Firing Rocco Baldelli is Moving Deck Chairs on Twins Titanic, and the Pohlads Sank the Lifeboats

I think 2026 going be due or die time for Falvey and front office if they have another losing season they will be gone 

Great rundown of the problems, but don't overlook this. Rocco was the largest problem once the game began. I agree 100% with your vast list of culprits, and that **** rolls downhill, and Rocco is at the bottom of the hill, but his in game intuitive management skills were lacking to be kind. He had a way of usually NOT pushing the right buttons. Step 1. Now we'll see what happens next.

The fact that all these prospects were good in the minors but it ends under Rocco ‘s (and his hand-picked staff) says it does matter who the manager is. They have not taken one position player prospect and turned him into MLB quality. Did the FO miss on EVERY pick?  Fire the entire FO. 

23 minutes ago, Brandon27 said:

I think 2026 going be due or die time for Falvey and front office if they have another losing season they will be gone 

After literally just promoting Falvey to head the business side last year? I doubt it.

Pohlad's stick with bad losing decisions for about 3-5 years after it's apparent they made a mistake lol

6 minutes ago, Reptevia said:

The fact that all these prospects were good in the minors but it ends under Rocco ‘s (and his hand-picked staff) says it does matter who the manager is. They have not taken one position player prospect and turned him into MLB quality. Did the FO miss on EVERY pick?  Fire the entire FO. 

If it were a fact, that may prove your point, but not all the prospects were that great in the minors. Certainly not obvious sure things. 

There's also the idea that unless they play at least reasonably well in the minors, they'll never get a call up. 

The owners won't fire themselves and apparently Falvey either.  Falvey built this Frankenstein and should be gone.  that does not change the fact that Rocco is a terrible manager.

The Pohlads claim they have now lost a half billion dollars on the twins. Hard to believe right and they still own the team. It’s really hard to trust people that lie to you.

In my opinion, the Twins will hit rock bottom come next season and then the Pohlads will sell the team but not before firing the entire front office and even the new manager, whom I feel sorry for already. The Cleveland Browns version of the Twins are here for the upcoming 2026 and 27 seasons. Unless the Pohlads sell the team. 

So we were a .500 team middle of the road team before the trade sell off. I’m not sure what the Frankenstein team is. We need to rebuild the bullpen, find an above average 1st baseman. I assume Larnach is gone. We will need to see better production from Roden/Gonzalez/Rodriguez in left. 
 

I agree ownership is 66% of the issue, I do think the other third is the hitting philosophy and in game decision making. 

The Twins organization has changed fundamentally from what it historically was: Great at producing top hitters, league batting champs.  Now we see batters flailing away and guys who started great going down and not coming back up,  Conversely, they would scrape to find even 2 quality starting pitchers.  Now, SOMEBODY in that organization is developing and improving pitchers, again and again.  Please keep the pitching pipeline.  Get some coaches WHO HAVE ACTUALLY HIT MLB PITCHING to coach the young guys how to succeed.  All the stats in the world CANNOT tell you how to hit a curve ball.

The 3 headed monster is to blame. You can't look past any of the 3 without finding mistake after mistake that has led us to where we are today.

1.The Pohlads know they have a mid-market team. Don't tell me they haven't expressed to Falvey that he has a limited amount of money to spend every year. However the decision to right-size the payroll after the 2023 season instead of going all in doesn't fit the narrative that "they are ready to invest when needed". They did the opposite. 

2. Falvey and to some extent Levine failed to deliver from day 1. They said they were going to build a perrenial contender and that has been a complete failure. What was a power house team in 2019 has been turned into a whimper. They/Falvey have done that. From poor drafting, whether it is due to bad talent evaluation or bad coaching, their player development has failed. Add in the countless floor type players he has traded for that will never improve the roster to the same type of Free Agents that were left in the dumpster after other teams gobbled up the better ones is not a winning strategy. It is the opposite.

3. Rocco did a lot of things that just didn't make any sense. His incessant changing of lineups on an almost daily basis only provided inconsistancy in the lineup. His rest schedule for players that should be everyday players was set in stone regardless of who they were playing and where. Sorry, fans come to home games to see the stars on the team play, not their backups. How many games did he throw away on get-away days? A Lot. It was his responsibility to get players to hustle and play fundamentally sound baseball and he failed at both. Who's idea was it that the Twins should be more aggressive and steal more bases? Not his. It was Tinglers. When you only manage from a piece of paper that prevents you from thinking of other ways to win, you are a not a good manager. You are the opposite.

The original plan put in place after the 2019 juiced ball Bomba season not only didn’t work, but also was so clearly misaligned with how a franchise like the Twins needed to be run in the current version of Major League Baseball.  The Twins struggled to compete in this environment while also (yes, it’s true, sorry) losing hundreds of millions on a cash/operating profit basis over many years.

So a big pivot was necessary.  The included post above about 4 of the top five spending teams making the playoffs (with the Mets just missing out) explains where we are headed; namely the adoption of a salary cap/floor model following an extensive lockout in 2017. The small to mid size owners will go to the absolute mat to see that through.  Why? Because it both gives them a better chance to compete AND increases the value of their franchises.

So the strategy had to change in preparation for this new environment. What are the core planks of that strategy?  Reduced personnel costs until the floor is adopted, emphasis on a deep prospect list and player development. And, btw, the new strategy is much more consistent with what has won us two World Series in the past. 

The first main step in this pivot was the trade deadline.  The second is replacing Rocco. Ideally, the third will be replacing Falvey. Additional steps will likely (and sadly) include trading one or more of our remaining higher priced players for even more young talent.  Also, expect significant coaching and process changes to get better results out of prospect to successful major leaguer transitions.

2026 will likely be rough.  2027 may not see much baseball. But in 2028 the goal is to emerge in the new cap/floor model with a cadre of young, cheap capable major leaguers ready to be augmented by the addition of a couple of more expensive FA veterans (to meet the floor and fill the biggest holes).

And when that strategy unfolds, the Pohlads will sell. 

One comment on the payroll stat, is that is a little loaded stat.  The lowest 5 payrolls normally are low because the team has decided to do a full tear down rebuild and going with youth, who will always have a low payroll.  The bottom 15, which the bottom 5 are in, so lets got with 6 through 15 has 4 in the playoffs, for 40% of that 10.  They are in the come up type group or the hanging around group, or mid-markets that are at top of allowed payroll by owners, and they are competing, and a few games here or there made the difference. 

The top payrolls are expected to be competing, but it still takes more than their high payroll guys too.  How often in history have you seen a single big name signing make all the difference for a team? Almost never.  Do they have a big impact sometimes, but they still need a team around them.  

I am not saying going out and having top paid guys will not help a ton, but the state Gleeman shows is a bit loaded, because high paying teams will not spend on trash, and rebuilding teams will have a natural low payroll.  Things shift very quickly for some. 

Eric, 

Your list of failed trades, successful trades, failed signings, successful signings, really highlighted what an abysmal track record Falvey has.  I would add the spring training release of Jeff Hoffman to the list.  I'm beginning to see why the Pohlad family is losing so much money in their other business ventures as well as their baseball team...they can't seem to recognize sub standard performance and act to correct it.  

They have an over inflated opinion of their own business acumen and as a result, are slow to react to sub-par hires because...they could never make a mistake by hiring the wrong people.  

I think I will agree with the assessment that 2026 is going to be a very bad year for the Twins, leading to a massive financial loss for the Pohlad family.  They will finally see the light and determine a sale of the ballclub is imperative to salvaging the family empire.

It would appear there is far more pain ahead for Twins fans before we can see our desire of new ownership taking place.  The entire FO needs to be replaced.  But there is no chance of this happening until the Pohlad family sells the team.  

This headline is so dead on.

It doesn't seem right to attack people on a personal basis for their lack of talent or knowledge. I'm uncomfortable blasting the Pohlads, Falvey, and especially Baldelli in a personal manner. That is probably true for most people.

However, despite not having all of the data points and information needed to make a complete analysis, the surface evidence is pretty clear. The Pohlads inherited billions of dollars and numerous businesses with nearly unlimited resources. They picked their parents well. Why they want to fail at business is their choice, but an odd life to pursue. I hope they are happy.

Falvey is far out over his skis and pretty pleased to have employment where he can tinker with his ideas, make huge money, and seemingly have zero accountability for the outcomes of his work. He found his match in the Pohlads. 

Eventually this will all end. Until then, I cannot get too upset at the inevitable. I'm a baseball fan and enjoy the game at all levels. While it is true I follow the Twins much too closely, I still retain my ability to sift through the debacle to focus on the positive parts that are left when the incompetence has been sifted.

Nashvilletwin,

Here are two big name signings that worked out for the teams that made them:

The Dodgers signing Shohei Ohtani. Dodgers won the World Series last year.  The Yankees signing Reggie Jackson in 1977 after Jackson played one season with the Orioles.  Reggie was a key component of the Yankees winning back to back World Series over the Dodgers in 1977 & 1978.  

You could say the Twins signing Jack Morris in 1991 was a big name signing, but that would be a bit of a stretch.  Black Jack was starting to fade as the Ace of the Detroit Tigers.  The Pohlad's signing Morris was more of a bringing in of a hometown boy to get that warm fuzzy feeling for ticket sales.  Andy McPhail ended up catching lightening in a bottle.  

Our frustration as Twins fans was manifested in the winter after winning in 1991 when the Pohlad's wouldn't pay Morris what he deserved after a good season and spectacular game #7.  So the Blue Jays signed Morris and won the World Series in 1992.  

The Blue Jays followed that up by signing another St. Paul native in the off season prior to 1993...Paul Molitor.  Molitor finished 2nd in MVP voting and was World Series MVP in leading the Blue Jays to a back to back World Series Championship accomplishment.

Yes, often times signing big name FA fails spectacularly.  But there are plenty of times it has succeeded spectacularly.  

In his letter to the fans Falvey said we didn't deliver,so why is he not gone as well. Knowing this organization they will probably put Tingler in Rocco's place. Maybe buy a robot from Tesla to be the manager so you can program it how you want. That way you save money on paying a human manager and have the same control in the dugout.

35 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

The Twins struggled to compete in this environment while also (yes, it’s true, sorry) losing hundreds of millions on a cash/operating profit basis over many years.

I don't believe this for a minute. Where is the money going? They have run payrolls every season far below what the league gives them in revenue sharing. They would have to be the most mismanaged team in professional sports to run up that much debt out of operating budgets. I think it is far more likely that the Twins are taking out loans from Northmarq (their other business) to move money from one set of books to the other.

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2 hours ago, Reptevia said:

The fact that all these prospects were good in the minors but it ends under Rocco ‘s (and his hand-picked staff) says it does matter who the manager is. They have not taken one position player prospect and turned him into MLB quality. Did the FO miss on EVERY pick?  Fire the entire FO. 

Agree with your conclusion but not your premise. A lot of the prospects came up and were good or pretty great right away-Julien, Kiriloff, Wallner, Lewis, Miranda, Keaschell, Sano, etc. But then either the pitchers adjusted and they didn't adjust back or the league figured out holes in their swings and confidence cratered. Julien finished 7th in ROY voting and is now worthless. Miranda- expected to be a middle of the order bat, also worthless. Lewis was incredible for his first two injured riddled seasons (2022-2023). Keaschell is the only one who hasn't slowed down yet, which is encouraging. Martin looks to be figuring it out after a slow start.  

Theoretically it should be easier to hit in the minors than the majors, and a lot of guys are great players in AAA but never figure it out at the MLB level. The fact that the Twins have had a lot of guys who had some success at the MLB level but couldn't sustain it suggests some other issue with coaching or development. 

LaMonte Wade was redundant as an outfielder and not better than Rosario in hitting or fielding. He was not given a chance to unseat Sano at 1b, nor was there a reason at that time to do so. He had 2 okay years, but nothing really to build around  

The Mahle trade as a bad trade. No health issues as the time of the trade, could have been middle of rotation starter. Spencer Steer had one great full season then mediocrity. Would have fit perfectly into the 2025 Twins. It was neither a good nor bad trade, it is hard to say if it has really worked for either side. If you are good enough to see injuries happening within a month or so you can quit blogging and make more of a fortune as a fortune teller

MeGill, it took Milwaukee a year to get him to better pitching. Give them credit for development. 

Basically you have one bad Lopez trade.   Desperation  for winning causes teams to do desperate things. Trading for a journeyman having a career year is one of those things. 

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

I don't believe this for a minute. Where is the money going? They have run payrolls every season far below what the league gives them in revenue sharing. They would have to be the most mismanaged team in professional sports to run up that much debt out of operating budgets. I think it is far more likely that the Twins are taking out loans from Northmarq (their other business) to move money from one set of books to the other.

 

I know.  I know.  You never do believe it.  But it’s true.  Sorry. But I still think you’re a great person and Twins fan. 

Here's the BAD TRADE that was left off your list.  Possibly the worst of them all.

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On July 27, 2018, the Minnesota Twins traded Ryan Pressly to the Houston Astros for two minor league prospects: Jorge Alcala and Gilberto Celestino.