Major League Baseball’s annual General Manager Meetings mark the kickoff of the hot stove season, when trade and acquisition rumors first start percolating before coming to a boil at December’s Winter Meetings.
The 2025 edition is this week in Las Vegas, and the Minnesota Twins came in with a plan.
“We sent [Twins president] Derek Falvey to Vegas with two things: An open mind and a Ziploc bag full of pennies,” said a source close to the Pohlad family, who’ve owned the Twins since 1982.
While the former makes sense for a team that may be continuing a major roster teardown, why the pennies?
“There are some great joints off-Strip or in north Vegas where the penny slots are loose as heck,” said the source. “If Derek wants a platoon outfielder or a bullpen arm, here’s one way of getting there.”
The meetings themselves were held at The Cosmopolitan, right in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip.
“Yeah, you’re not getting any bargain action at a place like that,” said the source. “That’s where the Dodgers stay. No thanks. Derek likes to get creative, anyway.”
Multiple media sources covering the meetings told Twins Daily that Falvey was spotted lugging the coin bag into multiple off-strip locations, including a combination Pizza Hut/Taco Bell by Nellis Air Force Base; the Cowabunga Bay Waterslide Experience; and what local authorities and community leaders say is the deadliest strip mall in Henderson.
At press time, there was no indication that Falvey had won big or that the Twins had made any roster moves. Still, the source was confident that it would pay off in the long run.
“The Pohlads had their faithful manservants clean out all the coins from their fleet of Land Rovers and Bentleys,” said the source. “We didn’t even touch the Rolls (Royces) or Porsches. There are at least the beginnings of a utility infielder in there.”