rv78

The Pohlads will never run out of scapegoats. The new people they hire to replace the used scapegoats become fodder for new scapegoats. If the Twins falter again in 2026, tell me they won't look to Shelton or a new Coach to blame. At the very least they will use Falvey as a scapegoat for the next few years saying he didn't do his job building up the team, (which I agree with), however, it will never get to the point where they say it's their fault.

Not impossible. The Brewers, Indians, Rays do it almost every year.

My first thought is........... the more things change, the more they stay the same. Carl first turns things over to Joe, then Tom. Levine leaves and his job goes to Falvey. Falvey gets the axe and his job goes to Zoll. Rocco gone, they hire Shelton. Seems like a lot of in-house connection that signals change but very little changes other than names. They will have to prove me wrong before I believe any of these changes will make a difference.

It's never a good thing when you reach the point of, damned if you do AND damned if you don't.

Of the 10 players that were part of the fire sale, how many were connected to Falvey either through the draft or some sort of acquisition by him? I didn't look it up but I'm guessing all 10. What's sad is that none of them were worth keeping. That alone, in a nutshell, tells you how good Falvey was at his job.

They are a dysfunctional bunch with different visions. Unfortunately all of their visions are flawed. In 2019 they had one of the best teams in baseball. They dismantled it in 2 years, built it back up by 2023 then went in the opposite direction the following season instead of building onto it. In 2025 they have a fire sale, tearing the team down even farther. After the season they claim they will compete in 2026, adding basically no one to date that will actually turn this team into a competitor. There is no doubt in my mind that both Tom and Falvey want to win. Tom understands the need to win to get fans in the stands, thus the reason for calling cancelled season ticket holders. He also probably understands that Falvey wasn't going to produce that winning formula with a limited budget that the Pohlads require. Maybe some of the season ticket holders that he talked to, told him Falvey needed to go too. Falvey's problem was that he was just terrible at evaluating players. He'd see a player that had 1 good season in their entire career or even just half a season (Jorge Lopez) and expect him to be the star he was looking for. Even when the Pohlads gave him star caliber type money to spend he blew it on a player like Correa, or good money on Joey Gallo. The pitching pipeline he was suppose to develop only produced 1 starter named Bailey Ober, in his entire 9 year tenure. How many players did he bring in that were injured or injury prone? Even his last acquisition from Colorado, Kaminska is coming off TommyJohn surgery. Falvey took Terry Ryans vision of "Hope and A Prayer" to another level. Why? Because he wasn't the smartest man in the room afterall.

The Pohlads came to the conclusion that Falvey wasn't capable of building a winner within their payroll restrictions and Falvey came to the conclusion that the Pohlads were never going to give him the huge amount of payroll he'd need to cover up his mistakes and still be a winner, That my friends is the mutual understanding and agreement they arrived at. Period.

I would have to disagree with this........ firing Falvey wasn't a tough decision. It's one that should have been done 2 years ago, or at least at the same time Rocco was shown the door.

Another, Go big or go home" move by Falvey. Joe must be proud. Question...... Why the obsession with injured pitchers?

This is less about reacting to matchups and more about dictating them. That shift suggests an organization leaning fully into modern roster construction. The Twins may not win many talent comparisons on paper, but they are trying to win the decision-making battle that happens before the first pitch. How is setting a lineup based on the other teams starting pitcher dictating a matchup? It can only be seen as a reaction. If you really think that the other team isn't going to pitch their top 3 pitchers against the Twins if it is their turn in the rotation because the Twins can throw a predominately opposite hitting lineup against them, you're crazy. If you win a decision-making battle, that fails to give you the production you were hoping for, and then you lose that option for a late inning decision-making battle, don't you fail twice? It's a stupid plan. Talent still looks better, on paper and in a game.

Agree completely. There was no point in keeping any of these 3 plus Jeffers if all you are going to do is add fringe players that make no difference. If I was any of the 3 or 4 especially Buxton and I am watching what kind of crap Falvey is bringing in to try to help this team get better, I'm asking for a trade ASAP. Joe says he doesn't do half measures, and he says he doesn't think not going full rebuild and at the same time not spending to add significant pieces are half measures. That kinda proves he doesn't know what half measures are.

What I wrote in reply in another article In years past we were told the bullpen was possibly the best in baseball, yet it was the first thing Falvey disposed of at the deadline. You think it's middle of the road? I believe it will be one of the worst in baseball. Especially if they don't add anyone with at least a year or two of high leverage experience in the prime of their career. Knowing Falvey, he'll go for someone that is at the end of his career and has his best days behind him. Hoping to catch a star as it fades into darkness. A Taylor Rogers or Caleb Theilbar, maybe Liam Hendriks or some other washed up former Twin. This is the Falvey way. bunsen82 .... I think I nailed it.

I fully believe that Falvey would have traded Larnach by now had a decent offer been made. Like all the AAA players the Twins are adding and subtracting, Larnach is in another class of redundant players just 1 step above those AAA players. He's one dimensional, and there are a boat load of players just like him, which makes his value easy to obtain anywhere. Falvey thinks he's special only because he's better than the AAA players he usually acquires.

When they sell-off Ryan, Lopez, and Jeffers, and Buxton departs as well at the trade deadline, they will crash and burn worse than last year. It will take more than 4 games of improvement before July 31st to make 74 wins for the season. They will be in the 60-70 range.

"James Outman, a man whose profile lies at the unfortunate crossroads of uniqueness and redundancy." There is nothing unique about James Outman. Redundant yes, unique no.

You are the one swallowing their garbage by believing they are actually improving the club with the moves they are making. I bet they don't win is many games as last year. Are you willing to make that bet?

Yes these players are offensive.

"It's a small move, but this deepens Minnesota's roster as they try to hold onto a competitive foothold in the wide-open AL Central." This made me laugh and laugh and laugh.

Yes, I want a finished product. That's what contenders do. The Twins are pretenders. They are pretending when they bring in players like Bell and Caratini. They are pretending when they expect Sands, Topa, Funderburk, Orze, and a whole slew of AAA starters that can't make the rotation to be their answers in the bullpen. None of them have ever been top high leverage relievers on a consistant basis. We were told by Falvey, they are going for it in 2026. Joe Pohlad has said they won't be doing half measures. It's go big or go home. All we get from them is BS and the same off-season process that only delivers half measures at best. It's a joke. I agree, they are putting together a competant team. Is that what they promised? Or was it something else? In years past we were told the bullpen was possibly the best in baseball, yet it was the first thing Falvey disposed of at the deadline. You think it's middle of the road? I believe it will be one of the worst in baseball. Especially if they don't add anyone with at least a year or two of high leverage experience in the prime of their career. Knowing Falvey, he'll go for someone that is at the end of his career and has his best days behind him. Hoping to catch a star as it fades into darkness. A Taylor Rogers or Caleb Theilbar, maybe Liam Hendriks or some other washed up former Twin. This is the Falvey way.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Value is measurable, and the amount that has been added by Falvey's patience doesn't mean a **** thing if it doesn't lead to sustained success. It hasn't. So let's not pretend it's a good plan or even try to justify it by saying it adds value. Waiting for the scraps for value is not a winning formula and Falvey has proven that already. Is there value in signing a Josh Bell ($7M) and Victor Caratini ($7M)? Absolutely! But is it a winning strategy? Not yet. How many times do you have to try before you realize it isn't working. Maybe spending the total $14M spent on Bell and Caratini on 1 really good player, early in Free Agency, that could move the needle, would provide much more value. I know it would do 1 thing for sure....... It would raise the ceiling instead of raising the floor.

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If the bullpen was a wet paper bag then, it is a drowning gunny sack now. Relying on guys like Sands that have had a small sample size of success to be a high leverage guy is not smart. Throwing that crapload of starters at the bullpen to be the answer to the problem is also NOT a good recipe for being a serious contender. These are not even half measures, They are Hope and a Prayer measures.

The one answer to almost all of these questions is...... It doesn't matter. They have done nothing to improve the club since the sell-off last year. If anyone thinks adding Bell and Caratini is going to make a difference on a club that can't hit, can't play good defense, can't stay healthy, and doesn't have a bullpen, then you're kool-aid has too much sugar in it. Buxton, Ryan and Lopez are all just 1 injury away from this being a 50 win team instead of a 65 win team. IF, and that is a big IF, everyone stays healthy and everything falls into place the way the FO HOPES it will, this team could win 70-75 games. Playoff contender, they are not.