As October 31st draws near, I couldn't help but ponder some of the ghosts of trades and free agency pick-ups that the Twins have encountered over the years. Most were benign or at least neutral enough, but a few came back to bite them in the rear in a big way. Far from an exhaustive list, the trades and moves in this article highlight poor foresight, tension with management, and plain old bad timing on the franchise's part. Dust off the skeletons in the closet! Here are five of the worst moves in Minnesota Twins history that haunted them for years to come.
The Five Moves That Still Haunt Twins Territory
1. Wilson Ramos for Matt Capps (2010)
Perhaps many Twins fans will consider this a dark horse selection, or question why it is on the list at all, but bear with me.
At the 2010 trade deadline, Minnesota held a slim lead in the AL Central and was looking to shore up its bullpen for a playoff run. To secure Washington Nationals closer Matt Capps, the Twins dealt away their top catching prospect in Wilson Ramos (also top 100 MLB-wide), along with minor leaguer Joe Testa. With Joe Mauer recently signing his franchise-record contract extension, it seemed logical that Ramos would be blocked from catching for many years and that the future Hall of Famer, Mauer, would be a mainstay backstop. We, as Twins fans, know that Mauer's health and physical endurance quickly changed in the next couple of seasons, ending with his permanent move to first base.
Capps briefly did well for the Twins but ultimately declined rapidly. By 2012, he was injured and his career was all but finished. Ramos, on the other hand, went on to become an All-Star catcher with the Nationals. When Mauer made the move to first base, the Twins did not have a long-term answer behind the plate - a role that Wilson Ramos could have filled for them. The trade, while making sense at the time, epitomized the short-term thinking response of selling tomorrow's talent to win quickly today. The departure of Ramos took with it the potential of several years of stability behind the plate in exchange for a once-effective closer found to be in the very sudden twilight of his career.
2. The Tsuyoshi Nishioka Debacle (2010-2012)
Just off a 94-win season and still breaking in the brand new Target Field, the Twins decided to make a splash by dipping into the international market by signing Japanese batting champion Tsuyoshi Nishioka. After coughing up the $9.25 million price tag, which included a fee to even talk to him, the Twins felt they had landed the switch-hitting lead-off man that they needed - so much so that they traded away Gold Glove shortstop J.J. Hardy to make room in the middle infield.
From the beginning, Nishioka didn't seem long for the MLB. In the first week of his career, he fractured his fibula when New York Yankee Nick Swisher took him out with a slide into second base. He would ultimately appear in just 71 major league games and batted only .215. By 2012, he opted to return to Japan, forfeiting the rest of his contract with the Minnesota Twins. For a nice "historical" article on that, I found this old gem from years gone by.
The Nishioka Debacle was the crowning achievement in the franchise's extended run of flawed scouting and poor player evaluation. Hardy, who was traded to Baltimore to make way for Nishioka, went on to win three straight Gold Gloves at shortstop. Whether Nishioka wasn't aware of how American baseball can involve some contact at times or if his team failed to prepare him for it, the Twins were on the short end of this stick, no matter which end you look at.
3. Johan Santana Traded to the New York Mets (2008)
Alright, now we're getting to the moves that really hurt. Let's start with Twins Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana.
By 2007, Santana was the most dominant pitcher in MLB. He won the Cy Young in 2004 and 2006 and had led the league in ERA three times. As he entered the final year of his contract, he sought a long-term deal that went beyond what the Twins could afford at the time. Rather than have Santana hit the free agency market, they opted to trade him to the New York Mets for a group of prospects in Carlos Gómez, Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra.
Santana continued to deliver at his high level for the Mets whereas the pieces the Twins received never truly panned out. Gómez didn't develop until he left the club for the Brewers and the others made a minimal impact. To date, it was one of the most lopsided trades the Twins have ever made. The Santana trade to New York effectively ended any long-term viability to remain relevant in the AL Central. After 2010, the Twins saw four-straight seasons of 90 losses or more. Santana's departure also signaled an issue that we still witness today with the club: an inability (or unwillingness?) to retain top-tier talent.
4. Rod Carew to the California Angels (1979)
Speaking of top-tier talent and poor management, let's turn the clock back to 1979. This was before my time but it is a trade that still baffles even in 2025 for many reasons.
Twins franchise cornerstone Rod Carew, the 1977 AL MVP and seven-time batting champion, and club owner Calvin Griffith were at odds. Carew, who was becoming increasingly concerned and frustrated with management (and Griffith's racial comments) requested a trade. In 1979, the Twins dealt one of the greatest hitters of all time to the California Angels for what amounts to a sack of marbles: Ken Landreaux, Dave Engle, Brad Havens, and Paul Hartzell. Sorry, but compared to Rod Carew, the return on this trade boggles the mind.
Carew continued to hit over .300 for several more seasons, made six All-Star teams, and he notched his 3,000th hit against, you guessed it, the Minnesota Twins. Serves them right. Landreaux, Engle, Havens, and Hartzell never amounted to anything.
Carew's departure crushed the fanbase and revealed a fractured culture within the organization. It is unlikely that we can find a lower point of morale for Twins Territory than when Carew left...except for perhaps now. It isn't apples to apples - what do those of you who have experienced both think?
5. David Ortiz Released (2002)
Finally, we reach one the greatest examples of the "Twins' Way" getting in its own way: the release of David Ortiz. After parts of six seasons with the team, David Ortiz had shown glimpses of raw power at the plate but had struggled to stay on the field. The Twins, unconvinced that he would bloom into anything more as a player, released him outright in 2002. The Boston Red Sox signed the man we would know as "Big Papi" for just $1.25 million a few weeks later. Let the nausea begin, Twins Territory.
Ortiz developed into one of baseball's clutch sluggers with 541 home runs, three World Series rings (2004, 2007, 2013), the 2013 World Series MVP, and finally an induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022. During this time, the Twins searched in vain for consistent, middle-of-the-order power.
Big Papi later commented that Minnesota was forcing him away from his natural hitting abilities by telling him to go opposite field. This rigid small-ball approach highlighted how the franchise was failing to adapt to the modern swing (pun intended) towards the power hitter in MLB. The Ortiz release showcased a total misread of a player's potential and the results speak for themselves. They lost not only a "good player" or a "solid power hitter," they missed a generational slugger who became a Hall of Famer. The thought of what could have been haunts us to this day.
Five of Minnesota's Worst Trade and Free Agency Ghosts
Baseball, like history itself, is full of ghosts and shades — phantoms of choices made and chances completely missed. For the Minnesota Twins, each of these moments stands as a cautionary tale whispered by the specters of the past. From Carew’s exile to Ortiz’s release, they remind us that even well-intentioned decisions can cast long shadows when vision gives way to caution or ineptitude. Yet in facing these memories, there is plenty to be learned from them. The greatest thing to remember is not to be afraid of these skeletons in our closet but to glean wisdom from them - to recognize where pride, penny-pinching, or shortsightedness once ruled, and to work to avoid those pitfalls in the future.
Afterall, in Twins Territory, the ghosts of years past can teach us how to win again, too, not just how to not lose. Have a spooky Halloween, Twins fans!