As three AL Central teams prepare to play in the ALDS, the Minnesota Twins are at home trying to sift through the wreckage of their season. The team has wasted no time in making some sweeping changes, as four coaches were let go earlier in the week with hitting coach David Popkins being the heaviest head to roll.
Changes weren't exclusive to the clubhouse.
On Friday the Twins announced that general manager Thad Levine was no longer with the organization. Levine has been part of the front office braintrust for the last eight years, arriving alongside Derek Falvey and Rocco Baldelli, but goes down as the first one of the trio to leave.
The #MNTwins have announced that general manager Thad Levine will also not return for the 2025 season following eight seasons in the role.
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) October 4, 2024
Twins moving on from Thad Levine signals major changes are coming this winter
It's impossible to not call last winter a total failure. Payroll was slashed by $30 million, which put Levine and Falvey behind the eight ball in terms of having proper resources to make the right moves. Nothing that happened really paid off, with the exception of Carlos Santana potentially winning a Gold Glove for his defense at first base.
The Twins didn't sign Santana for his glove, though, and the lack of proper team construction was apparent down the stretch of the season. Not all of that falls on Levine, as there were plenty of reasons that Minnesota flamed out over the last month, but the bullpen being taxed and the lineup not having the right depth certainly didn't help.
Nor did the fact that the Twins made just a single low-wattage trade at the deadline, something that also wasn't exactly a feather in Levine's cap.
Levine's exit doesn't come as a total shock, as he almost left the Twins last offseason. He was reportedly a finalist for the top job in the Boston Red Sox front office, ultimatley losing out to Craig Breslow. While he returned to the Twins, it's worth noting that the interest between Boston and Levine was 'mutal' which seemed to indicate the writing was on the wall for him eventually leaving.
Still, it's a massive shakeup to a key part of the organization, and only further puts pressure on the team being able to land things this winter. Now the question becomes who will fill his role, which is yet another important job the Twins need to fill.
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