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It was striking to everyone – including him – that the Twins decided to tender a contract to Kyle Farmer this year, making him a $6.3 million 33-year-old backup on a team that was about to slash payroll by $30 million. The logic seemed to make sense – Farmer was coming off a pretty good year, including a really good second half, and provided stable depth at two positions with crucial players carrying health question marks. Plus, there was the valued clubhouse presence.
It's tough to imagine this decision playing out worse thus far. The exact type of scenario that theoretically merited Farmer's expensive retention – both Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis going down with significant early injuries – has materialized, and in an elevated role, Farmer has been one of the worst players on the team. None of the qualities that the front office prioritized in retaining him have been on display.
Farmer apparently is a less preferred option at shortstop than Willi Castro, which is a very bad sign because Castro is a bad shortstop. Farmer has instead mainly been playing third, where he's been unexceptional at best; last weekend in Detroit he committed one of the most costly defensive misplays of the season.
Offensively, Farmer has been brutal, posting an incomprehensible .079 batting average through 16 games. Included within that is an 0-for-12 mark against left-handed pitchers, against whom Farmer is supposed to specialize – another aspect of the specific value Minnesota's front office saw in him. To whatever extent Farmer's presence in the clubhouse is beneficial, there's been little evidence as the Twins have fallen into a demoralized state with a blatant leadership void in Correa's absence.
On its own, the $6 million they Twins are spending on Farmer may not be all that consequential. But when you combine it with all of the other "luxury" expenses on this roster that are failing to pan out, it becomes quite apparent how easily the front office could have allocated its payroll in more impactful ways.
Consider that:
- The Twins signed Carlos Santana for $5.25 million, despite already having a starting option at first base in Alex Kirilloff. The idea of adding another switch-hitting bat and reducing their reliance on the injury-prone Kirilloff made sense, but Santana looks totally out of gas at age 38. His negative-0.5 fWAR ranks as the fifth-worst in baseball.
- Manuel Margot was a late add via trade with the Dodgers, costing $4 million but bringing a needed righty-swinging outfield bat into the mix for Minnesota, as well as a viable backup in center for Byron Buxton. But much like with Farmer as an infielder, Margot loses much of his appeal as an outfielder if the Twins don't like him in center. That seems to be the case; he's not started a game there. Margot has also looked pretty underwhelming in the corners and he's slashing. .171/.277/.244 at the plate.
- Minnesota brought back Anthony DeSclafani as a part of Seattle's return in the Jorge Polanco trade, seemingly giving them a veteran layer of depth at $4 million to keep Louie Varland in Triple-A as rotation depth. DeSclafani, who missed the second half of 2023 with an elbow injury, experienced a recurrence in spring training and underwent season-ending surgery before throwing a pitch for the Twins. This thrust Varland into the season-opening rotation, where he's struggled immensely.
- The decision to bring him back via arbitration was not as controversial as Farmer, but Castro could also be considered a bit of a luxury off the bench at a $3.5 million price tag. Castro's batting .158 with one of the highest strikeout rates in the league. He's been hugely overexposed defensively at short.
- Finally, although it wasn't a move made in this past offseason, the Twins are still on the hook for $10 million to backup catcher Christian Vázquez this year and next. Pressed into more regular duty than expected by injuries elsewhere in the lineup, Vázquez is batting .139 with a .380 OPS and one walk in 40 plate appearances.
Between those six players – Farmer, Santana, Margot, DeSclafani, Castro, Vázquez – the Twins are paying more than $33 million, or about a quarter of their $125 million payroll. Each of these veterans has been replacement-level or worse, collectively producing about negative-1.0 fWAR thus far.
Being without your $36 million franchise centerpiece in Carlos Correa is one thing. But the front office placed a clear emphasis this past offseason on embedding veteran depth and leadership around him, spreading what little money they had toward this end rather than opting for a big splash or two. This strategy, while sensible, is failing them direly, and that's been the story of the season as much as the key injuries.
The contingency planning has turned to catastrophe in practice.
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