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Report: MN Twins Will Not Trade Stars; May Even Add…
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- Report: MN Twins Will Not Trade Stars; May Even Add…
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It has been a very difficult year for Minnesota Twins fans. Not only did we endure a second-straight Fall without the postseason, but it also included a trade deadline teardown of historic proportion.
Because the organization's debt problems continue to pile up — reportedly as high as $500 million by most recent reports — and they have not been able to officially announce the new minority partners brought in to help pay that debt down, those inside the organization have been absolutely silent on their future plans.
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When pressed by media, team president Derek Falvey made it clear that he cannot reveal a plan that he does not have. In the last few weeks, however, Falvey and Joe Pohlad have pointed to the upcoming MLB Winter Meetings, as the moment in which we will all get more clarity.
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In the meantime, reports have been running amuck throughout the league suggesting that, in the end, the Pohlads will opt to finish what they started back in July, and tear down this roster even beyond the foundation.
Most recently, reports at ESPN (Jeff Passan) and USA Today Sports (Bob Nightengale) believed Minnesota's financial struggles were going to force them into trading a combination of Byron Buxton, Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez.
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Minnesota Twins won't trade their stars this offseason
But with the Winter Meetings finally upon us, there's been a sudden change in reporting, when it comes to the MN Twins' offseason and their plans for the future. As of Friday, according to Ken Rosenthal (The Athletic) , the Twins are NOT trading Ryan, Buxton or Lopez.
Instead, the trusted insider writes… "Minnesota's goal is to keep those players and build around them to compete in 2026." If you are a Twins fan, hopefully you were sitting down when you clicked on this.
All those fans waiting for their teams to acquire one of the Minnesota Twins' stars probably can forget it.
The Twins do not anticipate moving center fielder Byron Buxton or right-handers Joe Ryan and Pablo López, according to league sources briefed on their plans. Minnesota's goal is to keep those players, build around them and compete in 2026.
Related: ESPN Floats Byron Buxton to MLB's Anti-Twins
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Obviously, continuing to deconstruct the roster would be catastrophic for the Minnesota Twins' chances to win anytime in the near future. But even worse than that for ownership, dealing any of those three players would have sent ticket and Twins.TV subscription sales plummeting even lower than they currently are.
The only explanation for these sudden winds of change is that the Pohlads' mysterious new minority partners are on the brink of being approved this weekend, which is why those in charge have been pointing to the Winter Meetings for answers.
Twins looking to add more talent……?
In essence, they did not want to fully count their minority owners before they were officially approved. Now that they have been able to count votes down in Florida, Falvey, Pohlad and everyone else at the top of the Twins' food chain feels confident enough to put out the good news that fans so desperately need.
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But wait… there's more. Not only are the MN Twins not trading their best players, but they reportedly have "mild flexibility" to make additions beyond what the talent already on roster.
Finances presumably remain an issue, but trades of players such as Ryan and Buxton would further alienate the fan base. Club officials believe the team is talented enough to compete in the AL Central, one of baseball's weaker divisions. They recently hired a new manager, Derek Shelton. And now that they have clarity from ownership, they believe they have "mild flexibility" to make additions.
We'll see exactly what "mild flexibility" means soon enough, and there is no doubt they will need to get better in the bullpen and at the plate, if they want to realistically compete for an AL Playoff spot in 2026, as they claim.
Even without a lot of specificity, however, this is a MASSIVE change in tone from what we we've been hearing from these same reporters over the past few months. That's a good thing
While the rest of the league is moving and grooving, already signing free agents and making trades, the Minnesota Twins have mostly been watching from the sidelines. If they want to jump in the frey with any sort of aggressiveness, it needs to happen sooner than later.
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