The Minnesota Twins haven’t done much this offseason and it’s triggered the fan base. But while many are waiting for a trade to fill a need or a new owner who will spend money, a former MLB executive believes that the lack of activity isn’t an indictment on what the team will do next season.
The Athletic’s Jim Bowden released his offseason grades to this point, and while the Twins earned a C-minus, Bowden remained optimistic about the team’s chances of contending in the American League Central next season.
“The biggest move they made this offseason was promoting Jeremy Zoll to [general manager] and Derek Falvey to team president,” Bowden wrote. Baseball-wise, they didn’t have a lot of major holes, so being largely inactive isn’t a bad thing. They still need a right-handed outfielder to mix and match on the corners. But if their young players keep developing and their star players stay healthy for once, they have the best roster in the division and could return to the playoffs after a one-year hiatus.”
Minnesota Twins have reasons to be optimistic without big free-agent moves
Twins fans have a bad taste in their mouths from the way last season ended. After a win over the Texas Rangers on Aug. 17, Minnesota owned a 70-53 record and a double-digit lead in the wild card standings, but the team free-fell to go 12-27 in their final 39 games and miss the playoffs for the third time in the past four seasons.
The Twins' public relations were also a disaster. The Twins slashed $30 million from the payroll coming off their first playoff win and postseason series victory since 2002 and their games were pulled from cable for nearly three months when Comcast had a lengthy battle with Diamond Sports Group last summer.
The payroll restrictions remain in place for this upcoming season and even the announcement that the Pohlad family intends to sell the team hasn’t been enough to win back the fans. But Bowden makes a point that this is still a good team with a young core featuring Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee, a solid top of the rotation including Pablo López, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober and an All-Star caliber duo of Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa.
That’s where the questions come in. Lewis, Correa, and Buxton all missed significant time due to injuries last season, and Correa generated headlines when he called out the younger players on the team for their preparation last September. Lewis may be highly motivated after the way last season ended, but the Twins still need to fill holes at first base and a right-handed corner bat.
Even if the Twins make those moves, it won’t level up to some of the top teams on Bowden’s list including the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. But he proves a point that this team doesn’t need a seismic move to contend and could be in for a rebound season in 2025.