Minnesota Twins fans have a right to be upset with ownership. Coming off the most successful season in two decades, Twins CEO Joe Pohlad reversed the hype train to “right-size” his business. Minnesota’s television deal with Diamond Sports Group kept many fans from watching their team, and an even larger chunk got blacked out when they battled with Comcast over the rights to the Bally Sports North channel.
With more reports of watching payroll toward the trade deadline, ownership is at the top of the list of reasons Twins fans are upset. But it’s a convenient fallback for a front office that has had one of their worst seasons since taking over the Twins in 2016.
It began when Sonny Gray signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in free agency. Losing the runner-up in the AL Cy Young Award voting is never ideal. Still, the Twins found a way to replace his production at the top of the rotation.
Pablo López returned to ace form after a slow start to the season, going 9-2 with a 2.35 ERA over his last 15 starts. Bailey Ober had a breakout season with a 12-7 record and a 3.84 ERA. Joe Ryan was having his most consistent season, going 7-7 with a 3.60 ERA before suffering a shoulder injury in August.
The López, Ober, and Ryan trio is good enough to keep the Twins in contention and offset losing Gray. But the payroll crunch hit the Twins when replacing Ober and Ryan’s success at the bottom of the rotation.
Minnesota’s first attempt to fill out the rotation was to acquire Anthony DeSclafani in the trade that sent Jorge Polanco to the Seattle Mariners. DeSclafani had arm injuries with the San Francisco Giants toward the end of last season, but the Giants were able to trade him to Seattle in early January.
A few weeks later, the Mariners flipped DeScalaani while retaining some of his $13 salary to the Twins, and the next month was filled with hope that he could take the mound. DeSclafani never threw a pitch for Minnesota and underwent season-ending surgery on his flexor tendon in April.
It was a similar story with Chris Paddack. Acquired in the trade that sent Brent Rooker to the Oakland Athletics in 2022, Paddack made five starts for the Twins before undergoing his second Tommy John surgery.
Paddack’s return late in the 2023 season and his performance in Game 4 of the ALDS against the Houston Astros provided some optimism that he could fill a spot in the rotation. Still, he had his largest workload (88.1 innings) since the 2021 season (108.1 innings).
Paddack experienced fatigue, a recurring theme for many of Minnesota’s starters. Simeon Woods Richardson had a breakout season (5-5, 4.08 ERA), and David Festa (2-6, 5.07 ERA) and Zebby Matthews (1-3, 6.30 ERA) broke into the majors. However, even before Ryan’s injury, relying on all three in the heat of a pennant race was never a recipe for success.
The depth issues didn’t just hamper the rotation. The bullpen suffered from Jhoan Duran‘s regression. However, Twins set-up man Griffin Jax had a breakout season. Justin Topa’s knee injury also didn’t help matters. However, other moves were as ill-fated as a group of teenagers going for a swim in Crystal Lake.
Brock Stewart was slated to be a key reliever in the bullpen, but he has an extensive injury history. After appearing in 28 games in 2023, Stewart missed more time in 2024 and was limited to 16 games.
The dearth of lefties also played a pivotal role in the bullpen. Caleb Thielbar was at the top of the list. However, entering his age-37 season, the Twins didn’t have a reliable lefty option if he regressed.
Acquired in the Nick Gordon trade, Steven Okert posted a 4.45 ERA last season with the Miami Marlins and a 5.09 ERA before the Twins designated him for assignment. Kody Funderburk suffered from regression and injuries, and the Twins had no viable left-handers on the 40-man roster by the time the calendar turned to December.
Then there was the lineup. The Twins have top-tier stars, including Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa, and Royce Lewis. However, given their injury histories, Minnesota needs viable depth behind them. Having more of a budget would have helped, but the Twins didn’t have adequate replacements when they needed them.
Minnesota traded for Manuel Margot, and he posted almost a win below replacement as the primary backup at the corner outfielder spots. Austin Martin also had a -0.9 WAR filling in when Buxton was out. Matt Wallner and Edouard Julien couldn’t build on their fantastic rookie seasons, and they forced top prospects like Brooks Lee into major-league roles too early.
The Twins should have created injury contingencies in the winter, but they could have added to the roster at the trade deadline. Payroll slashing was an issue at the trade deadline, but Minnesota’s philosophies also hampered them.
Minnesota was active at the trade deadline in 2019, acquiring Sam Dyson and Sergio Romo. While Romo pitched well, Dyson arrived with an injured shoulder and hasn’t pitched in the majors since a domestic violence allegation a few months later.
In 2021, the Twins splashed at the trade deadline by seeking out players with team control. Acquiring Tyler Mahle and Jorge López were highly regarded moves at the time because of team control. However, both pitchers flamed out, meaning Minnesota gave up prospect capital without benefitting from Mahle and López’s contract situations.
This year, the Twins didn’t need a starter or reliever for the long term. They didn’t even need to make a big splash at the deadline. They just needed serviceable players, which they either couldn’t find or refused to do due to high prospect prices.
As a result, the Twins have gone from 70-53 on Aug. 17 to fighting for their playoff lives in September. Even more disheartening? Things are unlikely to change even if Kirby Puckett shows up at the Pohlad house like the ghost of baseball’s future.
The Twins were financially handicapped to add to their rotation and bullpen. However, the front office has been reluctant to add pitching through free agency. Their biggest deal was Jake Odorizzi‘s one-year, $17.8 million contract in 2018.
They also passed on more serviceable options in free agency like Michael Lorenzen, who the Twins could have had for a similar price ($4.5 million) to what they paid DeSclafani.
And many of those decisions made by Rocco Baldelli late in the season? There’s a good chance they could have been made in collaboration with the front office, looking to curb innings limits and protect their pitchers from burnout.
Other teams have done more with less. Pohlad cited the Tampa Bay Rays ($89 million) and Baltimore Orioles ($102 million) as teams that have had success with limited payrolls.
“I think in today’s game, you can see there are a number of different ways to win,” Pohlad said via MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park. “You see that both with the Tampa Bay Rays, with the Baltimore Orioles, having lower payrolls and turning out very successful products on the field, but also investing in other areas of the business.”
While the Rays missed the playoffs this year, they’ve made the playoffs each of the past five seasons despite limited resources. The Orioles have also overcome payroll issues, being one of the top teams in the American League with a payroll of $108 million this season.
Fans don’t want to hear this as the Twins collapse, but more payroll isn’t always the solution. The front office also has to make wise decisions throughout the year.
The Twins have made the playoffs four times since 2017 and could make it a fifth if they stave off Detroit and the other AL teams behind them. But it hasn’t been a great year, and people must look at all factors when assessing blame.
