).

Twins were Rochester's parent team for almost 2 decades, so I became a fan. I won't become a fan of our current parent Washington EVER. Move them back to Montreal and I would change my mind. Unfortunately for us, MLB now has pretty much mandated that their top affiliates be as close geographically as possible so it made sense that St.Paul became the landing place for the Twins. Washington wanted to go to Richmond (currently not in the IL) but Rochester was only option. Rochester is the oldest baseball franchise in the history of the game so MLB did not dare eliminate us. But Washington has zero footprint here and there is zero interest in them. I wish we were still with the Twins as they were gathering some steam here.

I hope the Twins win the Central. My other favorite (and former parent) the Orioles could win the AL East. Both can't win it all (right now the O's are a much better team) but I'd be happy if one of them did!

So no matter how it shakes out...go Twins....somehow.....