Each chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and supervisor Rocco Baldelli will likely be returning to the Twins subsequent season, as crew govt chairman Joe Pohlad and Falvey himself advised reporters (together with the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Bobby Nightengale and The Athletic’s Dan Hayes). Immediately’s official bulletins verify yesterday’s report from The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman that each Falvey and Baldelli could be again for his or her respective ninth and seventh seasons with the group.
Baldelli’s present contract runs by way of a minimum of the 2025 season, whereas Falvey’s contractual standing isn’t publicly identified. Falvey’s earlier deal was identified to be up on the finish of the 2024 marketing campaign, but the Twins have tended to be considerably secretive on the subject of contracts for crew personnel. It appears fully attainable that Falvey was inked to an extension in some unspecified time in the future over the course of his previous few years, or his contract would possibly certainly at present be up, however an extension is anticipated to be finalized shortly.
After all, contracts won’t have mattered a lot if possession felt compelled to make adjustments following the Twins’ late-season collapse. Minnesota had a 70-53 report on August 17 and protected bets to make the postseason, both as AL Central champs for the second consecutive season or a minimum of as a wild card. As an alternative, the Twins have gone 12-26 over their final 38 video games, and two division rivals (the Tigers and Royals) zoomed previous them en path to the playoffs.
As “embarrassing” as Pohlad felt this collapse was, he nonetheless has religion in Falvey to guide the entrance workplace. “I don’t decide workers off of six crummy weeks. He’s received eight years of a résumé and I speak with Derek day by day so I do know what he’s doing, ” Pohlad stated. “He’s received participant improvement resume, he’s received a significant league resume and yeah, he’s busting his [butt]. He’s the appropriate man.”
Falvey made the same protection of Baldelli, saying “we’ve been gutted throughout this course of attempting to determine how we repair it. That’s led to sleepless nights and difficult conversations and one-on-one conversations between he and I that can keep one-on-one, however have been at occasions actually digging deep and attempting to determine repair it. I consider in his course of, I consider in him, I consider within the partnership I’ve with him. That’s how I really feel and finally, that’s the best way we’re going to go ahead.”
The 2024 season is the most recent twist within the total profitable, but inconsistent tenures of each the CBO and the supervisor. The duo have mixed for 3 AL Central titles and 4 successful data in Baldelli’s time as supervisor, plus Minnesota additionally gained 85 video games and earned a wild card in 2017, Falvey’s first season with the group. Nonetheless, the Twins adopted up that 2017 marketing campaign with a shedding season in 2018 that received earlier supervisor Paul Molitor changed in favor of Baldelli, and the Twins stumbled to sub-.500 data in each 2021 and 2022 on the heels of consecutive division crowns in 2019-20.
A return to the playoffs final yr and (most significantly) the Twins’ first postseason sequence win since 2002 appeared to revive order to the franchise, however that playoff success was then undermined by a controversial offseason. Possession’s resolution to chop payroll by roughly $30MM left Falvey and GM Thad Levine considerably hamstrung of their roster maneuvering final winter, leaving it simple to second-guess loads of selections or non-decisions that might’ve made the distinction between a playoff berth or the Twins’ present scenario.
Alternatively, enjoying even .500 ball since August 17 would’ve despatched Minnesota cruising into the postseason, and the payroll selections wouldn’t loom practically as giant. In accordance with The Athletic’s Dan Hayes (X hyperlink), the Twins aren’t planning any extra payroll reductions this winter, so it could seem as if the entrance workplace will likely be working with a minimum of the roughly $129MM that the membership is at present spending on gamers.
Whereas Falvey and Baldelli seem protected, neither Pohlad or Falvey talked about Levine’s standing heading into 2025. Levine has been serving as Falvey’s chief lieutenant because the pair had been employed in November 2016, and like Falvey, his contract can also be regarded as up as soon as the 2024 season is over. Once more, Levine would possibly nicely have quietly signed an extension in some unspecified time in the future, or the Twins is likely to be seeking to deliver a brand new voice into the entrance workplace in the event that they really feel some type of change is important.