Though it’s worth not getting too excited about words alone, some of Tom Pohlad’s remarks about the state of the organization on Wednesday were encouraging. Notably, he called for accountability and change when results don’t meet expectations. Could this mean trouble for the current front office?

Derek Falvey and company have been at the helm for nearly a decade, and despite a strong regular-season track record, they have only a single postseason series win to show for it. Despite missing the playoffs in four of five seasons in the era of expanded playoffs, Falvey was actually promoted to run both the baseball and business sides of the organization following a 2024 collapse. His seat has never seemed particularly hot. Perhaps that’s about to change.

 

Tom Pohlad’s opening message, which essentially criticizes repeating the same process over and over while expecting different results, seems to apply perfectly to Derek Falvey and the front office in recent years. They’ve chosen to run almost identical rosters back repeatedly despite disastrous results. Up until the trade deadline, they were holding strong to a vision that just wasn’t working.

 

The payroll has been scaled back, lending them a bit of slack, but this front office used to at least be creative in their roster-building. Trading a former first-round pick and top prospect for Sonny Gray, or fan favorite Luis Arraez, for Pablo Lopez seems like a lifetime ago. Though not always popular moves, the Twins used to at least take swings to shake up the roster. Instead, it’s been status quo with poor results for nearly three years.

 

The current front office has been in charge long enough that every player, aside from Byron Buxton, has been drafted, signed, or acquired by them. Perhaps this has been part of why they’ve had such a difficult time shaking up the roster in recent seasons. They had a mess to clean up when they took over in 2016, when the organization had a reputation for being analytically outdated and unsuccessful for several years prior. It’s the last five years, however, that have been the least successful stretch of this regime’s time in charge aside from 2023’s brief playoff run.

 

Fans questioned whether the team was entering a full-blown rebuild at the 2025 trade deadline, as the Twins’ selloff included both rentals and team-controlled players. Just weeks ago, those concerns remained very real as the Twins seemed on the fence about trading star players such as Buxton. This was particularly interesting, as it was reasonable to wonder whether this front office has earned the right to oversee another rebuild.

Now seemingly aiming to compete in 2026, Tom Pohlad’s comments raise the question of whether this might be the last shot for Derek Falvey and this front office. The biggest holes on the roster were created voluntarily when the Twins chose to go scorched-earth on a dominant, team-controlled bullpen at the deadline. Falvey and GM Jeremy Zoll have expressed their comfort with replacing these players and maintaining a competitive roster, and now their confidence will be tested next season.

The Twins will also be relying on several rebound performances in the lineup for the second season in a row from many of the same players that failed to make good on those hopes in 2025. Throw in several top prospects set to debut at some point down the stretch, and the organization’s player development will have to take center stage in order for the lineup to return to a competitive level. “We’re gonna develop young players,” Derek Shelton proclaimed in his intro presser, channeling what appears to be an organizational mandate. But it’s not really up to him. 

Tom Pohlad’s comments should put Derek Falvey and the front office on notice. Employing the same process over and over without success is the definition of what we’ve seen for years now. If another attempt to compete fails in 2026, with a roster fully developed by this front office, it’s time for some accountability. Do you agree?