Although it now seems like eons ago, payroll constraints were once the least of Twins Territory’s concerns. Instead, a significant number of those who follow the team were hyperfixated on the club’s unwillingness to part ways with aging, unproductive veterans in favor of providing young, “high-upside” players with extended opportunities at their respective positions.

To be specific, that time was 2023, and the most notable cases of fans being upset over young, exciting players being blocked by aging veterans were Max Kepler and Joey Gallo blocking Matt Wallner‘s path to playing time in the corner outfield, and Kenta Maeda blocking then-starting pitcher Louis Varland‘s shot at the starting rotation. There were also instances of distaste expressed over Christian Vázquez getting more playing time than Ryan Jeffers at catcher, and about Jorge Polanco and Kyle Farmer clogging Edouard Julien‘s course to becoming the next star Twins second baseman. However, the most pronounced gripes concerned Wallner and Varland not getting the opportunities they were perceived to have deserved. 

Twins Territory’s disdain toward Kepler, Gallo, Maeda, Vázquez, Polanco, and Farmer subsided as the team got hot after the All-Star break, winning the AL Central and cathartically ending its 18-game postseason losing streak. Still, that contempt returned in 2024, when Vàzquez again obstructed Jeffers’s path to more starts behind the plate, Farmer denied rookie infielder Brooks Lee the freedom to roam freely as the club’s primary utility infielder, and Chris Paddack deprived David Festa of the chance to solidify himself as a core member of the club’s five-pitcher starting rotation. 

Kepler, Gallo, Maeda, Vázquez, Polanco, Farmer, and Paddack were all veteran players signed to multi-million-dollar contracts. In fact, the seven veterans combined to make roughly $48 million in 2023. On the other hand, Wallner, Varland, Jeffers, Julien, Lee, and Festa were making the league-minimum salary (or just over it in Jeffers’s case), meaning that the fanbase was clamoring for not only what they perceived to be the younger, better options, but also the more cost-effective ones.

Fast-forward to the present, and Twins decision-makers have changed course, no longer electing to sign aging, unpopular players on one-year deals in the name of “veteran depth.” Instead, minimum-salaried, high-upside players Alan Roden and Austin Martin are projected to be platoon partners in left field. Lee is penciled in as the Opening Day starting shortstop. Luke Keaschall figures to be the everyday second baseman and a core member of the club’s lineup. Simeon Woods Richardson and Taj Bradley are projected to fill out the club’s rotation, and the bullpen is expected to be filled with oodles of young, high-velocity arms, brimming with talent and potential. 

So, why is no one excited? Well, given that ownership has mandated the front office cut what could become $60 million in payroll since the 2023 season concluded, the optics are horrible. Couldn’t be worse, really. Everyone who has followed this team the past two seasons recognizes that. The widespread indignation is justified. However, there’s more to it. 

Obviously, most of Twins Territory really only cares about winning. Every fanbase is the same way. Yet, when one strategy isn’t generating a sustainable form of winning, fanbases will advocate for the strategy that isn’t being implemented to be adopted, until their favorite team begins winning again. To be more specific, in early 2023, playing the veterans like Gallo, Vàzquez, Farmer, and Maeda wasn’t working, so those who follow the team clamored for younger players like Wallner, Varland, and Julien to get more playing time in hopes of them being the solution for the team’s losing ways. 

On the flip side, after watching young, cost-effective players like Roden, Julien, Bradley and James Outman (among others) guide the team to an abysmal post-trade deadline record, many factions of the fanbase are advocating for the front office to target free agents in the ilk of Gallo and Vázquez (from a monetary perspective), in hopes of temporarily patching those holes and returning the club to contender status next season. Again, this constant course correction isn’t unique to Twins fans. However, it is vital to acknowledge the cognitive dissonance.

Signing and playing a horde of free agents on one-year contracts won’t save the Twins, just as playing exclusively young, high-upside players on minimum contracts would be too extreme. Instead, it will require a collective of veteran and young players buying into clearly communicated standards set by Minnesota’s front office and new coaching staff. That is how the Twins won in 2023, and how organizations like Milwaukee and Cleveland win season after season. Will that happen? Obviously, only time will tell. However, constantly calling for dramatic course correction is an unhealthy way to engage with the sport—let alone build a roster. It might be worth a year of letting the young guys play, to find out who can do what.