Tag: Louie Varland

The Twins never make it easy

Derek Falvey

Now that a few days have passed since Derek Falvey and Minnesota Twins ownership “mutually agreed” to part ways it seems like a good time to share my thoughts on what happened. When the move was announced on Friday, January 30 it came as a real shock that a parting of the ways like this would take place just two weeks away for the beginning of Spring Training 2026 and just a week after the Minnesota Twins Diamond Awards and TwinsFest took place.

While I was disappointed that this move didn’t take place right after the 2025 season ended, I am still glad that it happened. I see this as the best news that I have seen coming from the Twins camp in a long time. I am no baseball expert but I just don’t think that Falvey was ever qualified for this job and should not have been hired in the first place. I wonder how much the Twins paid him to walk away quietly? It appears that Falvey and Pohlad were not only not on the same wave length, they weren’t even in the same area code.

Derek Falvey was hired by the Minnesota Twins as Executive Vice President and Chief Baseball Officer on October 3, 2016. He officially joined the organization following the conclusion of the 2016 World Series and was later promoted to President of Baseball Operations in November 2019. In 2025 He also took over the business side of the Twins operation from Dave St. Peter who decided to retire.

 

Year Year End 40?Man
2025 $130,113,745
2024 $132,543,419
2023 $166,950,772
2022 $151,057,543
2021 $125,983,176
2020 $52,627,942
2019 $125,205,980
2018 $131,186,562
2017 $111,209,586
2016 $106,840,501
2015 $108,275,245
2014 $91,071,286
2013 $76,132,483
2012 $101,165,992
2011 $115,419,106
2010 $103,039,407
  • Year End 40-man roster payrolls obtained by The Associated Press include salaries and pro-rated shares of signing bonuses, earned performance and award bonuses, non-cash compensation, buyouts of unexercised options and cash transactions. Deferrals may be discounted to reflect present-day value.

Source: Cot’s Baseball Contracts

Continue reading The Twins never make it easy

Minnesota Twins 2025 Offseason Moves: Eric Orze Trade, Alex Jackson Addition, and Ownership Uncertainty

Eric Orze
Jacob Kisting

The Twins first move early this off-season was on November 18th when they traded with Tampa Bay to acquire 6’4″ right-handed reliever Eric Orze and sent minor league pitcher Jacob Kisting a 6’5″ right-hander to Tampa in return. Kisting was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 14th round of the 2024 MLB June Amateur Draft from Bradley University (Peoria, IL). Trading Jacob Kisting shows the Twins are willing to move younger assets for immediate bullpen help. Tampa Bay acquired Orze from the Mets last winter in the trade that sent center fielder Jose Siri to New York. Tampa used Orze as an up-and-down middle innings arm. The former fifth-round pick tossed 41 2/3 innings of 3.02 ERA ball across 33 appearances. His 22.5% strikeout percentage and 10.7% walk rate weren’t as impressive, but he missed bats on a strong 13.2% of his offerings overall. Orze’s profile—solid ERA, decent bat-missing ability, but middling strikeout/walk rates—suggests he’s more of a depth stabilizer than a high-leverage arm. This is probably just the first of many moves the Twins will make to try to rebuild a bullpen they decimated when they traded off Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, and Jhoan Duran at the trade deadline this past season.

Payton Eeles

Additionally, the Twins acquired veteran catcher Alex Jackson from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for minor league infielder Payton Eeles. Jackson presumably becomes part of the mix for the club’s backup catcher role, an opening that results from Christian Vazquez‘s free agency.

The Twins have cut payroll so there is no reason to think they will spend money now, but, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the payroll between $120 million-$130 million going into the 2026 season. The two early moves might be a sign the Twins are diving in the pool earlier this season to try to acquire players. Relievers without big league deals and something to prove should be standing in line to sign with Minnesota. If the Twins hit on some relievers and the team struggles they can flip these guys and get something in return.

Lewin Diaz

The Twins still have a hole to fill at first and I would like to see them go after Lewin Diaz (who just turned 29) who was in the Twins minor league system before being traded Miami in 2019 at the trade deadline for Sergio Romo, Chris Vallimont and a PTBNL. Since then he was picked up by the Pirates, Orioles, Braves and Nationals but he has not played in he big leagues since he left Miami. After being cut lose by the Orioles he has played in Mexico and Korea. This past season in Korea in 629 PA’s he hit .314 with 50 home runs and 158 RBI while walking 60 times while striking out 100 times. He committed just 4 errors.

I am disappointed that the Twins have not yet named who their two new investor groups are. It will be interesting to learn who they are and what they have to say about the state of the Twins. It might be some time before we learn what impact these two new ownership groups have on how the Twins are run and if they are in this for the long haul or just in it to get a quick return on their investment when the Twins do get sold. Their intentions—long-term stewardship vs. short-term profit—could shape the franchise’s trajectory more than any single roster move.

July 2025: The Fire Sale That Redefined Twins Baseball

Ownership-Driven Upheaval In late July, the Minnesota Twins executed one of the most aggressive roster tear downs in franchise history—trading away 10 of 26 active players in just 72 hours. But this wasn’t simply a baseball decision. It was a directive shaped by ownership. A money grab by the Pohlad ownership.

With the Pohlad family actively pursuing a sale of the team, the front office was tasked with slashing payroll and clearing long-term commitments. The result: a fire sale that prioritized financial flexibility over short-term competitiveness. Carlos Correa’s contract was offloaded. Controllable relievers were moved. Rentals were shipped out. And the clubhouse was left with a skeleton crew and a pipeline of prospects.

This log documents the trades not as speculation, but as record—marking a pivotal moment in Twins history.

July 29 The Twins opened the deadline period by trading starters Chris Paddack and Randy Dobnak to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for catching prospect Enrique Jimenez, a promising teenage talent already showing advanced framing and plate discipline.

July 30 Minnesota sent closer Jhoan Duran to the Philadelphia Phillies in a deal headlined by right-handed pitching prospect Mick Abel and catching prospect Eduardo Tait. Abel, nearly MLB-ready, adds power to the rotation. Tait offers high upside behind the plate.

July 31 The deadline frenzy hit full speed with a series of rapid transactions:

  • Harrison Bader was dealt to Philadelphia for outfield prospect Hendry Mendez and rookie-league pitcher Geremy Villoria.
  • Brock Stewart headed to the Dodgers, returning big-league outfielder James Outman, a lefty bat with speed and defensive value.
  • Danny Coulombe moved to the Texas Rangers in exchange for hard-throwing Low-A arm Garrett Horn.
  • A package of Ty France and Louis Varland was sent to the Toronto Blue Jays, bringing back outfielder Alan Roden and starter Kendry Rojas, both thriving in Triple-A.
  • Willi Castro, fan favorite and utility wizard, was shipped to the Chicago Cubs for pitchers Sam Armstrong and Ryan Gallagher, each showing mid-rotation potential in Double-A.
  • Reliever Griffin Jax was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for Taj Bradley, a high-ceiling starter recently bumped down from the majors.
  • And in the biggest move, Carlos Correa was sent back to the Houston Astros after waiving his no-trade clause. Minnesota received Matt Mikulski, a High-A lefty starter with strikeout stuff. Reports also have the Twins paying $30 million of Correa’s contract.

From the Bleachers: A Fan’s Reckoning For fans who’ve lived every pitch, every walk-off, and every heartbreak, the 2025 deadline didn’t feel like strategy—it felt like loss. Entire sections of Target Field emptied out not from attendance, but from identity. Jhoan Duran’s entrance music. Willi Castro’s hustle. Griffin Jax’s quiet efficiency. Correa’s flash, however fleeting. All of it—ripped out at once.

Social media went red with frustration. Some called for boycotts. Others simply grieved. For season ticket holders, it felt like a goodbye written in ink they never held.

But within the uncertainty, there is a stubborn kind of hope—the kind that animates every rebuild. The new names aren’t legends yet, but maybe they will be. And if not? Fans will remember this moment anyway, and mark it—not for what was lost, but for what might one day rise.

2024 Twins Turkey of the Year

With the extraordinarily warm weather we are having in Minnesota where the grass is still green, the water in the lakes is still liquid and Thanksgiving is just around the corner it is hard to believe we are well into the fall/winter sports season. The Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Timberwolves all doing better than expected, pushing the Minnesota Twins off sports fans radar screens.

That is in spite of the fact that the Twins have announced that MLB will produce and distribute Twins games in 2025 but no specifics pertaining to cost were provided, the Pohlad family announced their intent to explore a sale of the Minnesota Twins, the team fired all three hitting coaches as well as its assistant bench coach, GM Thad Levine decided to pursue other interests and was replaced by Jeremy Zoll, Alex Kirilloff announced he was retiring at the age of 26, the team announced an executive leadership succession plan, to be implemented in the first quarter of 2025 whereas club President & CEO Dave St. Peter will transition to the role of Strategic Advisor; and President, Baseball Operations Derek Falvey will be elevated to President, Baseball & Business Operations. My favorite announcement so far though is the Twins also announcing in a very low-key manner a new (and I think complicated) ticket plan that includes the sale of MYTWINS Memberships and Reward Plans ranging from $600 to $7500. Just another method of of reaching into Twins fans pockets.

All of this with the Twins season ending less than a month ago and the MLB Winter Meetings (December 8-12) in Dallas still two weeks off. We have been very busy here at the home of Twinstrivia.com as we sold our home in Plymouth, MN in mid-October and are preparing to move to Corcoran, MN around Thanksgiving. When you live some place for 38+ years you tend to accumulate way too much stuff including in my case Twins memorabilia and other stuff. I first thought about skipping a Twins Turkey of the Year award this year but that just wouldn’t fair when the Minnesota Twins had an epic collapse that saw them drop from second place all the way to fourth. A 9-18 September had the Twins players calling their travel agents and making new travel plans that included more golf and no baseball. A season like the Twins just had in 2024 requires that a Twins Turkey of the Year winner be named yet again.

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Keaschall & Varland named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

The Twins have announced that Double-A Wichita infielder Luke Keaschall and Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Louie Varland have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Luke Keaschall was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 2nd round of the 2023 MLB June Amateur Draft from Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ). MLB Pipeline has Keaschall rated the Twins fifth best prospect and 94th best prospect in MLB. Keaschall played in the MLB futures game this past week as a replacement for Brandon Lee. For more info on Keaschall please go here. Keaschall, 21, hit .563 (9-for-16) with two home runs, two RBI, two walks, four runs scored and a 1.570 OPS in four games for the Wind Surge.

Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 15th round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from Concordia University (St. Paul, MN). Varland made his major league debut on September 7, 2022 and has pitched in Minnesota off and on since 2022. Varland, 26, started for the Saints on July 11 at Louisville, tossing 5.2 scoreless innings with two hits allowed, three walks and six strikeouts in a no-decision. His relief work for the Twins todate has been better than his starting but the Twins FO wants his stretched out just in case.


Twins Minor League Report, 7-12-2024

Twins 18 game postseason losing streak dead and buried

The Minnesota Twins beat the Toronto Blue Jays at Target Field in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series by a score of 3-1. Pablo López was the starter and winner, allowing one run on five hits in 5.2 innings pitched, with two walks and three strikeouts. Louie Varland (0.1 IP), Caleb Thielbar (1 IP) and Griffin Jax (1 IP) each earned a hold as Jhoan Duran earned the save with a scoreless ninth inning. The offense recorded five hits and walked six times. Royce Lewis was the hitting star going 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBI. The paid attendance was 38,450, the second sellout of the season and largest since the Home Opener on April 7 vs. Houston – 38,465.

The Twins win was their first playoff victory since a 2-0 win at old Yankee Stadium in Game 1 of the ALDS on October 5, 2004 – a span of 6,397 days. The win snapped the longest playoff losing streak in baseball history. In that span, the Twins had lost 13 games to the Yankees, three to the A’s and two to the Astros. The Twins win was their first postseason win in Minnesota since a 2-1 victory over the Angels at the Metrodome in Game 1 of the 2002 ALCS on October 8.

Good pitching, stellar defense and two home runs by designated hitter Royce Lewis in his first two AB’s led the Twins to victory in front of a sellout home crowd that yelled and screamed and waived their Homer Hankies at every opportunity. Lewis who hasn’t played in 2 weeks due to a hamstring issue wasn’t even sure if he would be on the playoff roster since he is not 100%. Never-the-less he carried the Twins offense on his shoulders in this game. We may have to coin this the Royce Lewis game. You can’t write about the game without mentioning a stellar play by Carlos Correa throwing out a Blue Jays runner at the plate and two magnificent plays by Michael A. Taylor in center field, one a diving catch and the other a leaping grab at the fence.

If your a baseball fan that likes to sit back and enjoy the game, this would have been a tough game for you as the crowd was standing more than they were sitting. Playoff baseball at its best, unless you are a Blue Jays fan. The Twins are seeking the first postseason sweep in Twins/Senators franchise history.

Twins minor league players of the week are De Andrade & Varland

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Low-A Fort Myers infielder Danny De Andrade and Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Louie Varland have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week 19.

According to sources, the Minnesota Twins have signed (6/21/20) and agreed to pay shortstop Danny De Andrade of Venezuela, number 14 on MLB Pipeline’s 2020 Top 30 International Prospects List, a $2.2 million signing bonus. De Andrade is tall and lean and projects to be a middle-of-the-order hitter. He’s slotted in at shortstop now, but there’s a chance he moves to third because of his size, and his skill set might fit better at the hot corner. He has a chance to be an above-average defender at either position. For more info on De Andrade see here. He is currently rated by MLB as the Twins 10th best prospect.

De Andrade, 19, hit .462 (6-for-13) with two doubles, one home run, six RBI, one walk, six runs scored and a 1.380 OPS for the Mighty Mussels. Currently playing his third year of pro ball.

Continue reading Twins minor league players of the week are De Andrade & Varland

Twins minor league players of the week are Louie Varland & Mike Helman

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Louie Varland and Triple-A St. Paul infielder Michael Helman have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week four. For some reason the Twins did not announce their minor league players of the week last week.

Continue reading Twins minor league players of the week are Louie Varland & Mike Helman

Finally it is time for games that count

It has been a number of years since I have been this excited about the beginning of a new baseball season. I can’t wait for it to begin and it starts tomorrow. There are a number of rules changes that I think will make baseball more fun to watch. There are so many changes in the game this year from bigger bases, shift limits, the pitch timer, limits on throws to first base, and more. The extra-inning rule with the so called “Ghost Runner” was made permanent and I really don’t like that rule at all but you have to take the bad with the good.

One of the other changes that MLB made that I think is fantastic is the schedule change, the number of games still stays at 162 but every team will face every other team at least six times during the regular season so fans will get to see the best players in the game in their home ballpark for a minimum of three games, unless of course they are injured.

Then there are our home town Minnesota Twins who I think are set to earn back the AL Central Division title in 2023 that has eluded them since 2020 and that was only in a 60-game season. The Twins were swamped with injuries last season and finished 78-84 and in 2021 they finished with a 73-89 record. Can they win 15 more games in 2023 than they won lost year? I think they can.

Continue reading Finally it is time for games that count

Twins fun facts from Twins 3/24 & 3/25 ST notes

SPRING FLING: Today the Twins will play the 28th and 29th of 32 scheduled Grapefruit League games as the Twins and Braves will play a pair of split squad at Hammond Stadium and CoolToday Park in North Port. After today, one more game will be played at Hammond Stadium and two more games will be played on the road. The Twins will complete the exhibition season with a 1:05 pm (ET) game in Bradenton against the Pirates on Tuesday, March 28. After the game, they will fly to Kansas City, hold an optional team workout on March 29 then begin a three-game, four-day series at Kauffman Stadium from March 30-April 2. Rocco Baldelli announced to the media how the starting five will open the season: for the Kansas City series – RHP Pablo López on Thursday, March 30 , RHP Sonny Gray on Saturday, April 1, RHP Joe Ryan on Sunday, April 2. For the Miami series – RHP Tyler Mahle
on Monday, April 3, RHP Kenta Maeda on Tuesday, April 4.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: Below is a look at Baseball America’s top ten Twins prospects entering the 2023 season: 1 Royce Lewis, 2 Brooks Lee, 3 Emmanuel Rodriguez, 4 Edouard Julien, 5 Connor Prielipp, 6, Matt Wallner, 7 Marco Raya, 8 Louie Varland, 9 David Festa, 10 Simeon Woods Richardson.

Below is a look at MLB’s top ten Twins prospects entering the 2023 season: 1. Brooks Lee, 2 Royce Lewis, 3. Emmanuel Rodriguez, 4. Connor Prelipp, 5 Matt Wallner, 6 Simeon Woods Richardson, 7 Marco Raya, 8 Misael Urbina, 9 Matt Canterino, 10 Louie Varland.

PROSPECT SHOWCASE IN TAMPA: The Twins beat the Yankees yesterday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field by a score of 6-4. Pablo López was the starter in his final tuneup of the spring, allowing two runs on two hits in 3 innings pitched. Kenta Maeda made his final official spring appearance in relief, allowing two runs on three hits in 5 innings pitched, with five strikeouts. Twins prospects Edouard Julien and Emmanuel Rodriguez both went 2-for-4 with a home run, as Rodriguez’s three-run jimmy jack gave the Twins a ninth inning lead and eventual victory.

Tomorrow’s pitchers: Minnesota: Sonny Gray (R), Cole Sands (R), Jorge Alcala (R), Jhoan Duran (R)
Boston: Chris Sale (L), Kaleb Ort (R), Richard Bleier (L), John Schreiber (R)