The Twins’ Replacement-Level Killers Killed the 2025 Season

This is exactly what I predicted in the preseason. Too many question marks. 

No mention of Correa? 0 WAR and 91 OPS+

Twins have needed an everyday first baseman for some time now. Clemens looks like he can help the lineup with his power, but I think they need more production at first. Right field needs an upgrade as well. At least until Gabby Gonzalez, Jenkins, Martin, Fedko or E Rodriguez get here...

28 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

No mention of Correa? 0 WAR and 91 OPS+

Also the DH spot, which has been mostly Larnach.  An OPS+ of 97 doesn't cut it there.

And while Bader has played superlative defense in LF, his 109 OPS+ is just sort of adequate for LF, and I'm not confident he will maintain that.

Other than Buxton, and lately Jeffers, nobody is hitting well enough for the Twins to contend.

You forgot number 6 , replacement killer , sorry I can resist ROCCO BALDELLI and CREW  ...

France started the season promising  but it hasn't been sustainable  , Lee has had his ups and downs , Vazquez hasn't hit as a twin but his baseball smarts have contributed , lewis might be turning things around but Wallner offense and defense has definitely been a big hurt  in the twins games , he looks way over matched at the plate , no confidence  just swing hard and hope he connects  ...

Why have all these minor league promising propects finding it hard to hit their stride in the ML , you wouldn't believe me of I told you ...

P.s. okay I'll tell you , number 6 ...

I remain hopeful that our boys will get swept by the Dodgers, then drop 2 of 3 to Washington.  That will get them to July 27th with four days till the deadline.  Maybe then the FO will realize this team ain't gonna make it to the promised land and get serious about making some deals.  I would be elated if they at a minimum moved those not returning in 2025.  

Hopefully, they will get something of value in return.  But after thinking about all those past trades that were disasters, I just don't know.  But if they aren't trading for established major league pitchers who may be injured, there could be a better result.

3 minutes ago, rdehring said:

I remain hopeful that our boys will get swept by the Dodgers, then drop 2 of 3 to Washington.  That will get them to July 27th with four days till the deadline.  Maybe then the FO will realize this team ain't gonna make it to the promised land and get serious about making some deals.  I would be elated if they at a minimum moved those not returning in 2025.  

Hopefully, they will get something of value in return.  But after thinking about all those past trades that were disasters, I just don't know.  But if they aren't trading for established major league pitchers who may be injured, there could be a better result.

Sometimes I have those thoughts too.

Other times I realize that Falvey wants to be employed next year, and with a team sale likely that would mean working for a new owner.  So, do the Twins need to make the playoffs this year for Falvey to impress the new owner and thus keep his job?  That might be his mindset. He's loudly broadcast that he believes in the core he has built.  Regardless of results this week he may go "all in", trading some prospects for an extra starter or bat, hoping to nab that last wild card spot.  

Prediction:  Twins will become sellers but not get anything worth their salt.  Then go into the off-season and sign some cheap low level free agents who will be at or below avg.  They will struggle in '26' and we will have the same discussions.  Under performing stars with cheap and under-performing replacement players and a dodo for a manager.  And history will continue to repeat itself.  When did I become so negative?  My hope:  Twins will get new ownership, new front office, and new manager and coaching staff so we can start fresh.  Re-newed hope?

34 minutes ago, Heiny said:

Prediction:  Twins will become sellers but not get anything worth their salt.  Then go into the off-season and sign some cheap low level free agents who will be at or below avg.  They will struggle in '26' and we will have the same discussions.  Under performing stars with cheap and under-performing replacement players and a dodo for a manager.  And history will continue to repeat itself.  When did I become so negative?  My hope:  Twins will get new ownership, new front office, and new manager and coaching staff so we can start fresh.  Re-newed hope?

What a mess. I am sadly in agreement. I don't mind losing as much as I cannot stand playing poorly. Play well, get beat, no problem. We'll strap it on tomorrow and go get em.
I want to be a team like Milwaukee. I watched that series and marveled at the hussle, the teamwork, the moxy, the spirit. I didn't notice a great disparity in talent between us? I wish we had different leadership. Different front office and a different manager.
We don't have Dodger talent, but we have talent. At least Milwaukee talent. We could be better and we could certainly be more fun to watch, win or lose. Hated to see the Tiger organization just fly by us. That's on Falvey and Rocco.

2 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

I mean, all the explanations of these are on Fangraphs.....but ya, they are close to replacement at other spots. They also have the worst defense, by far, of any "contender." 

On top of that the Dodgers TV crew said the Twins are the worst hitting team in the majors on fastballs 97 or above. 

I think since 2020 the only home-grown position player to make the all-star game is Byron Buxton. And unless the team sale is a done deal except for the signatures and there is a shadow GM in place to approve big trades, I don't expect anything more than exchanging the short contract guys for prospects.

3 hours ago, LambchoP said:

Twins have needed an everyday first baseman for some time now. Clemens looks like he can help the lineup with his power, but I think they need more production at first. Right field needs an upgrade as well. At least until Gabby Gonzalez, Jenkins, Martin, Fedko or E Rodriguez get here...

Kyler Fedko turns 26 on September 21st and currently is in AA playing in his 5th minor league season, He most likely will never be anything but a back up in the majors (that is if he ever makes the majors) (after last year he is lucky to still be in the minor leagues) 

Austin Martin is 26 in AAA, these are the type of guys (including like Eeles McCusker, Sabato), that fill out the last 1 or 2 spots on an active roster, not guys we or anybody should be hoping are anything more. Did we learn nothing from Keirsay?)

Jenkins, Erod, Keaschall, Gonzalez, Rosario, Culpepper, Winokur, DeBarge, De Andrade, Amick (if he can get out of high A) are the type of players we/they need to step it up and grab on fulltime jobs. Young talented guys exceeding expectations at their age for the league they are in. 

With that said doesn't mean I don't wish them all the best. 

This is true.  You could add Correa and Larnarch in there as super disappointing.  Buxton, Castro, Jeffers have done well, no one else, maybe Bader, I guess.

A competent organization would try to figure out why Lewis, Lee, Larnach, and Wallner are ALL struggling to adapt to the show and fix it. Not all of these guys are going to stick but at least one of them should. 

5 hours ago, thelanges5 said:

No mention of Correa? 0 WAR and 91 OPS+

You took the words out of my mouth. Correa is the biggest hole. He's the leader. If he's not producing, his leadership goes out the window.

2 hours ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

On top of that the Dodgers TV crew said the Twins are the worst hitting team in the majors on fastballs 97 or above. 

That's funny because it seems not too long ago. Twins were great against FBs but lousy against off-speed stuff. Maybe they over-compensated trying to hit the off-speed.

6 hours ago, thelanges5 said:

No mention of Correa? 0 WAR and 91 OPS+

Over-rated and over-paid. Been saying it since they resigned him. Over $37M this season for what they are getting is a joke. That much money should get you a guy that hits .320, 30HR, 100+ RBI's. Or at least 1 of those 3. He's never done any of them once much less all 3 combined. Good job Falvey.

Buck & Ryan are hot. Castro is doing pretty well. Some are OK, but injuries have hurt us Areas that are fragile should have been addressed, but haven't. Jeffers is doing well, but we don't want to ride that horse to the ground. Correa, Lewis, & Wallner are not hitting on all cylinders, maybe because they haven't been 100% & still trying to find their rhythm. But IMO, they are close & when they do watch out, we'd be a force to reckon with. 

I enjoy Plouffe's opinions. Like me, he believes in the Twins' core. He said the Twins brand should be smart baseball (like the Brewers). Focus should be on a lot of good, smart coaches (Many of the good coaches, Twins have let go & the bad ones have been promoted) & good scouts. 

IMO, Lewis has been disgusted with the INF coach because he wasn't helping him with his throwing (he was fired) & now with the hitting coach because he's not helping him get him out of his slump. The team has been flat. At times, they play good fundamental ball & do fine, but they relapse & play poorly. I will say it again, the problem isn't the core; it's management.

To me the problem is the core and the management.  The core for obviously not performing well and the management for doing a poor job of evaluating and training.  Apparently this young can't miss core isn't nearly as good as all the hype.  When we get new ownership they simply must dump falvey and baldelli sooner rather than later.  Then work on coaches and the organization.  It needs to clean house and get the stink out of the air.

The most obvious article TD has published. Anyone who's watched more than a handful of games this year  will have come to the same conclusions. 

On 7/22/2025 at 1:36 PM, In My La Z boy said:

What a mess. I am sadly in agreement. I don't mind losing as much as I cannot stand playing poorly. Play well, get beat, no problem. We'll strap it on tomorrow and go get em.
I want to be a team like Milwaukee. I watched that series and marveled at the hussle, the teamwork, the moxy, the spirit. I didn't notice a great disparity in talent between us? I wish we had different leadership. Different front office and a different manager.
We don't have Dodger talent, but we have talent. At least Milwaukee talent. We could be better and we could certainly be more fun to watch, win or lose. Hated to see the Tiger organization just fly by us. That's on Falvey and Rocco.

I still believe, on paper, the Twins are miles ahead of the Brewers. Yet the Brewers have the best record in MLB and we know where the Twins are. Brewer manager, Murphy, is getting all he can our of a bunch of unknown players.

If the core is good or better than good, then it HAS TO BE the coaches.
 

 There are three sides to this coaching mess:  in game tactics, pregame strategy and player development/training.  We all watch just the first and grumble about the continuous substitutions.  I cannot comment on the pregame strategy but it doesn’t often show well. But player development and training is an abysmal failure!  It just seems like every player goes great guns up to AAA then flames out in the Biggs. That lands squarely on the coaches.  They are an abject failure at getting players from AAA to MLB!!!  When is the last time we had a player come from AAA and STICK?  Maybe Puckett?  
 

Sure there’s gonna be adjustments.  That’s the problem.  The players get to MLB and the coaches are helpless with adjustments.  Even big leaguers like Correa can’t seem to make adjustments.  How long did it take Buxton? We ave a bunch of players still trying to figure it out and some may never find it (Miranda, Julien).  Look at players like Sano, Gordon. Maybe bad drafts but never converted the hype to MLB. That’s ALL coaching. 
 

the players are not held accountable and the coaches are not held accountable for these failures.  Rinse and repeat. INSANITY to beloved this will change.