As Carlos Correa’s plantar fasciitis lingers, he said he’s not thinking too much about the Minnesota Twins’ inactivity at the trade deadline. Brooks Lee played well at short in his absence until Lee injured his shoulder, and he believes in Minnesota’s depth. Plus, teams overpaid at the deadline. The front office did what it could. It’s on the players to deliver.
“I don’t dwell too much on what happened in the trade deadline because we tried, we really tried to make those trades,” said Correa. “Just some teams happened to overpay for some players, and that’s okay, that’s going to happen. But like I said, I think we have the talent to go win.”
Correa sent some trade ideas to the front office, but he understands how the market shook out. The Twins were in on starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, but the Houston Astros blew them away with a godfather offer at the last minute. The Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers had pitchers they were interested in. However, Chicago and Detroit would have made the Twins pay exorbitant prices as a tax for trading within the division.
Still, Joe Ryan’s recent injury jeopardizes Minnesota’s potential playoff rotation. Pablo López was the Twins’ best pitcher in the playoffs last year, and Bailey Ober has pitched well enough this year to start in the postseason. However, they must get creative if Ryan cannot pitch in October. Simeon Woods Richardson has pitched well, but he’s a rookie. So is David Festa. Louie Varland struggled in his first stint with the Twins this year, and Zebby Matthews just reached Triple-A and hasn’t debuted this season.
In a worst-case scenario, the Twins repeat their fate from two years ago. They led the AL Central for most of the 2022 season but succumbed to injury and relinquished the division to Cleveland in the final month. Minnesota played the Guardians eight times in September and only won once, ceding the division. They started September with a 67-62 record and finished the season with 78 wins.
Luis Arraez, Carlos Correa, and José Miranda hit 1-2-3 for Minnesota’s first game against Cleveland. However, Nick Gordon hit cleanup, and Gio Urshela, Gary Sanchez, Jake Cave, Gilberto Celestino, and Sandy León rounded out the lineup. Dylan Bundy, Chris Archer, and Josh Winder started the first three games against Cleveland. Injuries had ravaged their roster. They were no longer a viable playoff team.
In response, the Twins increased payroll from $150.3 million to $156.1 million and doubled down on depth in 2023. They traded for Kyle Farmer in case they couldn’t re-sign Correa and signed Michael A. Taylor as Byron Buxton insurance. Minnesota added Donovan Solano in February, even though they had ample infield depth. The Twins had so much pitching depth that Bailey Ober had to start the season in Triple-A. They recalled Matt Wallner, who hit .636/.714/1.000 in August, only to send him back down.
They almost had too much depth.
However, the Twins cut payroll by $35 million in the offseason and entered the season without as much depth. They traded for Anthony DeSclafani to be their fifth starter, but his Spring Training injury forced them to turn to Louie Varland to begin the season. Minnesota has manufactured depth with prospects or post-hype prospects throughout the year. José Miranda stepped in at third when Royce Lewis got hurt, and Lee played well at short in place of Correa. Austin Martin has played center when Buxton needs a day off. They’ve had to rely on their young pitchers like Ober, Woods Richardson, and Festa to fill out the rotation.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Prospects are the lifeblood of any organization, especially a mid-market team like the Twins. A deep farm system allows organizations to retain players on long, cost-controlled contracts, allowing them to build a core that has multiple opportunities to win in the playoffs. Minnesota has finally established a pitching pipeline, and Lee is a big-time prospect. Miranda, Wallner, and Trevor Larnach have rediscovered what made them promising players.
Prospect capital was likely a bigger factor than payroll at the deadline. It was a seller’s market, and teams were asking for Minnesota’s four best prospects in exchange for second-tier major leaguers. Of the top four, Lee and Festa are already making a major-league impact, Walker Jenkins, 19, could have gone first-overall in his draft class, and Emmanuel Rodriguez should debut next season. Therefore, the Twins were wise to hold onto their prospects at the deadline.
“When you make those deals, you’re giving up something that could contribute down the line for something you hope will impact you in the short term,” Falvey said. “In many cases, [teams asked for] the top of our top [tier of prospects], and ultimately, we said that for short-term rentals and situations like that, that wasn’t something that we really wanted to touch.”
If the Twins slip into the abyss, it won’t be because they didn’t do enough at the trade deadline or because their prospects didn’t deliver. It will be because they didn’t build the depth they needed to survive a seven-month season.
