2018-2019 Minnesota Twins Off-Season Thread

[BleedGopher]

Sid Hartman: Jim Pohlad sees Twins going through major changes

There’s no question that this is the biggest transitional season in Jim Pohlad’s time as owner of the Twins.

He will have a new manager in Rocco Baldelli who is the first one hired from outside the organization since Ray Miller came from the Orioles in the middle of the 1985 season. Miller lasted part of two seasons before being replaced by Tom Kelly.

The team also is dealing with low attendance. The past five seasons, in which the Twins have had three losing years including 78-84 in 2018, they have combined to average 25,790 fans per game, after getting 35,943 fans per game the first four seasons at Target Field.

And there’s no doubt that playing without Joe Mauer means the team has to have other players step up, and the fact that Pohlad signed off on contract extensions for shortstop Jorge Polanco and outfielder Max Kepler shows that the owner is ready to have a new group take over the club.

So is Pohlad still excited to be owner of the club after a decade?

“Everybody likes to be involved with sports [ownership] and baseball in particular,” said Pohlad, whose father, Carl, died 10 years ago. “This time of year there are 30 optimistic teams. We’re one of them. It’s fun.”

http://www.startribune.com/jim-pohlad-sees-twins-going-through-major-changes/505945242/

Win Twins!!

 

[BleedGopher]

Shooter: Charley Walters: Falvey, Levine have met expectations, Twins president says

Chief executive Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine, beginning their third season in charge of baseball operations for the Twins, have met expectations, the club says.

“We feel really good about what Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have brought and what they will bring going forward for our organization,” club President Dave St. Peter said. “Everybody wants to analyze the results of our major league team — that’s natural. But their roles go much deeper than that, and really what we’ve engaged them to do was to build out a championship organization.

“What I mean by that is the infrastructure within our baseball operations — people and process and technology and breeding a culture that ultimately will help create a perennial contender.”

The Twins were a combined 163-161 the past two seasons.

“I feel like we’re in a better spot than we were two years ago and will continue to invest and believe in these guys with the hopes that the major league results will follow,” St. Peter said. “And it’s certainly our hope and expectation that 2019 will represent a significant step forward in terms of the on-field product at the major league level.”

The Twins have the youngest (age 37) manager in the major leagues in Rocco Baldelli, who begins his first season in charge. The front office knows he’ll make some mistakes.

“Not everything is going to go swimmingly during Rocco’s first year as our manager,” St. Peter said. “He’s going to deal with some adversity. But we also believe in the long term that those things are going to make him better. He has been everything we’ve hoped for and more since he joined us last fall. He’s been great.”

Baldelli has Tom Kelly, who managed the Twins to two World Series titles, as a resource, as well as a staff with assorted major league dugout experience.

https://www.twincities.com/2019/02/...e-have-met-expectations-twins-president-says/

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