The Minnesota Twins and President of Baseball and Business Operations Derek Falvey decided to “mutually part ways” on Friday. The move has been something some fans have wanted for a while. But the timing of the move raises more questions than answers as the team prepares to report for Spring Training in roughly 10 days.
The Twins have already put a plan in motion, putting general manager Jeremy Zoll in charge of the baseball side and Tom Pohlad temporarily taking over the business side. These moves don’t signal a full organizational shift. They likely don’t mean much to Minnesota’s young core, including Royce Lewis, Luke Keaschall, and Brooks Lee at the major league level and top prospects such as Walker Jenkins and Kaelen Culpepper.
Still, how does this affect the haul of prospects that Falvey assembled during Minnesota’s fire sale last summer? Some may question the true intent of the deals that sent 11 major league players in exchange for prospects. Still, the players acquired in those deals may face an uncertain future and could be the biggest losers of Friday’s move.
Putting all the financial drama aside, there were a couple of motives that Falvey tried to achieve at last July’s deadline. Adding depth to the starting pitching was a priority because the cost of established major leaguers on the free-agent market has soared beyond Minnesota’s price range. But they also tried to add some position players who could help build a roster capable of handling injuries.
Looking at the current roster, the deals haven’t offered immediate returns. Mick Abel and Taj Bradley were two high-profile acquisitions as former top 100 prospects. Still, their time in the majors after coming to Minnesota didn’t inspire confidence.
Bradley posted a 0-2 record with a 6.61 ERA in 31.1 innings with the Twins. Abel looked worse, going 1-2 with an 8.36 ERA in 14 innings. These outings didn’t carry much meaning as Minnesota faded from contention in the final two months. Still, they gave both players another taste of the major leagues last year before they compete for final roster spots during Spring Training.
The other players acquired in these deals also face uncertain futures in 2026. Kendry Rojas was a left-handed centerpiece to the Louie Varland trade. However, his performance at Triple-A drew attention in the wrong way. After posting a 1-2 record and a 6.59 ERA in eight starts with the Saints, the deal looks even worse because Varland became an elite workhorse reliever while helping the Toronto Blue Jays reach the World Series.
Minnesota acquired Ryan Gallagher in the Willi Castro trade with the Chicago Cubs. He also looks a year away from contributing, and went 4-1 with a 5.50 ERA in eight starts at Double-A Wichita.
That already adds to an underwhelming stable of starting pitching that was already there under Falvey’s watch. Connor Prielipp and Marco Raya have had success in the minor leagues. Still, their innings have been monitored closely, which could lead to a future in the bullpen. David Festa could also be on the same path. That could leave the Twins desperate for help if the core of López, Ryan, Bailey Ober, and Zebby Matthews gets injured, traded, or have down seasons.
The picture gets cloudier when you look at the position players acquired in the deals. James Outman has a career .960 OPS at Triple-A. However, he’s more likely to be a dreaded “Quad-A” player with a .710 OPS in the major leagues and a 29th birthday coming in May.
Alan Roden is staring down the same path. While he’s only 26, Roden owns an .866 OPS at Triple-A compared to a .556 OPS in the majors. The major league sample size is only 55 games, but even if he succeeds, it’s hard to see where he fits in with Trevor Larnach, Byron Buxton, Matt Wallner, and Outman potentially ahead of him and Jenkins on the way.
Even the acquisition of catcher Eduardo Tait raises some questions. At 19 years old, he has plenty of time to develop into a major leaguer. Still, he only hit .250/.286/.408 with three homers and 14 RBI at High-A Cedar Rapids last season. Those numbers will play at the catcher position, but Falvey’s precedent of finding catchers wasn’t great and included a three-year, $30 million contract handed to Christian Vázquez a few years ago.
All of these outlooks are bleak, given their short time in the Twins system. Still, they look even worse when the guy who made these moves is no longer in charge. Perhaps waiting a year to see how each prospect develops would have been a more prudent approach. However, Tom Pohlad has already hinted at a sense of urgency to make this team competitive in 2026 to win back the fans.
Again, Zoll may not have had a different opinion on these acquisitions. But the general manager role didn’t seem to have much value to Falvey after he parted ways with Thad Levine following the 2024 season. There wasn’t much to Zoll’s resume, either. The Twins slogged through the fire sale at last year’s deadline, and it could be interesting to see how these prospects are handled if he decides to put a stamp on this team.
If ownership decided to fire Falvey in October, it would have sent a small jolt through a lifeless fan base. Doing it now creates plenty of confusion, especially since Falvey was given a green light for a full roster overhaul. The Pohlads may have even mandated it. That leaves the prospects acquired in those deals in an uncertain spot as Zoll takes over.