Twins' poor season wasn't Rocco Baldelli's fault
The reason the Twins missed the postseason back-to-back seasons after winning their first playoff series since 2002 isn't poor management from Rocco Baldelli. It's because the Pohlads decided to slash payroll instead of improving the team despite the 2023 playoff run. Sure, one could argue Baldelli makes questionable decisions and may be a reason for the poor development of some core players, but it's doubtful his influence as a manager made that much of an impact, given the nature of the job.
At the end of the day, Baldelli took the Twins to the postseason in his first two seasons as the Twins' skipper, then again three seasons later, and held a solid 527-505 win-loss record as Minnesota's manager. Baldelli did good things for the Twins, yet wasn't given enough talent to continue the success of 2023.
Even though the Twins' disastrous season wasn't his fault, Rocco Baldelli getting fired was necessary
While all of that may be true, the Twins still did the right thing by letting Baldelli go. Granted, they likely wouldn't have had to fire him if ownership allowed president of baseball operations Derek Falvey to spend more in free agency, but given the spot the team is currently in, a change was needed. Firing Baldelli showed fans the Twins are interested in making a much-needed change to the organization.
However, firing Baldelli doesn't solve all of the Twins' issues. Managers' influence on the outcome of a season is minimal. All letting Baldelli go does is allow a fresh face to manage the team in a time when Twins baseball is in a rut. If the Twins are serious about returning to the postseason, more has to be done.
First, whoever is hired as the new manager must mesh well with the players and the front office. Second, the Twins need to rebuild their bullpen after gutting almost all of it at this summer's trade deadline. Third, the Twins must call up their top prospects, such as outfielders Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez. Finally, the Twins need to add an established first baseman in free agency; hopefully, the new minority investors will allow the Pohlads to spend big in free agency again.