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When Thad Levine was introduced, the talk was about collaboration. Their organizational restructure has been focused around internal infrastructure. Upon entering a competitive window in 2020, the suggestion was for a necessary "impact" pitching addition. Each of the small quips or phrases allude to a larger story or goal, but it is there they will now be held accountable.
Impact pitching is now gone from the open market. When the Toronto Blue Jays landed Hyun-Jin Ryu, there were officially no arms left that would slot into the upper half of Rocco Baldelli’s rotation. That leaves us questioning where the club turns, but it’s worth suggesting that this front office very likely may have intended this path all along.
Jim Pohlad has not protected his pockets against this duo, and Falvine has not collaboratively come up with black eyes like “bilateral leg weakness.” No, this front office bided their time before appointing a Manager of the Year-quality leader in his rookie campaign. They nabbed a topflight collegiate pitching coach, they’ve overhauled the Baseball Operations department, and they’ve pilfered talent from all over the nation no matter what notch had been achieved on their target's belt. In short, they’ve laid a foundation for a successful and sustainable plan designed around competition.
Not surprisingly, that’s also how they’ve handled the offseason thus far. Thad Levine suggested that the initial goal was to “stabilize” the roster, and then move toward a position of “impact.” In retaining top talent and filling out the bullpen, it’s now reached the critical juncture of impact acquisitions being the only thing left to accomplish. If the offseason ended today, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Twins fan pleased with where things stand. Fortunately, it doesn’t end today, and that’s where our focus should be.
Given the goodwill generated by shrewd and well-timed decision making thus far, it’s hard to imagine a complete failure waiting in the weeds. The Twins have something like $30 million yet to hand out, and those impact moves they’ve preached have yet to be made. Rather than operating from the standpoint that it was all just talk, the surmise that we will see those "impact" developments is a very exciting one.
I can listen on Terry Ryan failing to land big fish. Maybe the Pohlad’s weren’t willing to open their pocketbooks for the necessary resources. We haven’t ever seen otherwise at this point, but the circumstances today are not what they were a decade ago. This offseason won’t be defined by what Minnesota has always done, or how the former regime operated. This all comes down to the execution plan from a dual-headed monster that has done everything to position the club in its current state as favorites within the AL Central Division.
Should the buzzwords end up going undefined and unfulfilled once the club heads to Twins Territory South down in Fort Myers, a full-on roast should be sent toward 1 Twins Way. Until that point however, the anticipation of impact and belief in those having fostered all this promise seems like a far fairer expenditure of emotional resources.
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