A few months ago the Minnesota Twins traded a prospect to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Manuel Margot. That feels like ages ago, as Margot’s poor play has worn fans across Twins Territory so unbelievably thin that it borders on parody at this point.
Margot had another Very Bad game on Sunday, the latest in a string of them for a guy who was supposed to have a much bigger impact than he’s having. The Twins acquired Margot back in late February as an insurance policy for Byron BuxtonTw.
That policy kicked in over the weekend after Buxton was placed on the 10-day IL with right knee inflammation, but the deal was already looking like a total bust. Margot is hitting an atrocious .182/.270/.255 and has become a defensive liability, none of which was advertised when the team traded for him.
When the Twins acquired him, the sales pitch was that he would help mash left-handed hitting and provide some offensive upside over other potential options. Two of those guys were Michael A. Taylor and Austin Martin, both of whom are having much better seasons at the plate than Margot.
It’s been a slowly burning rage among Twins fans over how bad Margot has looked, but everything seemed to boil over on Sunday against the Red Sox.
Twins Twitter cooked Manuel Margot after another rough game on Sunday
Minnesota’s 12-game winning streak came to a grinding halt against Boston, as the party ended with a 9-2 loss. That wasn’t the main takeaway, though, as Margot’s poor play is what most Twins fans were fuming about.
In the top of the eight, Margot lost a ball in the sun which allowed more runs to score and the game to essentially be put out of reach. Teams win and lose collectively, so the poor play from Margot wasn’t the reason the winning streak ended, but he certainly didn’t help matters and has only magnified pre-existing issues.
Manuel Margot gotta be one of the most all-around unimpressive players I've ever seen in a Twins uniform
— Nick Nelson (@NickNelsonMN) May 5, 2024
Need Manuel Margot to at least appear like he’s played baseball before
— Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) May 5, 2024
Watching Manuel Margot play for my baseball team. pic.twitter.com/yL0oWE58fT
— Jake Iverson (@jakeiverson57) May 5, 2024
What exactly does Manuel Margot do here
— Twins Sausage Evangelist (@BlockedByRudy) May 5, 2024
If Manuel Margot is on this team tmr this front office should never be taken seriously
— all things Minnesota sports, 12 more (@MNSports_Goat) May 5, 2024
There’s not a more deflating feeling in the world than seeing Manuel Margot step up to the plate with a runner on
— Carl (@KirilloffRBW) May 5, 2024
This isn’t all based on Sunday’s performance alone, rather it’s a culmination of how the season has gone so far for Margot. He’s actively playing himself out of a roster spot if things continue the way they are, and the question is how much longer the Twins will wait around to see if things change.
What makes things tricky is that Minnesota traded for Margot and essentially set Austin Martin’s timeline back. The good news is that the team is only on the hook for $4 million, which it might see has a sunk cost if things don’t improve.
Things were almost universally positive during the winning streak, but the one common complaint fans had was with how poorly Margot was playing and Sunday seemed like a last straw situation.