Royals Deadline Moves Paying Dividends, Twins Budget Cuts Proving Costly

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Minnesota Twins
Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Twins now find themselves looking up at two teams in the American League Central. They’re 3.5 games back of the division leading Cleveland Guardians and one game back of the Kansas City Royals, who have been surging since the trade deadline.

Rather than do anything worthwhile at leading up to July 31, Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey sat idle, outside adding Trevor Richards to the bullpen. He was DFA’d last week. Meanwhile, as the Twins sat on their hands, the Royals were wheeling and dealing this time last month.

Kansas City Still has Minnesota Twins in rearview mirror

And boy oh boy, did our AL Central rival hit on a lot of those moves. In fact, a lot of their sustained production in the last month has come from those key acquisitions.

  • Hunter Harvey (from Washington) – Harvey quickly hit the injured list with mid back tightness. He made six appearances for Kansas City and allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings.
  • Michael Lorenzen (from Texas) – A pitcher of interest for the Twins this offseason, Lorenzen has been incredible for the Royals. Through his first five starts he owns a 1.85 ERA and hasn’t lost a game. The performance shows clear signs of regression, but it hasn’t hit yet.
  • Lucas Erceg (from Oakland) – Quickly moving into the closer role, Erceg already has five saves for Kansas City. His 2.63 ERA is better than the mark with Oakland, and he owns a 16/2 K/BB. He did recently get hit by a comebacker and leave the game.
  • Paul DeJong (from Chicago) – After posting just a 97 OPS+ with the White Sox this season, DeJong owns a 159 OPS+ in 22 games for Kansas City. I guess he has been reinvigorated playing meaningful baseball.

Star first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino recently was placed on the injured list, after suffering a broken thumb that will have him out for 6-8 weeks. The Royals countered his loss by claiming Tommy Pham off of waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals, as well as Robbie Grossman from the Texas Rangers.

Related: Minnesota Twins Claim Familiar Pitcher

Minnesota, hamstrung by spending practices, added nothing at the trade deadline. The only waiver claim the Twins have made to bolster their roster was for previously DFA’d Michael Tonkin.

Minnesota Twins inactivity continues to highlight ownership ineptitude

Immediately following their best season in decades, ownership brought forth a talking point that payroll was being scaled back. The Twins spent all offseason fumbling over terrible public relations messages. The product wasn’t on the television for months. With injuries mounting, they’ve struggled to stay afloat.

At this point it is clear Minnesota possesses the best team in the division. That has been evident by how they have hung with both Cleveland and Kansas City. The problem is that ownership has not allowed the front office to make any moves of substance.

The Minnesota Twins were lacking depth, going into the season. Months later, the situation has only gotten more dire. The Royals, meanwhile, weren’t just good at the trade deadline. Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha have proven to be great offseason free agent signings, too.

Related: Upgrades Incoming for Minnesota Twins Infield and Outfield

The Twins would have benefit by adding pieces at the deadline. Even after failing, there, they could have made up for it by grabbing worthwhile pitchers off of waivers. Unfortunately, all of those moves require spending money.

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