Derek Falvey On Why Now Was the Time To Leave the Twins

Minneapolis – The Derek Falvey regime in the Minnesota Twins front office officially ended on Friday when he and the Twins mutually parted ways.

The Twins will split his dual role as President of Baseball and Business Operations back into two jobs. Twins Chairperson Tom Pohlad said general manager Jeremy Zoll will take over on the baseball operations side, and the search for a new president of business operations will begin immediately.

“We believe that the best structure going forward is a president of business and a president of baseball,” Pohlad said in a Zoom call with media members Friday morning. “I think what’s best for this organization right now is all the energy and focus in those two departments being 100% committed right now.”

“I don’t anticipate this being the end of any journey for me around this, but it is the end of this here today,” Falvey said on departing the Twins. “I don’t mean to be redundant, but I do want to say to everybody that this has been an incredible chapter in my life, in my career, and something that I have appreciated deeply.”

The timing is unprecedented for a major league front office leadership change, with spring training just two weeks away. It’s the time of year when teams are finalizing free agent signings and offering players non-roster invites to spring training.

Teams typically overhaul their front office during the season. When they don’t, they typically happen at the beginning of the off-season. But with conversations ongoing between Falvey and Pohlad on splitting his role back into two, there was no point delaying the change.

“There’s probably no perfect time for some of these things,” said Falvey. “I know there’s natural endpoints at the end of the season, but I think when you get to a place where you realize this is what you won’t want going forward, you’re kind of living in a world where you’re delaying an inevitable. In my experience, that’s not good, either.”

The conversations on Falvey’s departure began soon after the Twins announced their new limited partners and Tom Pohlad taking over as acting chairperson of the team from his younger brother Joe. Falvey and Tom Pohlad began talking about how Joe Pohlad and Derek Falvey split tasks, and what Tom Pohlad envisioned for the structure of the business and baseball sides of the team moving forward.

“Joe and I had a different plan and working dynamic around the way we operated the last few years,” Falvey said. “That was built with a little bit more history. Tom and I don’t have that. I don’t want anyone to read into that as, well, therefore it’s bad. It was just different. And Tom wants to run it a little differently.”

As their conversation progressed, it became clear that Pohlad wanted Falvey’s roles split back into two. With nine years under his belt in the organization, it felt like the right time for Falvey to leave altogether.

“Sometimes things just run its course,” said Pohlad. “I think that there doesn’t have to be anything wrong with that or anything salacious behind that. I think Derek has had an incredible run here at the Twins and has accomplished as much as any other executive in baseball with this organization. I think it’s just time for both of us, professionally and personally, and this organization to move forward.”

Falvey and Pohlad made the decision before TwinsFest began last week. Falvey was at TwinsFest in late January. Some may say Falvey hid the news well, but he wanted the fans and players to be the focus of the weekend’s activities to renew excitement and joy for the upcoming 2026 season.

Still, Saturday’s festivities were hard for Falvey and many fans to celebrate after federal agents killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti minutes after the Target Field gates opened.

“I never intend to have a poker face or mislead or otherwise,” said Falvey. “That was a challenging weekend for a host of different reasons, everything that was going on in our community and our city, and how heartbreaking it was to try and navigate. I was hoping Twins baseball would bring everyone together. That was obviously going on around it.”

On Monday, Falvey met with Zoll to let him in on the leadership change and that Twins Baseball Ops would be his to run soon. Zoll will now take on the role with the full backing and trust of both Falvey and Pohlad, and it was essentially for Zoll to have a one-on-one with his predecessor to discuss where they see the team going in 2026.

“I have the utmost belief in Jeremy Zoll as a baseball … everybody on this call knows that,” said Falvey. “But his passion for it, his work habits, his work ethic, his relationship building are exceptional, and I think he’s going to continue to take the reins and keep going, just as he has over the last year. Ultimately, I’ll always be a resource for him and a phone call away. But I think he’s perfectly conditioned to take on whatever the next steps are.”

“I would tell you that if Jeremy Zoll won the job to be GM a year ago or whenever that was, that should tell you something about Jeremy Zoll,” said Pohlad. “There was plenty of competition in this organization and outside this organization for that role. I’m 100% committed to him as being the right leader in this moment in time to assume all the responsibilities that Derek had with respect to baseball.”

With Falvey’s tenure officially over, he plans to spend the 2026 season reflecting on his time with the Twins and what could come next in baseball. He isn’t opposed to finding a new job in a major-league front office down the road, but he would like to have a time in his life where he can turn his phone off for more than five minutes and enjoy time with his family.

“It’ll be interesting for a period of time,” said Falvey. “It’ll be great for my wife and kids. I can’t wait to lean into that some. That’s important to me as part of this journey.”

Minnesota’s baseball operations will remain the same with Zoll in charge. The Twins already had one minor-league deal completed during Falvey’s exit interview with the media. RHP Matt Bowman signed a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training. He last pitched with the Twins in 2024 and made 20 relief appearances with the Baltimore Orioles in 2025.

Tom Pohlad has full trust in Zoll on the baseball side. Meanwhile, he will take over Falvey’s role on the business side in the interim until the Twins hire a new president of business. Dave St. Peter is expected to serve as an adviser during the hiring process, and Pohlad will not limit their search to candidates with only MLB experience.

“Right now, we’re focused on a president of business role,” said Pohlad. “We’ll begin that search today, if you will. As far as baseball goes, I think the beauty of the situation that we’re in, Derek has done a lot of amazing things in this organization, but probably more than anything else, he stocked this organization with talent.”

Still, Falvey will not completely turn his attention away from baseball. He will continue to serve as a mentor to Zoll whenever needed and will root for his players and the front office staff to succeed in 2026.

“I’ll be watching from Fort Myers and rooting this team on because I care so much about these players and the staff, and I think they’re ready and primed to have a good season,” he said. “I hope that they do.”