The Minnesota Twins put an end to the suffering this season by wrapping up the final game . Of course, they lost that contest too. Before the game started news trickled out as to the changes that can be expected for 2025. President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey isn’t going anywhere.
Derek Falvey will be back for the Minnesota Twins
The conclusion of the Minnesota Twins 2024 regular season was truly unacceptable . After entering the final month firmly in postseason contention, they finished just two games about .500 and miss out on October baseball. There is enough blame to go around , but not enough of it falls on the shoulders of Derek Falvey.
Any decision to fire Derek Falvey would be laughable at best. Yes, his one acquisition of Trevor Richards at the trade deadline was horrible . The offseason additions were largely ineffective. If Carlos Santana hadn’t found the fountain of youth for a portion of the calendar, everything would have gone sideways. Then again, he has been knee-capped through it all by ownership. That doesn’t mean that Falvey himself isn’t upset.
“I’ve never experienced the frustration, the anger, the disappointment and the embarrassment that I have over the last five to six weeks. To go through what we just went through and to leave everyone disappointed the way we have, I take personal accountability for. It’s been the hardest stretch of my professional career because I know this team is better than that. We let our fans down. We let ourselves down. … We need to be better than this. There’s no other way to put it. And we will be better than this and the group we go forward with will be better than this. That’s the message I have for the players, the staff and for everybody associated with this team. This is not acceptable baseball.”
Derek Falvey on the Twins collapse (The Athletic)
The only question for Falvey this offseason should have been whether HE wanted to return. Effectively a free agent without a contract extension, there are plenty of organizations that would benefit from his leadership. An ownership group willing to actually invest in their product would only make him more dangerous.
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It’s great that the Twins will be keeping the top baseball decision maker. He has put people in place, and pulled the string, to generate a top farm system . That sustainability now needs to be met with real major league additions.
So who takes the fall for the Twins?
There is no way that the Twins can continue to keep things status quo after how the year went. Joe Pohlad and his family should go away , but that’s just not going to happen . To this point, we have not heard the same assurances for either Thad Levine or Dave St. Peter. Both of them could conceivably take the fall.
St. Peter has long been a blubbering mouthpiece, but nothing has been as detrimental to the franchise as his 2024 season. From putting new broadcast voice Cory Provus up to the “no blackouts” statement, to tone deaf messaging regarding Bally Sports , he failed at every juncture. He has rubbed Twins Territory the wrong way for years, and putting someone else in a key public relations spot could do wonders for a franchise that now needs to garner good will.
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There’s also the possibility that Falvey could seek to replace Levine. The latter holds the title of general manager, but his presence is rarely visible and the former is believed to make all of the decisions. Falvey picked Levine when he was hired, but a new voice may wind up being a better sounding board.
If Minnesota is going to make changes on the coaching staff, that would presumably fall under the direction of Baldelli. David Popkins has been chided often the past few years as the team’s hitting coach. However, Rudy Hernandez also holds that title and Derek Shomon operates as an assistant.
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The roster will see turnover this offseason, but the changes can’t stop there. Minnesota keeping their key decision makers on the baseball side works. Their leash is now gone though.
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