3:48pm: In addition to the extension, Falvey’s title has been updated to president of baseball operations, Hayes tweets. Falvey was already the top decision-maker in the organization, but the nomenclature of his previous title, “chief baseball officer,” was rather atypical. This more closely aligns with industry norms and marks a clearer definition of his status both within the Twins organization and in relation to other executives throughout the league.
2:08pm: The Twins have agreed to contract extensions with the top two members of their baseball operations department, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). Chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine are set to sign new deals that’ll keep them in the organization through the 2024 season. Both were already under contract through 2021. The news comes less than a week after the organization announced another series of front office promotions.
It’s now been three years since Falvey was brought in to take over Minnesota’s baseball operations department and quickly hired Levine to serve as his top lieutenant. The Twins’ new-look front office duo made some small-scale changes in the 2016-17 offseason, and the 2017 Twins exceeded expectations with a surprise Wild Card berth. The 2018 campaign was a disaster that led to an overhaul of the coaching staff and a series of new additions on one- and two-year deals in the 2018-19 offseason.
The Twins, under Falvey and Levine, hired eventual Manager of the Year Rocco Baldelli to replace Paul Molitor last winter before signing Nelson Cruz, Marwin Gonzalez and Jonathan Schoop, claiming C.J. Cron off waivers and extending potential cornerstones Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco. Short-term deals for Martin Perez and Blake Parker proved less fruitful, but the majority of Minnesota’s moves paid off in spades as the Twins spent the bulk of the season in first place and ultimately won the American League Central by a margin of eight games.
The 2019-20 offseason will now bring increased pressure for the team to make impactful additions with an eye toward finally breaking through a near-unthinkable run of postseason futility over the past 15 years. Pitching will be of particular importance, as Jose Berrios is the only rotation member who is under team control; Jake Odorizzi, Michael Pineda, Kyle Gibson and the aforementioned Perez are all free agents. Minnesota’s front office duo spoke last winter of being aggressive once it becomes clear that the team’s window is open, and they’ve already stated that they intend to pursue “impact” pitching this offseason. With extremely minimal payroll commitments on the books in 2020 and 2021 and a fairly modest arbitration class, the Twins are currently more than $50MM south of their club-record payroll (set in 2018), so they certainly have the resources to make good on those intentions.
Now go out and sign some players!
Yeah, it’s time to make a splash…or three.
Twins have a great young team they just need SP(s) to pair with Jose Berrios.. maybe Zack Wheeler?
good move, I wonder how much top front office guys make?
Millions!
Good!
The Twins baseball ops department has def made some wise moves. This is a make or break off-season for them, in my opinion. They have at least 3 rotation vacancies to fill and need 1 or 2 bullpen pieces to compete with the AL’s best. There will never be a better time for them to go “all in” than right now, with 3 rebuilding clubs in there division and the Indians window looking like it could be closing. I’m intrigued by Byron Buxton, and I’m curious as to whether they will be fielding offers for him or bet on him to stay healthy this year and finally reach his potential.
I personally reached out to Scott Proefrock, GM Matt Klentak’s primary assistant in Philly. I know I’m probably that annoying friend-of-a-friend that hits him up on occasion to bounce ball baseball ideas off of him (I’ve been telling him for 3 years now to convert Vinny Velasquez to closer and campaigned for them to put together an enticing package for Mike Trout last year) but I think he needs to listen to me on this one. They need a CF and Bux is on the cusp of a breakout season. Noone in baseball would be a better influence or mentor to Bux then Cutch. His speed and defense are second to none in MLB and he could easily be a .280/.333/.490 hitter in that ballpark. Would the Twins be willing to part with him is the question.
Not gonna happen. Besides, Philly would be better off with Starling Marte anyways.
Marte’s DRS & UZR weren’t very good last year but he wouldnt have a whole lot of ground to cover at CBP. If Pitt would part with him for a couple of tier 2 or tier 3 prospects it may be worth it.
Pittsburgh is really in need of young pitching and a catcher, so perhaps Medina, Marchan, and Pipkin
Michael Jackson came to my house to use the bathroom.
OK I’ll bite: did he invite your younger brother to Neverland?
Four wheel drive …. bullet holes.
You need to stop before the protective order hits…..
Be careful with the name dropping. Kurt Russell told me it’s really annoying when people do that.
These duds have no talent about finding talent. The dirt mound right in front of home plate is where pitchers throw from. Now go get some that can impact this team! or never show your faces around here again.
I love the direction these guys have put this franchise. Time to be aggressive! You have the $$, job security and record setting offense. Let’s see these guys sign some legit pitching stars to complete this team. The window is open, take advantage!