State of the Twins

In 1961 the Washington Senators moved to Bloomington, MN, a suburb of the Twin Cities Minneapolis and St. Paul.  The team was renamed the Twins and was one of the more successful franchises of the 1960's.  Since then, the team has had ups and lots of downs.  They won the World Series in 1987 and 1991 but had many last place finishes in the ensuing years.

Ownership:  Per Wikipedia, Carl Pohlad made his stash foreclosing farms during the Great Depression then investing in community banks.  Later he branched out and invested in a diverse mix of businesses which he and his family managed as active investors.  One of those investments was in the Twins MLB franchise which he purchased from Calvin Griffith in 1984.  At the time, Pohlad might have been the richest owner in MLB but had a reputation for penuriousness.  After his death in 2009, his business empire was divided between his three sons with Jim taking over as controlling owner of the Twins.

Jim Pohlad is involved in team operations but tends to leave baseball decisions to his managers.  He seems to be a bit more generous with the purse strings than Carl.

Grade:  B.

Management:  VP and Chief Baseball Officer is Derek Falvey and the GM is Thad Levine.  They have been in place since 2016.  Falvey got his start in baseball by independently scouting the Cape Cod League.  Since taking over management, Falvey and Levine have gradually built the team into a contender.

Manager is Rocco Baldelli who won AL Manager of the Year in his first season managing Twins in 2019.  At age 38, he became the youngest manager to win the award.  He is known to be extremely analytically inclined much like Gabe Kapler, current Giants Manager.

Grade B+.

Current Roster:

Starting Nine:  Mitch Garver C, Miguel Sano 1B, Luis Arraez 2B, Josh Donaldson 3B, Jorge Polanco SS, Eddie Rosario LF, Byron Buxton CF, Max Kepler RF, Nelson Cruz DH.

Bench:  Alex Avila C, Marwin Gonzalez IF/OF, Ehire Adrianza IF, Wilians Astudillo C/IF/OF.

Starting Rotation:  Jose Berrios RHP, Jake Odirizzi RHP, Kenta Maeda RHP, Homer Bailey RHP, Randy Dobnak RHP.

Bullpen:  Taylor Rogers LHP(Closer), Trevor May RHP, Tyler Duffey RHP, Sergio Romo RHP, Tyler Clippard RHP, Zack Littell RHP, Rich Hill LHP, Michael Pineda RHP.

Josh Donaldson bolsters an offense that led MLB in HR's last season.  The bench is solid.  Some things need to go right for the starting pitching to be contending quality, but with the kind of run support they can expect, it's very doable.  Plenty of depth there when you factor in Rich Hill and Michael Pineda coming back from injuries.

Grade B+.

Farm System:  The top prospects in the Twins system need a bit more salt, but Royce Lewis is a 5-tool prospect who big things are expected of.  #3 Trevor Larnach is a top hitting prospect.  It gets a bit iffy after that.  Last years first round draft pick is #7 Keoni Cavaco who has a looong way to go.

Grade C.