Twins DFA Trevor Richards and confirm trading for him was a complete waste of time

As Minnesota Twins fans watch the team battle for a division title down the home stretch of the season, they're also haunted by how much easier it all could have been.

Winter came and went with a whimper for the Twins, with ownership deciding to slash the payroll by $30 million rather than invest in strengthening the future. The other shoe in that situation has inevitably dropped, as Minnesota is just 2 games out of first place in the AL Central but with a roster running on fumes.

The bullpen has been a particularly sore spot, with production lacking but the unit also embodying the lack of care being given to the roster. Minnesota made one single trade at the deadline this year, a low-wattage deal for Toronto Blue Jays reliever Trevor Richards.

It was a frustratingly lame trade for a team in contention to make, and it's one that has already been chucked out the window and chalked up as a loss.

Twins DFA'ing Trevor Richards confirms their trade deadline strategy was a total waste

On Tuesday the Twins added Michael Tonkin to the roster -- again -- and designated Richards for assignment to make room on the roster. Tonkin will get both Richards' 40-man roster spot and his place in the bullpen, while the Twins are forced to wipe egg off their face.

It's not as much egg as we've seen in the past, an amount that has likely scared the team away from making big splashes. The Twins traded a haul for both Jorge Lopez and Tyler Mahle back in 2022 and both were off the roster within a year; this deal with Richards isn't as bad as that from a cost perspective but it stings almost as much given what it represents.

Almost as soon as Richards arrived in Minnesota the bottom started falling out on him. At one point he had 10 walks, six wild pitches, and two hit batters in 11 innings of work, totals he would add to before his time with the Twins came to a merciful end.

Frustration over the move is less about Richards and more about how the Twins failed to invest in a roster that is clearly competitive yet not perfect. Anger from fans isn't even directed at the front office -- and would be misguided if it was -- and circles back to the Pohlads always choosing money over everything.

That was what motivated the $30 million payroll reduction over the winter and was the reason the front office was reportedly not targeting players with future years on their contracts at the deadline.

Richards was an unmitigated disaster for the Twins, and yet the perfect metaphor for how much care has gone into taking the roster from competitive to truly being a contender.

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