Duran trade symbolizes Twins' decades-old strategy: Sell, hope, repeat

In 2023, the team told fans to “imagine what next season could be” — and it's going to take new ownership to believe such a pitch.

Apr 2, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Twins pitcher Jhoan Duran (59) throws against the Chicago White Sox during the eighth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The Twins-Phillies trade that sent star closer Jhoan Duran to Philadelphia has drawn mixed reviews, but there's no debate about the Duran deal triggering angry memories of how the Twins wasted momentum from the exciting 2023 season.

For most teams, advancing out of the wild-card round only to get punched in the mouth and sent packing in the divisional series would be a missed opportunity. For Minnesota, it was magical. The Twins had put fans through 19 consecutive seasons without a playoff series victory – and Duran's 101 mph fastball sent Minnesota into the second round.

Optimism was peaking, reaching levels not experienced since the 1991 Twins won the World Series. There were flashes of hope in the early 2000s, but a North American professional sports record of 18 straight playoff losses wasn't put to rest until the '23 Twins beat the Blue Jays.

The Pohlads really saw this happen and decided to slash payroll the following year. Cannot wait until they’re gone. pic.twitter.com/ikrMnfJIH5

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) July 31, 2025

After the season ended at the hands of the Houston Astros, the Twins sent an encouraging letter to fans: "Imagine what next season could be," it read. Perhaps written with the best intentions of staffers who believed in the upward momentum, owners swiftly crushed these hopes by slashing payroll. This wasn't basic trimming of fat, it was a roster purge to save tens of millions of dollars.

Minnesota Twins

The Pohlad family, who are selling the franchise after 40 years of ownership, went from a 2023 year-end 40-man roster payroll of nearly $167 million and entered the 2024 season with a $127 million payroll. By the end of the 2024 season, the Twins spent $132 million on the roster, which equates to a 20 percent spending cut.

Sure, baseball is a business for billionaires and tough decisions need to be made when TV revenue disappears like it did for the Twins. But the only way to put butts in seats at Target Field is to put a winning product on the field. This season the Pohlads were faced with two options: 1) Battle through hard times and upgrade the roster by buying talent and trading promising prospects for established players, or 2) Punt on MLB-ready talent when the going gets tough and hope prospects develop.

The Twins opted for option 2, as they have done for decades.

Everyone knew that the 2025 Twins had the talent to win at a high level. The ingredients haven't mixed as hoped, but Duran was under team control for 2 1/2 more seasons and trading him for prospects doesn't necessarily make the Twins a better team now or in 2026. Maybe Mick Abel, the former first-round pick the Twins acquired from the Phillies, will be a star. But he's an unknown, whereas Duran is a star and the kind of closer required to seal the deal on the biggest stage.

The deal might work out in the long run for the Twins, but it's the opposite of a win-now mentality, and a reflection of a baseball strategy that has made Minnesota the personal punching bag of teams like the Yankees and Astros for decades.

More roster blood could be shed before Thursday's 5 p.m. CT MLB trade deadline, but a true fresh start won't be achieved until the Pohlads have sold the team. Once new blood takes over, Twins fans might start to truly "imagine what next season could be."