As MLB Trade Deadline Looms, Who’s to Blame for Minnesota Twins’ 2025 Letdown?

As the MLB trade deadline inches closer, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Minnesota Twins are seriously listening to trade offers for short-term pieces like Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, and Danny Coulombe. Other veterans on expiring contracts (Chris Paddack, Ty France, and Christian Vázquez) could also be available. The smoke is getting thicker, and it smells a lot like a team preparing to sell.

It’s a disappointing turn for a team that should be smack-dab in the middle of its winning window. If the Twins end up punting on 2025, it will mark the fourth time in five seasons that they’ve failed to reach the postseason. A division title and a playoff breakthrough in 2023 briefly turned the tide, but whatever goodwill that October created is rapidly evaporating. The season has spiraled. The record is mediocre. And now the blame game begins.

Let’s try to sort out who deserves the lion’s share.

The Front Office: A Predictable Failure
If the Twins are sellers at the 2025 trade deadline, then the front office has failed. 

After a gut-wrenching collapse down the stretch in 2024, Minnesota responded with… essentially the same roster. Derek Falvey and company made no meaningful upgrades, no shakeups, no bold offseason moves. There were minor moves around the margins, such as adding Bader, France, and Coulombe, but this team was built with the hope for internal bounce-backs and improved health. That kind of passive roster-building was always a gamble, and it’s landed the club squarely in a quagmire of mediocrity.

Sure, they’ve continued to find value on the margins. Coulombe has been solid and Bader filled a gap. But this front office bet big that the same core could deliver a different result. That was wishful thinking, and now they’re staring at the consequences.

Ownership: Spending Enough, But Not Smartly
Plenty of Twins fans will point fingers at ownership, and not without reason. Following the euphoria of 2023’s playoff run, the front office was handed a reduced budget. The phrase “right-sizing the payroll” still stings, especially given the opportunity to build on real momentum.

However, it’s worth noting that FanGraphs still lists Minnesota with the highest payroll in the AL Central in 2025. Ownership isn’t spending like a bottom-feeder. They’re just not spending like a team hungry to win now.

In that sense, the issue may not be the amount of spending but the approach. The front office had limited resources and chose to roll them into depth and hope. The 2025 Twins were built to stay afloat, not dominate. That might have worked in a different division. It hasn’t worked here.

The Players: Stars Can’t Shine Alone
Byron Buxton is turning in a season for the ages, and All-Star Joe Ryan looks like one of the AL’s best pitchers. Both players could finish in the top 5 for the MVP (Buxton) and Cy Young (Ryan). Minnesota’s bullpen has been a quiet strength all year, and likely why multiple bullpen arms will be dealt before July 31. But that’s where the list of bright spots ends.

Carlos Correa has had another underwhelming season, with a 0.0 rWAR and a 91 OPS+. Those totals can’t be associated with a player who makes up over 25% of the team’s payroll. Matt Wallner hasn’t taken the expected step forward with a 109 OPS+ that is over 20 points lower than his career mark. Royce Lewis appears unable to stay on the field long enough to make a consistent impact and has struggled to play well over the last calendar year. The offense has sputtered far too often, and it’s buried strong pitching performances along the way.

This lineup was supposed to be powered by its core. Instead, it's been anchored by disappointment.

The Coaches: The Easy (and Often Wrong) Target
It’s easy to grumble about Rocco Baldelli’s bullpen choices or the occasional head-scratching baserunning decision. But there’s a reason the Twins picked up his option for next year: this team’s problems are rooted deeper than the dugout.

Baldelli can’t make Correa hit .300 or keep Lewis healthy. The coaching staff can only coach the roster they’re given, and the flaws in this one were exposed by mid-May. Could they have milked a few extra wins? Maybe. Would that have changed the big picture? Probably not.

Unless a potential new ownership group decides to clean house, Rocco isn’t going anywhere.

So Who’s to Blame?
Every group shares some of the blame. But if you’re looking for the main culprit in a disappointing 2025 season, the arrow points to the front office. They built this roster. They ran it back after a collapse. They banked on rebound seasons from too many uncertain pieces. The Twins had enough talent and enough payroll to contend in a weak AL Central (outside of Detroit). They didn’t need to be spectacular. They just needed to be solid. And they couldn’t even manage that.

The 2023 postseason run bought this regime some equity. But equity runs out fast when October baseball feels like a fading memory. Now, as veterans are quietly shopped and the Twins position themselves for 2026, fans are left wondering how a winning window could close so quickly. And who’s going to be held accountable when it slams shut?

Who deserves the most blame for the team’s poor performance in 2025? Leave a comment and start the discussion.