The Minnesota Twins have plenty of issues on the field, but their biggest problem may be how fans view the franchise off of it. After back-to-back seasons of massive payroll slashes, last year’s fire sale at the trade deadline and the Pohlad family pulling the team off the market shortly after, enthusiasm for Twins fans has been hard to find and even had the Twins rank last in The Athletic’s Hope-O-Meter article with their optimism at 4.3 percent at the beginning of this season.
With that in mind, the Twins' current standing in the American League playoff race is a good thing. Entering Monday’s series opener with the Houston Astros, the Twins are two games back of the final Wild Card spot in the American League and 4.5 games back of the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians for first place in the American League Central. This has the Twins thinking big and chairman Tom Pohlad told Mike Mazzeo of the Sports Business Journal that there could be some big moves ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline to help the cause.
“We just want this to be a place where players, particularly homegrown talent, want to be Twins for life,” Pohlad told Mike Mazzeo of the Sports Business Journal on Monday. “And when we find ourselves in a competitive window, we’ve got to do something meaningful at the trade deadline to build on the potential of that team and build on momentum.”
Clinching a playoff spot could be enough to bring some fans back to the ballpark and it’s definitely enough to open a conversation ahead of the deadline. But more likely than not, it’s chasing a sugar high that may not solve fans’ biggest issues with the franchise.
The Twins are not worth a heavy investment at the trade deadline
The current landscape of the American League has the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees on top with a bunch of teams hovering around .500. The Rays have already shown their separation from the Twins, going 5-1 and outscoring Minnesota 31-17 in their season series. If a 10-4 win in the home opener is removed, the Rays won the final five games by a score of 27-7.
The Yankees are their own problem. While this is a different team, the Twins' historical lack of success against the Bombers is glaring and could have the eyes of Yankees fans light up at the sight of their favorite chew toy in the Bronx this weekend.
The Twins also own a record of 7-15 against teams at or above .500 this season. While the American League has limited that sample size and it could change with a few wins over the next month, it also shows Minnesota won’t be able to make the playoffs without some help from the front office.
That’s where things get interesting. Tom Pohlad took over as the team’s chairman last December and while Pohlad has introduced a variety of gimmicks including $2 beers before Friday and Saturday home games and a reward system for season ticket holders who show up to the ballpark, he acknowledged it means nothing if the Twins don’t start winning games.
“We want to deliver value to our fans and that’s hard to come by when you’re not winning baseball games,” Pohlad told Mazzeo. “It’s an olive branch. We want to be a championship-caliber team and championship-caliber organization. That doesn’t happen in one season, but as I say a lot, it does start with one season. And we need to bring people back into the ballpark.”
To many, this could mean this season is a litmus test for Pohlad’s tenure. The Twins are within striking distance of a playoff spot. In the past, the Pohlad family’s tight purse strings have prevented Minnesota from being aggressive buyers at the trade deadline with the exception of an ill-fated deadline splurge during the 2022 season. Many are still waiting to see Pohlad follow through on his proclamation that he’s a “Go big or go home guy,” and an active deadline would give that some validation.
But even if the Twins add a reliever, starting pitching depth or a right-handed outfield bat, it’s unlikely to turn them into World Series contenders. It also could cost them more than expected with so many teams in the playoff race and give up prospects that could aid with the team’s current rebuild.
When you think of it that way, there's not a lot on this team that you're excited to see in 3 to 5 years. Sure, Royce Lewis's resurgence and Brooks Lee's breakout at third base are positive signs, but they may not be sustainable as players who kind of are who they are at this point.
This doesn’t mean that the Twins should rip everything down to the studs like they did during last year’s trade deadline. But it also doesn’t mean the Twins should risk mishandling trade chips like Ryan Jeffers or Joe Ryan as the deadline approaches.
For a team whose ceiling may be getting bounced in the wild card round, it just doesn’t feel like the juice is worth the squeeze. Whether the Twins make the playoffs or not, fans are still going to be upset and it may lead to another disappointing deadline that could be in the best interest of their long-term future.
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