As the baseball world collectively wonders where top-tier free agents like Cody Bellinger, Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery and Matt Chapman will sign, it seems scarcely a day goes by without at least one team effectively proclaiming itself to be out of that market. The Rangers, Blue Jays, Angels, Giants, Nationals and Mariners have all seen a top baseball ops executive or ownership representative cast doubt on their ability and/or willingness to make further free agent additions of note. Add the Twins to that growing list, as owner Joe Pohlad said in an appearance with WCCO radio’s Jason DeRusha today that his club isn’t likely to make a significant late splash like they did when signing Carlos Correa a couple offseasons ago (audio link).
“…We’re not going to go out and spend $30MM on a player right now,” Pohlad plainly stated without mentioning any of Bellinger, Snell, Montgomery or Chapman by name. “The players that are out there right now that probably a bunch of fans are talking about, we are not in the market for those players.”
Minnesota never looked like a good fit for either of the position players — particularly Chapman — but the Twins are known to be looking for rotation help after seeing Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda and Tyler Mahle depart as free agents. A late deal with Snell or Montgomery would’ve registered as something of a surprise, given the organization’s candid acknowledgment of plans to reduce payroll amid television uncertainty this winter, but their late entry into the Correa market a couple winters ago might’ve left some to wonder whether a similar approach could be in the offing here. Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote just yesterday that he “would not discount the Twins as a wild card” for the remaining starters, but Pohlad’s comments today strongly suggest otherwise.
The Twins said early this winter that payroll would likely take a step back, and at the time, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported a rough target of $125-140MM. Minnesota currently sits just south of that number, at a projected $123.5MM per Roster Resource. It should be noted that Pohlad did not rule out any subsequent additions at all — rather just a big play at the top end of the market.
“…There are definitely other players that can have a positive impact on our team that [president of baseball operations Derek Falvey], I’m sure, is looking at,” Pohlad added.
The Twins, for instance, have reportedly expressed interest in unsigned players like Michael Lorenzen, Adam Duvall and Michael A. Taylor. Signing one or even two of those names would cost considerably less than a run at Montgomery or Snell. They also watched old friend Jake Odorizzi’s recent workout for teams. Falvey and his staff have also never been ones to shy away from trades late in the offseason. Deals to acquire Pablo Lopez (Jan. 23) and Odorizzi (Feb. 17) were both completed well after the New Year in their respective offseasons. The acquisition of Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan came on the eve of Opening Day in 2022. It remains possible that some pitching or right-handed-hitting outfield help could be acquired via that market.
Generally speaking, it’s been a quiet offseason for the Twins. They shipped stalwart infielder Jorge Polanco to the Mariners late last month in a deal netting right-handers Justin Topa and Anthony DeSclafani and prospects Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen. Minnesota netted about $6.5MM in that deal as well and reinvested that money in free agent deals to sign Carlos Santana and Jay Jackson. More recently, they flipped utilityman Nick Gordon to the Marlins for lefty reliever Steven Okert.
[gets popcorn ready]
This was never going to happen so it’s not surprising. The Twins prefer to trade for cheap starters so I never expected a big SP signing.
The surprising part is they are saying these things out loud (payroll will be lower, not signing big free agents). Usually we don’t hear that.
Joe Pohlad is much more direct, and I think he’s making it clear to Falvey and fans.
I’m not sure why this team (Twins) gets an article on this site almost every single day…unles it’s for those readers that like to continue to be disappointed.
@provoker – Nice name for a troll 🙂
Twins are forgiven. They picked up the pieces for Boras with Correa’s great adventure last offseason.
Are you sure Joe pohlad said that, it sure sounds like something Carl pohlad said for 30ish years
Sadly, I too must state I’m “not in the market” for any of the top remaining free agents.
Your fans will be ….. disappointed.
The Bally’s fiasco has many teams in baseball taking this stance, while Robby the robot sits on the sidelines with his large market masters.
Boras picked the wrong offseason to peddle his wears at a high price. Even Arte Moreno, who has a history of getting a Boras client signed for the Angels isn’t biting.
I’m sad. Twins’ ownership is being cheap for this. A 2024 rotation without a 2023 Sonny-level starter isn’t bound to do as well.
There is literally no starter in the game that projects for a sub 3 era. They still project for one of the best rotations around and are likely to take the central easily.
Snell would need 40 starts to match Gray’s innings and nobody believes in Montgomery
Well, maybe if Boras has a special sale, more bidders would come to the table
Did he even really need to say that? I live in Chicago and I knew that.
That’s fine. None of them are really worth signing. Most of them are overrated bench players.
Cy Young would disagree.
@oldgfan
I don’t see Cy Young as a FA this year.
They are excellent players that could start for most teams and should paid handsomely. However they all have flaws that make them worth less than the money they are currently hoping for, so at some point they’ll need to back down on dollars or years to get a deal.
And so here’s the real deal: Boras can dictate strategy to these guys all day long but in the end he works for them. If they say screw it I want to be in camp he’ll pick a team and pop up with a signed contract where half the fans in the league complain to their front office about not taking that deal. But like someone said in this thread, most players only get one good shot at free agency and they need to cash in to make that generational money. If Montgomery, for example, takes a three year deal with two opt outs and gets hurt he goes from a 31 year old asking for five years to a 34 year old coming off maybe one year of health. Vastly different money and security.
I get the feeling Joe Pohlad is holding the front office accountable for performance at this point.
Dave St. Peter was tasked with improving attendance as crowds at Target Field have been pretty poor the last several years after being MLB average in 2019, but judging on how the seats looked for the vast majority of last year, his efforts weren’t working well. His failure to secure a new, better TV deal certainly isn’t going to help him, either.
2019 = 28.4k (15th)
2021 = 16.1k (19th)
2022 = 22.2k (22nd)
2023 = 24.3k (19th)
Pohlad put Falvey on the hot seat last year indicating the time for the Twins to win the division or make the playoffs had passed by, and he was now expecting the team to advance in the playoffs (which they did). I get the feeling that after spending record setting payrolls despite mediocre to poor attendance and barely breaking even from 2020-2023, ownership has decided to continue to put the pressure on Falvey’s front office. Falvey was brought in to transform the franchise development system and build a rotation. Up until mid 2022, Falvey’s drafting and development looked utterly pretty miserable with huge whiffs time and again early on. Royce Lewis, Trevor Larnach, Keoni Cavaco, Noah Miller, Landon Leach, Blayne Enlow, Aaron Sabato, all looked like busts or sketchy to be MLB regulars. Brent Rooker was overlooked and tossed in with Taylor Rogers to get Chris Paddack. Matt Wallner looked dicey as well, and the front office dumped almost their entire 2021 draft class through trades including Chase Petty, Steve Hajjar, Cade Povich, and Christian Encarnation-Strand. Royce Lewis may have single handedly saved Falvey’s career with the Twins last year.
With the history of Twins payroll consistently ranking a little higher in MLB and setting new Twins records, ownership grew tired of not seeing results.
2023 = $154MM 1st
2022 = $134MM 2nd
2021 = $125MM 4th
2020 = $123MM 5th
2019 = $120MM 6th
2018 = $129MM 3rd
I think Falvey is squarely in the “prove it” portion of their employment with the Twins, and ownership is saying they’re not going to bail him out like they did with the Correa deal again.
It’s disappointing for fans looking to put the hammer down when the AL Central is still weak and the Twins are the favorites, but it is what it is.
Just because they are spending more they aren’t moving up in ranking as far as spending goes. They are always lower teens (middle of the pack) in spending vs the other teams. This year they are 20-22 I think right now. So if the front office expects results better from a fan engagement (tickets etc) without spending more or even the same as years past they are sadly very disconnected from reality. You can really see it every time st Peter talks. He always acts surprised they aren’t selling more tickets. Hmmm I wonder why. The 2024 tv deal is giving them around 85% of the money they had been getting in years past. They have been harping for months how they wouldn’t spend more money because of the tv deal or lack of one. Now when asked if they will spend more because they were basically just given 40 million or more their answer is “no”. Fans are tired of the cheapness.
As a Twins fan, I’m in the same boat as Saint Peter. Why on earth can’t they sell more tickets? Last year they signed, literally the #1 ranked free agent in all of MLB to a record contract. They then went and won the division with an exciting, compelling club full of young stars and quality veterans. All that and fewer than 2 million fans show up? I travel in from 900 mi away to go to games a couple times a year. And I’ve sat there in a beautiful summer day with less than 20,000 other people. Inexplicable. Apparently local Twins fans can’t be bothered to do the same. Also, I’ve been to most of the stadiums in MLB and it’s not even a Twins fan bias to say it’s one of the very best. I guess I’d cut payroll too, what else can you do?
@FossSellsKeys – Attendance often lags behind the previous season’s success. Apart from that, blackouts, lack of intelligent marketing, and Minneapolis’ terrible reputation for being unsafe.
@CUZ The Twins are a mid market team. They’ve consistently spent mid-market money. If you expect the Twins to consistently spend top 10 money while being a mid market team with little national interest, I think you might be a little irrational.
The Twins took a little step up vs. MLB averages in the past few seasons from bottom teens to mid teens. Last 3 seasons average rank 17th, previous 3 seasons were 18th, previous 3 seasons to that were 19th.
Wow not what I said. Read my comment
Now with Eric retiring, no need to look at the remaining free agents.
“Going out of business sale!!..We’ve got WAY TOO MUCH Inventory!!..No reasonable offer will be refused!!! For more details contact S.Boras at 207-391-1632”.
Who knows for sure, but next off season- it might be very interesting to see how Boras changes his tone and arrogance about trying to overstate the value of his clients.
As the baseball world collectively wonders where top-tier free agents like Cody Bellinger, Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery and Matt Chapman will sign, it seems scarcely a day goes by without at least one team effectively proclaiming itself to be out of that market.
I guess I’m a space alien because I DON’T CARE.
Then why are you here ?
“Why are you here”…This is the same guy that claims he’s LONG over his ex girlfriend and yet he finds himself outside her bedroom window every night at 2am.
What is going on with these 4 FAs???
An agent’s job is to maximize the players salary/benefits. These players are well past their opportune time to sign.
Why would they forfeit money like this?
“What is going on”…Boras only has one trick; he sells ALL clients as “transformative” and “generational” talents when most of them are not. You don’t sell a budget, economy car the exact same way you sell a Rolls Royce or a Lamborghini.
Are you saying Boras has a track record of holding out players well into February? Im honestly asking. I dont remember it taking this long, certainly not with 4 of the top 7 FAs.
I remember something with either Stephen or JD Drew like this, but I’m pretty sure in the end, they lost money by doing this. I would think they would say enough of the nonsense, get me into a camp.
My question is why would the players agree to this? $160M on top of the money theyve already made isnt enough?
“Are you saying Boras”….Mid tier guys JD Drew, Kyle Lohse, Michael Conforto and Ryan Franklin ALL lost significant money from the overplayed Boras tactics. Michael Conforto especially should be in the middle years of a 6/150M contract, because that’s what the Mets offered him several years ago. Yes, Boras has held many players out until well past February.
Jake Arrieta, a Boras client at the time, didn’t sign until March 2018 with the Phillies because of this very same tactic MLB Fan is talking about. And on top of holding out so long, Arrieta had to settle for a three-year deal.
the short answer is: Yes
a few years ago,,those unsigned free agents had their own spring training.
The Phillies were in the middle of a spring training game vs the Tigers when they signed Bryce Harper. That saga went into late February.
For players and what they want/value, it varies player to player. For some, it’s the same question as to why do CEO’s keep working when they make $50-100M a year and want more? It’s a status symbol, something to hold over their peers. For others, like most of these guys, they’re on the other side of 29 and unless they have a Zack Wheeler/Verlander/Scherzer like run, it’s probably their only shot at getting a big FA deal. Many major leaguers count down the days to free agency just like kids counting down Christmas. Most make solid money in their first couple years but not the type of never have to work another day in my life and keep my standard of living money.
Guys like Boras want to make their money and keep pushing the limits of total money and AAV. One big contact can set a new normal. I bet he was hoping to get Bellinger a huge $200-250M deal so that he can push $400M for Soto next year. Just google Boras’ agency and look at their offices. All the lawyers, scientists, nutritionists, etc. he has working for him. It’s important he delivers on selling these guys he can get top dollar for their services.
And most contract negotiations usually takes days if not weeks on average. Then most players don’t even want to be a part of negotiations. Sometimes because they’re not intelligent and trust the agent to do their job. Sometimes because the off-season is typically shorter than the other big sports, they want to maximize rest time and time with their families instead of negotiating a possible life-altering deal.
This is disappointing. Since they have shown the willingness to spend now, I was hoping to see Snell added this spring. With the TV deal going for 1 more year (albeit, at a slightly lesser amount), there should be no reason for the Twins to be so far below last years payroll. One of the reasons that fans don’t go to games is because the roster is not built to be championship caliber. The self imposed idea of only spending about 50% of revenue on payroll is a joke. They could easily afford to spend about 65% on payroll and still be turning a tidy profit. They haven’t drafted and developed a great pitcher in years, unless you consider Ober….who is marginally a #3 but more suited for #4-#5 spot. Lopez is a good start, but still questions about Ryan.
Ryan looks like a stud, if he stays healthy, he and Lopez would be the most underrated 1-2 in the game. I get that it’s disappointing but I would look at it that next year’s class is much deeper and better in starting pitching. Why invest so much into Snell or Monty when next year seems much stronger? Boras is 100% the type of agent that uses other contract offers and preferences to ratchet up the price.
While they haven’t said it out right, Snell probably prefers the west coast. And Monty wanted to return to Texas but they said they don’t have the $$. And his wife/fiancé attend medical school in Boston, so there’s talk if he can’t go back to Texas. Then he’d want to be in the Northeast. If any of this is true (or even not), Boras could tweak that and why pay $30M a year for Monty? I think Lopez/Ryan/Ober/DeScal is a fine top 4 in the ALC. Then see what’s out there around the trade deadline. Then invest big money in a quality starter next year when the Bally’s financial issues may be clearer?
One less team to fret over on the northside of Chicago.
All the reports from MLB front offices and beat writers suggest that there’s not enough chairs left at the table for the 4 remaining Scott Boras clients.
No left handed starter in the rotation plus lost 3 main starters to free agency! Plus cut team roster by $30+ Million! Twins need Snell
“No left handed starter”..A CY Young winner who leads the league in walks?…That’s WAY too risky for the mid tier spending Twins, who cannot afford to miss on a contract this large. I believe J.Montgomery will be slightly cheaper and a MUCH safer bet. Monty to the Twins would be a good story and would be very well received in the Twin cities.
Some people go nuts for a LH starter. It’s not a requirement.
What team couldn’t use a southpaw cy young award winner with a bit of I’m not sure where it’s going. Hmmmm.
These are businesses and prices matter. Paying top dollar for a pitcher with sketchy under the hood numbers is a move only for teams solely concerned with winning.
Ah isn’t it about winning ? Analyze why fans pay top dollar to come to the park.
But winning comes from smart spending, just like every business.
Twins only had one lefty starter last season and it was Dallas Keuchel. They swept the WC and played a competitive series with the Astros. Quality pitchers are what you need, handedness be damned.
Quality left handers are rare, top of the rotation, scarce. Snell is worth 30 million or more.
The idea of having all your main guys holding might be counter-productive. I(f you have an extra $20M to spend, there are still 5 players you could choose between, Even if the RS are desperate for an SP, there won’t be pressure until either Snell or Monty are signed.
Disappointing reward for the fans providing all that support last year and breaking that playoff drought. Should put the hammer down and go for it.
The owner is sending out the signal, while Boras legal team is tying it & collective quotes for a likely suit. I agree with underlying theme here, Pohlad is telling those who listen they are out on the numbers bandied around for the top leftovers, but will scoop in & take aim at a Lorenzen, Clevinger, Taylor or Cooper. I mean do they really think Buxton can go a month without getting hurt?
I don’t know why, but I find great joy in Boras clients left standing when the song stops.
“I don’t know why”…Scott Boras is a lawyer and lawyers have LONG had a reputation of lying, misrepresentation and deceit WELL before the shady Scott Boras came along. Didn’t Boras claim Kumar Rocker & Carlos Correa were “fully healthy” not that long ago?
If the make a Kepler for prospects trade it could open just enough payroll to squeeze one of the SP into the budget
Feels unlikely that they would trade Kepler and create a hole in the OF at this point in the winter. I think Polanco will be the only major Twins player that gets moved this winter, unless Farmer is to be moved during Spring Training.
Not really creating a hole. Larnach and Wallner fit a similar profile. Willi Castro can spend some innings out there. Moving Kepler probably creates juuuuust enough payroll space to sign a starter and grab Michael A Taylor.
Wrong, wrong and wrong.
1 Kepler leaving would create a big hole since Larnach has not proven that he can stay healthy nor that he can hit regularly in the big leagues. They’re already hoping that they don’t need another OF so Martin can continue to work on his defense in St Paul for a while.
2 Castro has to be able to spend innings all over the place as the utility guy so covering a full time OF spot (without any power) means we need a couple other guys (ie IF and OF subs.) Just fill an OF hole with a proper part.
3 There’s already enough payroll space for Taylor and they have not moved in his direction. More likely is that Taylor is still looking for a full time role somewhere rather than watch Byron Buxton play 80+ games in CF. And again, if you think you’re going to clear a payroll hole for this replacement player then go get Duval or someone who can hit.
Not sure why you have so much confidence in Kepler. Aside from the 2nd half last year, he’s been one of the most replaceable OFs on the roster. Kepler is just as likely to turn back into a pumpkin as Larnach is to underperform. Kepler will never be as valuable a trade chip as he is right now.
I feel like this “confidence in Kepler” is constantly brought up for those of us who want to keep him. I think very few, if any, of us think that second half Kepler is the one who will show up. That would be a great surprise, but most of us don’t expect it.
The thing is, right now the Twins still need an OF. Get rid of Kepler and they’ll need two. The other thing is, mediocre Kepler is still a much better player than Larnach. That’s why we don’t want to get rid of Kepler. People on the “trade Kepler” side seem to think it’s easy to replace his mediocre production and sadly it is not easy. You know what you’re getting with him. Larnach has yet to show he can hit a breaking ball which is pretty important in the big leagues. I’m not ready to completely give up on Larnach but I’d be shocked if he could replace Kepler’s production right off the bat due to that problem, his K problem and his meh defense.
Trading Kepler very likely weakens the team. That’s why most of us are not onboard unless you’re guaranteeing an offensive or SP upgrade with the money saved which I highly doubt happens.
You have to wonder if some of the markets are now feeling what the regular person is feeling. Obviously the Yankees and Dodgers have gobs of money to throw around. We aren’t seeing those mid market and small market teams throwing money around. A lot of the local/regional tv contracts are up and they aren’t as lucrative or in some cases they went bankrupt.
You also don’t have smaller market teams, like San Diego, throwing out big contracts like they did recently. Even San Francisco who went big for judge isn’t as aggressive.
Boras and these free agents may have completely been missed or got caught by a market that has cooled.
I think it’s a matter of the few high rollers running into those upper levels of luxury tax multipliers. It’s not spending $250m, it’s the 110% tax on new salaries that make $30m suddenly cost over twice that. So after four or six years of stupid spending you need someone new to cannonball into the game like San Diego did a few years back, But with the revenue uncertainty looming for so many teams (ie everyone without their own network) you’re not going to see anybody take the plunge. The only ones out there with any payroll headroom are the Giants and I’m guessing they will probably end up signing one of these for full retail and picking up another at a discount..
I find it refreshing that some of the midmarket teams are showing some payroll restraint this offseason. Perhaps temporary because of the Bally meltdown, but just maybe a trend.
Collective apathy is a great way to reduce Boras’ star. Bit like what they are giving Bauer. Brutal, but effective.
Bauer deserves. Snell not so much.
True that. There is always collateral damage in a war.
Still good enough to win that division. Maybe not by last year’s 9 games with an improved Tiger club and the Dodgers of the Midwest Royals, but still.
Interesting comment saying they aren’t spending 30 million on a player. Seems like that’s what Boras is asking. And probably why they haven’t signed yet.
Spring training for my team starts Saturday. Figure it out Scott.
People want to hate Scott Boris but the best belief is to let the market work out itself without being involved. (ie signing deadline) Eventually theyll have to sign for reduced money and years, or theyre hurting their career stats and missing valuable playing time. (10yrs get lifetime pension)
Agreed. The last 2 years with the extra wild card has shown that you don’t need to win 95-100 games to make the World Series. The Phillies & D’Backs have shown that just getting in and getting hot at the right time works.
This is also something that comes along with the analytics age and the worshipping/collection of prospects. The “big-name” free agent doesn’t always move the needle. Unless they’re a superstar talent, the contribution rarely outpaces the contract. Sometimes you get a Lopez/Arraez type deal which is fun when it happens. But I think this is a lot of media members complaining. And fans complaining mainly from Dodger fatigue early on. If a couple more teams were more active and the Dodgers not so much, I think this winter would’ve been looked on more fondly by the general fan.
We still need starting pitching. Same story all off-season and we haven’t addressed it well enough. I’d be ok with getting Lorenzen or Clevinger and then grabbing Duvall as Buxton insurance
We need random FA signings. MLB announces the value of the contract 1st, all contracts are 1 yr fully guaranteed, then pingpong balls blow up like lotto, 1st the team, then the player. The team and the player whose name is on the balls gets that contract. Every player is a FA every year. Would be great TV. And adds a twist of randomness to the offseason. No big strategies. No planning. Each team gets 40 guys to fill out the roster each year. Way more exciting than this boring drip drip drip of an offseason.
Losing significant money when you’re already a multi-millionaire puts things in perspective.
I am jacks complete lack of surprise.
Twins deserve it.
Attendance stinks
Very rarely see minorities in the stands
Will lose to the Tigers by 5 games this year
Very rarely see minorities in the stands
=========================
So you go to the Twins ballpark and count the number of minorities?
MN is like 80% white people so I don’t know why anyone would be surprised by the lack of minorities.
no reason for liberalism here. quit your minority crap
This all smells a bit collusive…
Little Joe’s edict is to keep the family money first. His marching ordrs are to do enough to keep fans in the seat but not enough to win the AL Championship. He had that chance by signing Sonny Gray. Had Joe gone to his Business 101 class, he would realize Sonny would have paid for himself had they reached the Championship. Joe is a puppet. His dad makes the decisions. and all his Dad cares about is the payroll budget first and foremost. He doesnt keep his billions by betting on something that isnt a certainty or taking a chance.
Sonny Gray was NEVER, EVER, EVER going to resign with the Twins. He had stated he wanted to sign with a team closer to his hometown / home state.
I completely disagree. Negotiations are rarely cut and dry. If you have ever hired people and negotiated large deals, you would know that everyone or deal has an interest point. The Twins offered him a one year deal. Had they offered a very competitive three-year deal like they should have, I guarantee he could have been persuaded, That comes down to how good the negotiator is. They never made him feel like they wanted him. it would make anyone think twice. Of course if you are Sonny you are going to say that if you get offered a horrible deal from the Twins. Money talks and the Twins lost a big chance.
If Pohlad doesn’t want to stay competitive, he should be in the market to sell to someone who will stick money into a team that should be a top contender
Why would an owner who is making a lot of money off the team sell it? It seems like one of the easiest ways to make more money. No owner is obligated to spend (not saying I agree with that) especially just to appease the fans.
Cool. Tigers will definitely win the Division this year!
Hey Pohlad…you’re one of the richest owners in baseball, yet you always field a “B” team. Why is that? Too cheap to part with your money? Then don’t be an owner!!! Year in year out, Minnesota fans get a mediocre team, they’re supposed to be “contenders”? Quit dangling the carrot and GTFO of baseball!!! Sell to someone that actually wants to WIN and not be satisfied with making the postseason.