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With the trade deadline in full swing, we—the good fans—anxiously await for our team to deliver us a deal. Like a child on Christmas Eve, we expect to suddenly receive a gift from our dreams; something to play with for a few months before inevitably growing tired and moving on.
For the Twins, perhaps settling for something minor could be the better plan.
Let’s start with what happened last year with a similarly decent squad: they bungled it. Acquiring all those very nice pitchers felt great in the moment, sure, but a year later, we can see they weren’t worth the trouble. Yennier Cano became an All-Star. Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand rock, yadda, yadda, yadda. We know this story. Would following this folly again not be the definition of madness? Can’t we see the team—and the franchise’s health as a whole—would be much improved if they sat on their hands and trusted their talent?
With that pain still fresh, the team should look to add a few pieces still, but shy away from any bigger-ticket player, whoever that even is in this market. Adding Tommy Pham and maybe Brooks Raley—or someone of his ilk—is all they need to do.
And, maybe, it’s all they really can do; as Greggory Masterson wrote on July 10th, the lineup is filled with veterans. The team can’t shuffle around players as much as you would like, with the only methods of removing hitters being a DFA or trade (yes, I know you would gladly do either to Joey Gallo). Outside of that Italian, though, everyone is stuck, whether productive or not. And Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco are not going anywhere—not suddenly shipped off after the team held onto them through thick and thin.
The veterans are the crux of Minnesota’s problem. You can add Paul Goldschmidt, Mark Canha (who was just traded, so I guess not), or the ghost of Lou Gehrig to the lineup, but as long as Carlos Correa isn’t hitting and Byron Buxton isn’t playing center field, there’s really nowhere for the Twins to go. Their current construction won’t allow for it.
They do have an ace up their sleeve: the Al Central. It stinks. The members of the exclusive club vary from outright terrible to selectively conservative, choosing to augment their complimentary pieces with… cheaper complimentary pieces. Never quite “in it,” Cleveland will remain in Minnesota’s vicinity, but will never overcome themselves, hamstringing their core with trades meant to churn perpetual competition, but not greatness. Aaron Civale will always be traded.
In fewer words: they’re mediocre. It’s an indictment that the Twins can’t convincingly best that standard, but that’s the nest they already made for themselves. All they need is to be a little better than the Guardians anyways; punching your playoff ticket after making relatively minor additions is what the 2021 Atlanta Braves did, and that worked out pretty well for them. This time around, the Twins have a much better starting rotation.
So go get Pham—they really could use him—and, what the hell, even grab another reliever while they’re at it; but taking any more extreme steps to improve this roster will only result in a repeat of last year. The players they have are correct, sort of—and they’re even really good when at their peak—but this season’s weirdness and failures from the established veterans make it difficult to believe that the Twins are just One Big Move away from being a playoff powerhouse. And what’s one more year anyways when you have Correa and Buxton locked up for two more presidential elections?
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