Minnesota Twins fans hungry for some action at the MLB Trade Deadline were served them a giant plate of nothing on Tuesday.
Despite weeks of speculation and clear needs on the roster, the Twins front office decided to stand pat and not make a single trade in the hours leading up to the deadline expiring. The sole trade that was made involved the team punting on a splashy deal it made last season, shipping Jorge Lopez off to the Marlins last week.
That’s it. Minnesota didn’t make another move between trading Lopez and the 5 pm CT deadline today.
Needless to say, Twins Territory wasn’t exactly tickled by the idea of the team team betting on itself and the parts it has than trying to add some extra help. The last few weeks have been filled with either talk of the team selling or Minnesota looking to add right-handed hitting or bullpen help.
Instead nothing happened, which is something president of baseball operations Derek Falvey hinted at over the All-Star Break. Twins brass pointed to talent already on the roster that once healthy will essntially function like an acquisition at the deadline.
It could end up being true, but Twins fans were less than thrilled with what appears to be a front office that played scared.
Best memes and tweets from fans angry over zero Twins trades today
Last year the Twins made two big trades that blew up in their face. Trading three prospects to Baltimore for Lopez ended in him being shipped out less than a year later, while the Tyler Mahle trade aged even worse in an even shorter amount of time.
Mahle, who the Twins were hoping could turn into a solid backend starter in the rotation, lasted less than a month before needing Tommy John surgery. Meanwhile Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand are both looking like young impact players with the Reds.
Those two deals probably scared the Twins off from repeating sins of the past, which isn’t exactly a bad thing. But to have been fully paralyzed by it is a tough message to send and it’s not being well received.
Just an astonishing level of complacency being signaled from this front office.
— Nick Nelson (@NickNelsonMN) August 1, 2023
Not me covering all my #MNTwins memorabilia with tiny paper bags.
— Calamity Bert (@BruelsRuels) August 1, 2023
https://t.co/SeYYPoJPAU pic.twitter.com/uskEj3doLI
— Carl (@PrimeKirilloff) August 1, 2023
The Twins front office deciding to invest in last year’s team over this year’s is certainly a choice.
— Andrew Luedtke (@andluedtke) August 1, 2023
They’re going to say some BS like “the best acquisition we can make is players performing to expectations”.
Ironic considering their philosophy/coaching is holding players back
Twins should be winning without more help but there’s nothing wrong with getting better when/where you can.
— Ben Collin (@bennyc50) August 1, 2023
Anyway, I’m going to go mow the lawn because why would anybody do drugs when you can just mow a lawn.
— Lô Storm ⛈️ (@lorileistorm) August 1, 2023
We did nothing…that’s pretty on brand for this rather lifeless club. We’re going to win Twins? pic.twitter.com/wbOsMmzYSS
— Jeff (@MNTwinsZealot) August 1, 2023
Incredible. Simply incredible. The Twins front office had clear needs on the roster that were easily obtainable and fixable and chose to do nothing.
— Lucas Seehafer (@seehafer_) August 1, 2023
Minnesota is due to get guys like Royce Lewis, Caleb Thielbar, and Brock Stewart back from the IL over the course of the next month. There’s also hope that guys like Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa can step up as the superstars we know the can be, in addition to the hot streak that Eduoard Julien is on. The deadline gamble this year is that all of those things will come together and power the team on a postseason run.
There’s a kernel of truth in Falvey saying the team is talented enough as it is to win. The problem is wishful thinking prevented the team from making moves in the spring and the only place that got them stuck in the same place hoping for the same thing four months later.