MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins were the last team in Major League Baseball to make a deal at the trade deadline.
And if you ask many fans on social media... the club probably shouldn't have bothered.
If the 2024 season ended today, Minnesota would be facing off against their playoff nemesis - the New York Yankees - in a Wild Card series, but are certainly not out of it in the A.L. Central. The Twins are just 6.5 games back of Cleveland, who have a difficult second-half schedule.
Both pundits and fans identified the Twins starting staff as being in need of an upgrade at the trading deadline, with inconsistent performances and the lingering hole left by the departure of 2023 workhorse Sonny Gray in free agency. But the best the front office could apparently do was Toronto righthanded reliever Trevor Richards, a journeyman with a noted changeup and a 4.64 ERA.
On the positive side, Minnesota didn't give up much, sending infield prospect Jay Harry to the Bluejays. Harry was ranked 39th of the Twins top 40 prospects and has struggled at High-A Cedar Rapids.
To say that fans were underwhelmed at the club's lack of upgrades would be putting it mildly. Social media lit management up, many pointing to reductions in the 2024 team payroll after the most successful season (2023) in recent memory.
"Pretty pathetic showing from the Twins ownership group this trade deadline and overall season," posted Twins Talk on X. "This is arguably the best team this org has had in a long time and they do nothing to show for it."
"Wow, the Twins are really making a splash at the deadline with a guy who has a 4.64 ERA," opined Luke Sjoquist. "What a joke this organization is. Have fun going home in the wildcard."
Fan Mason Kalkbrenner pointed his anger directly at the teams' owners, who have long been accused of being penny-pinchers. "The Pohlad family continues to be the biggest disgrace to the State of Minnesota and its sports teams," he wrote.
The Athletic Twins beat writer Dan Hayes concurs that ownership is behind what he called "an exceptionally disappointing trade deadline performance by the Twins front office." Hayes says team sources told him the Twins are in the running for a number of veteran starters - including Toronto's Yusei Kikuchi - but were priced out of the market.
Division foes Cleveland and Kansas City each made multiple moves for a stretch run, and serious questions will be asked of ownership and the Twins front office if they come up short of a playoff berth.