We're just a few weeks away from the MLB trade deadline, but the Minnesota Twins have already been active participants in the rumor mill.
Unfortunately it seems that might be where the team's involvement at the deadline begins and ends. Last year the front office refused to make any moves, outwardly saying that the talent MInnesota was getting back from IL was better than the trade market but internally still licking wounds from the deadline a season prior.
That's when two blockbuster deals blew up in everyone's face. The Twins traded seven prospects for two players, neither of whom were on the roster for long. Jorge Lopez was traded to Miami less than a calendar year after Minnesota acquired him, while Tyler Mahle needed Tommy John surgery after barely making an imapct in the starting rotation.
Needless to say, it scarred and scared the Twins and the impact was much longer than what anyone in the traded ended up having.
Despite being named in some pretty insane rumors, there has been no movement by Minnesota to acquire talent the team arguably needs to be comeptitve this season. Fans are hoping that will change as the deadline approaches, but one Twins insider suggests that we shouldn't be holding our breath.
Twins future payroll fears will likely impact trade deadline plans this season
The Athletic's Aaron Gleeman touched on potential deadline plans and noted that the team is unlikely to make any splashy moves that increase next year's payroll.
It's one thing to be timid -- or some would argue overly cautious -- after failed deals, but the frugalness of a cheap ownership group continuing to close the team's competitive window is borderline malpractice.
Yes. I suspect any trade that would add significant guaranteed 2025 salary is unlikely for the Twins after they cut payroll by $30 million this offseason and are below revenue projections due to lower-than-expected attendance," Gleeman wrote.
Thus is life in Twins Territory.
Ownership of the team was passed down like a family heirloom, but so too was the frugalness of Pohlad's past. Any hope that Joe Pohlad would be a change of pace died when the team slashed payroll by $30 million this winter and then signed one of the worst television rights deals in the history of baseball.
That's barely hyperbolic, too. Diamond Sports Group going bankrupt scared ownership into cutting budget, but the team went right back to Bally Sports North in order to get a quick check. Just a month into the season, Bally Sports was dropped by the largest cable provider in the state and halfway through the season most Twins fans are unable to watch games.
It's been nothing short of embarassing. Checks are still clearing, though, which is the only thing that seems to matter (although attendance is down this year at Target Field). None of that money will be reinvested in the team it seems, as the most dominant theme around the Twins this year is a crippling fear over potential lost future revenue.
Not even the thrill of the trade deadline can rescue Twins fans -- or the team's roster -- from this painful reality.
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