How the Twins' roster shakeup could impact the team's sale
Minnesota Twins' Carlos Correa, right, walks across the field near Ty France (13) after hitting a lineout to third base to end the bottom of the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, July 26 in Minneapolis.
Abbie Parr | AP File
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CHRIS FARRELL: Even as the wildfire smoke clears out, a different dark cloud is hanging over many Twins fans. Nearly 40% of Minnesota's rosters turned over in a series of trades before Thursday's deadline. The team shed 10 players from its Major League roster. That includes star shortstop, Carlos Correa, who returned to the top-ranked Houston Astros. The Twins brought on 13 new players, and the shakeup is happening while the team is for sale.
All right. So joining me to explain all this, and of course, other Minnesota sports news, is our contributors, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. And I hope you can explain to me this puzzling trade. Wally, I'll start off with you. What kind of reaction have you seen from fans over these trades?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, Chris, let me start out by saying there is no explanation. Well, there is, but there isn't.
[LAUGHTER]
CHRIS FARRELL: In other words, we'll come up with some possible reasons.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: OK, let's go with that. Well, I mean, clearly number one on the list, and I know that the Twins will deny this to the hilt, but shedding salary. They shed $26 million of salary this season alone by the trades. They brought in-- the 13 players or prospects, as they're calling them, that they brought in basically are all minor leaguers. There's a couple of exceptions, some guys with some Major League experience. But basically all of them landed with the exception of one, landed in St. Paul. So they're with the Saints.
So if you want to go-- if you're going to Target Field or if you turn on the television tonight to watch the team formerly known as the Twins, I'm calling them the Fighting Saints now, you're going to be watching a lot of guys that were playing for the St. Paul Saints a week ago. I mean, that's just the truth of the matter now.
Literally, eight guys who were playing for the Saints on Thursday, Friday became Minnesota Twins. And so that's basically what it comes down to. Yes, they were moving away from being contenders. I mean, certainly that's over with now for a wild card position. I mean, the reason the list is long and the fan base is upset, clearly. I mean, all you got to do is read on any social media now. I mean, people are just outraged. People are disgusted.
Can you imagine being a season ticket holder now with two months to go in the season, and you look out and you say, I don't know any of these guys? And I know they still have Byron Buxton. Of course, he's injured, which has kind of been his history. They still have Royce Lewis. They have Pablo Lopez, but he's hurt.
But I guess the one key guy that they didn't trade was Joe Ryan. And he has been their best pitcher with Pablo Lopez on the shelf. So that's the good news. If you want to look for a silver lining, that's the good news. The bad news is there's not much else other than that that is going to tickle your fancy if you're a Twins fan. And I'd say you got wait till next year and wait till they get some new ownership in here, because right now, it's doom and gloom.
Although one more piece of silver lining, they did win a game yesterday. They won one out of three in Cleveland. So people kept asking me how are the Twins doing? I said, I don't know but the Saints beat Cleveland yesterday.
CHRIS FARRELL: Or did you say the Fighting Saints?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: The fighting Saints, yes.
CHRIS FARRELL: The Fighting Saints
WALLY LANGFELLOW: I'm going to call them the fighting Saints.
CHRIS FARRELL: Eric, I mean, I follow the sports. I follow the sports page. I don't kind of-- and I got kind of a long history here. I don't recall a team remaking its roster like this. This is really uncommon, right?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, no doubt. Extremely rare. I mean, the Minnesota Twins gutted their team. And it's a teardown that I think is going to have repercussions for years and probably not good ones. It's certainly not good for locker room morale. It sends a message. It really telegraphs a message to the fan base that the team has given up on 2025. They're not committed to winning.
And let's go back slightly less than two years ago-- 2023 playoffs. Twins win a series against Toronto, lose to Houston in the ALDS, snapping the longest playoff losing streak in North American sports history. I saw all the home games at Target Field. The venue was buzzing. The mojo was back. People were optimistic about the future, but what did the Twins do?
Right after the season ended, instead of saying they're going to add key players or invest in free agents so they could get better and maybe go to the World Series, they started to pare payroll. They told the fans that they were going to cut costs. And since then, it's been a downhill spiral.
Now, Minnesota, going back to the days of the original owner, Calvin Griffith, has had a history of clipping coupons. But what this latest blizzard of trades appears to be all about is just what Wally said, simply money. Shedding payroll. And let's not forget, the Twins are up for sale. And in my opinion, this hardly makes them more attractive to a prospective buyer.
The Pohlad family is deep in debt. They want approximately $1.7 million for the team. But if I'm looking at buying the Twins, I'm going to ask for a reduced price. It's like buying a car and then finding out the air conditioning, the heating, and the power windows don't come with it. You might as well buy the St. Paul Saints.
CHRIS FARRELL: All right. Let's go for a happier topic. All right. The best sports team in the Twin Cities, the Lynx. And the newest member of the Lynx, the defensive star. This is exciting. Isn't it, Wally?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah. Talk about a trade-- this is a team that goes out and makes a trade, as we go down the stretch of the regular season, that's the Minnesota Lynx, that is adding to their already very reputable repertoire, let's say. They go out and they get--
CHRIS FARRELL: I like it when you use words like that. I do. It's really good.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: You like the alliteration. Very good. They go out and get DiJonai Carrington, who has been playing for the Dallas Wings this year, alongside Minnesotan Paige Bueckers, I might add. But she is known for her defense. They traded away Diamond Miller and Karlie Samuelson. This trade happened yesterday.
But Carrington, she came to Dallas via trade from Connecticut back in February. She spent her first four years with the Sun. This year, she has played 20 games with the Wings. She's averaging 10 points and a career high 5 rebounds per game. And I think that they really believe that defensively she can help them. And you know what? Defense wins championships. And I'm guessing that's what Cheryl Miller-- oh, Cheryl Miller, Cheryl Reeve was thinking when they made this deal.
Now, speaking of Cheryl Reeve, today she was named WNBA coach of the month for July. She helped lead the Lynx to a 9 and 3 record in July. It marks the third time that she has won the honor. She's won it back in 2024 and 2017. And Napheesa Collier was named WNBA player of the month for July. So it gives you an idea of how things have been going.
Of course, Napheesa Collier is a leading candidate to win MVP this year in the WNBA. And she had just a terrific month. She averaged over 23 points a game. So good things for the Lynx. And you are correct-- it is probably the most positive sports thing we have going in Minnesota.
CHRIS FARRELL: OK, Eric, I only caught a little bit of it. But that record-breaking victory in Las Vegas, I mean, it wasn't a home game.
ERIC NELSON: Yeah. How about this-- Minnesota goes to Vegas and literally hits the jackpot. The Lynx win by 53 points, 111 to 58 over the Las Vegas Aces. It's the second largest triumph in WNBA history and the most decisive road win ever. Kayla McBride had 23 points. She was a perfect 8 for 8 in 3 ball tries. It was a historic win for Minnesota, but it comes with a caveat.
While he talked about Cheryl Reeve and Napheesa Collier, well, Minnesota is up by 43 points in the third quarter, Collier still on the floor and she injures her right ankle. We don't know if she's going to play tomorrow in Seattle. After the game, some people said, hey, Cheryl, why is she still out there when you know you're going to win? And Reeve's response was, and I'm paraphrasing here is that, hey, I don't coach that way. I'm always thinking that somebody might make a run, and we got to keep our best players on the floor.
So hopefully they will not lose Napheesa Collier for a long time. But one thing we know, Minnesota is a juggernaut. Lynx are 24 and 5. That's the top record in the W. And right now, they have to be the leading favorite to win the title, which would be their fifth in franchise history if they can pull that off.
CHRIS FARRELL: And wouldn't that be-- I mean, that would just be wonderful. And I'm optimistic. I think they can do it, five times.
All right. So joining me to explain all this, and of course, other Minnesota sports news, is our contributors, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. And I hope you can explain to me this puzzling trade. Wally, I'll start off with you. What kind of reaction have you seen from fans over these trades?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, Chris, let me start out by saying there is no explanation. Well, there is, but there isn't.
[LAUGHTER]
CHRIS FARRELL: In other words, we'll come up with some possible reasons.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: OK, let's go with that. Well, I mean, clearly number one on the list, and I know that the Twins will deny this to the hilt, but shedding salary. They shed $26 million of salary this season alone by the trades. They brought in-- the 13 players or prospects, as they're calling them, that they brought in basically are all minor leaguers. There's a couple of exceptions, some guys with some Major League experience. But basically all of them landed with the exception of one, landed in St. Paul. So they're with the Saints.
So if you want to go-- if you're going to Target Field or if you turn on the television tonight to watch the team formerly known as the Twins, I'm calling them the Fighting Saints now, you're going to be watching a lot of guys that were playing for the St. Paul Saints a week ago. I mean, that's just the truth of the matter now.
Literally, eight guys who were playing for the Saints on Thursday, Friday became Minnesota Twins. And so that's basically what it comes down to. Yes, they were moving away from being contenders. I mean, certainly that's over with now for a wild card position. I mean, the reason the list is long and the fan base is upset, clearly. I mean, all you got to do is read on any social media now. I mean, people are just outraged. People are disgusted.
Can you imagine being a season ticket holder now with two months to go in the season, and you look out and you say, I don't know any of these guys? And I know they still have Byron Buxton. Of course, he's injured, which has kind of been his history. They still have Royce Lewis. They have Pablo Lopez, but he's hurt.
But I guess the one key guy that they didn't trade was Joe Ryan. And he has been their best pitcher with Pablo Lopez on the shelf. So that's the good news. If you want to look for a silver lining, that's the good news. The bad news is there's not much else other than that that is going to tickle your fancy if you're a Twins fan. And I'd say you got wait till next year and wait till they get some new ownership in here, because right now, it's doom and gloom.
Although one more piece of silver lining, they did win a game yesterday. They won one out of three in Cleveland. So people kept asking me how are the Twins doing? I said, I don't know but the Saints beat Cleveland yesterday.
CHRIS FARRELL: Or did you say the Fighting Saints?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: The fighting Saints, yes.
CHRIS FARRELL: The Fighting Saints
WALLY LANGFELLOW: I'm going to call them the fighting Saints.
CHRIS FARRELL: Eric, I mean, I follow the sports. I follow the sports page. I don't kind of-- and I got kind of a long history here. I don't recall a team remaking its roster like this. This is really uncommon, right?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, no doubt. Extremely rare. I mean, the Minnesota Twins gutted their team. And it's a teardown that I think is going to have repercussions for years and probably not good ones. It's certainly not good for locker room morale. It sends a message. It really telegraphs a message to the fan base that the team has given up on 2025. They're not committed to winning.
And let's go back slightly less than two years ago-- 2023 playoffs. Twins win a series against Toronto, lose to Houston in the ALDS, snapping the longest playoff losing streak in North American sports history. I saw all the home games at Target Field. The venue was buzzing. The mojo was back. People were optimistic about the future, but what did the Twins do?
Right after the season ended, instead of saying they're going to add key players or invest in free agents so they could get better and maybe go to the World Series, they started to pare payroll. They told the fans that they were going to cut costs. And since then, it's been a downhill spiral.
Now, Minnesota, going back to the days of the original owner, Calvin Griffith, has had a history of clipping coupons. But what this latest blizzard of trades appears to be all about is just what Wally said, simply money. Shedding payroll. And let's not forget, the Twins are up for sale. And in my opinion, this hardly makes them more attractive to a prospective buyer.
The Pohlad family is deep in debt. They want approximately $1.7 million for the team. But if I'm looking at buying the Twins, I'm going to ask for a reduced price. It's like buying a car and then finding out the air conditioning, the heating, and the power windows don't come with it. You might as well buy the St. Paul Saints.
CHRIS FARRELL: All right. Let's go for a happier topic. All right. The best sports team in the Twin Cities, the Lynx. And the newest member of the Lynx, the defensive star. This is exciting. Isn't it, Wally?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah. Talk about a trade-- this is a team that goes out and makes a trade, as we go down the stretch of the regular season, that's the Minnesota Lynx, that is adding to their already very reputable repertoire, let's say. They go out and they get--
CHRIS FARRELL: I like it when you use words like that. I do. It's really good.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: You like the alliteration. Very good. They go out and get DiJonai Carrington, who has been playing for the Dallas Wings this year, alongside Minnesotan Paige Bueckers, I might add. But she is known for her defense. They traded away Diamond Miller and Karlie Samuelson. This trade happened yesterday.
But Carrington, she came to Dallas via trade from Connecticut back in February. She spent her first four years with the Sun. This year, she has played 20 games with the Wings. She's averaging 10 points and a career high 5 rebounds per game. And I think that they really believe that defensively she can help them. And you know what? Defense wins championships. And I'm guessing that's what Cheryl Miller-- oh, Cheryl Miller, Cheryl Reeve was thinking when they made this deal.
Now, speaking of Cheryl Reeve, today she was named WNBA coach of the month for July. She helped lead the Lynx to a 9 and 3 record in July. It marks the third time that she has won the honor. She's won it back in 2024 and 2017. And Napheesa Collier was named WNBA player of the month for July. So it gives you an idea of how things have been going.
Of course, Napheesa Collier is a leading candidate to win MVP this year in the WNBA. And she had just a terrific month. She averaged over 23 points a game. So good things for the Lynx. And you are correct-- it is probably the most positive sports thing we have going in Minnesota.
CHRIS FARRELL: OK, Eric, I only caught a little bit of it. But that record-breaking victory in Las Vegas, I mean, it wasn't a home game.
ERIC NELSON: Yeah. How about this-- Minnesota goes to Vegas and literally hits the jackpot. The Lynx win by 53 points, 111 to 58 over the Las Vegas Aces. It's the second largest triumph in WNBA history and the most decisive road win ever. Kayla McBride had 23 points. She was a perfect 8 for 8 in 3 ball tries. It was a historic win for Minnesota, but it comes with a caveat.
While he talked about Cheryl Reeve and Napheesa Collier, well, Minnesota is up by 43 points in the third quarter, Collier still on the floor and she injures her right ankle. We don't know if she's going to play tomorrow in Seattle. After the game, some people said, hey, Cheryl, why is she still out there when you know you're going to win? And Reeve's response was, and I'm paraphrasing here is that, hey, I don't coach that way. I'm always thinking that somebody might make a run, and we got to keep our best players on the floor.
So hopefully they will not lose Napheesa Collier for a long time. But one thing we know, Minnesota is a juggernaut. Lynx are 24 and 5. That's the top record in the W. And right now, they have to be the leading favorite to win the title, which would be their fifth in franchise history if they can pull that off.
CHRIS FARRELL: And wouldn't that be-- I mean, that would just be wonderful. And I'm optimistic. I think they can do it, five times.
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