2 missed opportunities for Twins at 2024 MLB trade deadline

The MLB trade deadline is in the rearview, but the lack of movement the Minnesota Twins had is still stuck in the craw of fans.

We're to the point where the hatchet needs to be forgotten about -- if not buried -- but before moving on it's worth looking back one more time at the missed opportunities the team had. Nobody should get on the team for refusing to overpay for rental players, which was the smart move, but the rolling over and simply accepting the market for what it was and not getting creative is where the line seems to be drawn.

Derek Falvey and the front office has established over time that they're a smart crew capable of figuring things out. The fact that only one trade was made, and a mediocre on at that, rightfully still has fans a bit worked up even if it's about time we all accept it for what it was and move on.

Before we do that, though, one final word feels like it's needed.

2 missed opportunities for Twins at 2024 MLB trade deadline

Twins failed to trade for starting pitching help

Another way to spin this is that the Twins didn't add any starting pitching depth, specifically at the front end of the rotation.

It's an area which has needed attention since the winter and Minnesota hasn't done much to address it. Anthont DeSclafani was acquired in the Jorge Polanco trade but he was never a serious option to be a Top 3 starter or add depth there.

Things aren't actually that bad heading into the home stretch of the season for the Twins rotation. Joe Ryan has leveled up and Bailey Ober is pitching like one of the best pitchers in baseball when it's not against the Royals. If Pablo Lopez can turn back into the ace he was last year -- and that we know he's capable of being -- the Twins are going to have a strong front end rotation in October.

Even the back of the rotation is pretty solid. Simeon Woods Richardson's glow-up has been tremendous to watch, while the No. 5 role could be filled by anyone from Chris Paddack to David Festa.

Like most things with this team, the plan is a flimsy house of cards. We're one injury or bad pitching slump from things crashing down. The Twins could have added someone like Michael Lorenzen or Alex Cobb at the deadline to at least add some depth and provide insurance to the rotation but opted to bank on internal options instead.

The bullpen is still a massive question mark

The only move Minnesota did make was trading for Trevor Richards, who could very well be a decent pickup that technically addressed a serious need.

It's also a tremendously uninspired move one that mirrors the moves the Twins made this offseason that hardly moved the needle. Minnesota needed to upgrade the bullpen, and while Richards pitches well against lefties -- who have a .506 OPS against him -- he's not the blockbuster addition that takes a team from being in contention to becoming serious World Series threats.

To be fair, the bullpen market wasn't as saturated as the starting pitching one but that didn't stop teams like the Royals from making moves. Kansas City acquired Lucas Erceg from the Oakland A's, continuing their theme of making Twins-style moves that has been going on since the winter.

Kansas City traded three prosects to get Erceg, two of whom are now Top 15 guys in the A's farm system, but it's movement of mid-tier prospects to get better now. Erceg had a 3.68 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 41 strikeouts, 36.2 innings when the Royals traded for him, which is the type of stuff that the Twins very much could have used.

Tanner Scott was overpriced for the Twins and the Phillies paid a premium for Carlos Estevez, which are deals Minnesota wisely avoided. Still, the optics of the team not doing anything to address the bullpen when there were options out there beyond the top-heavy guys are tough to take.

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