Falvey wants to build around Twins' core — will the Pohlads let him?

The Minnesota Twins are at a crossroads this offseason.

With some talented core pieces about to be supplemented by a strong group of prospects, they have a chance to put together a roster that can contend in the AL Central under new manager Derek Shelton in 2026. At the same time, the Twins could also continue the teardown that started at this year's trade deadline and move into a full rebuild. That would mean trading Joe Ryan and/or Pablo Lopez, and that path might end up with Byron Buxton reconsidering his desire to be in Minnesota, one insider recently warned.

Really, it all comes down to ownership's willingness to spend. If the Pohlad family grants president of baseball operations Derek Falvey a payroll of even $130 million — which is where they landed in 2024 after a reduction from 2023, when they were north of $150 million — he'll have significant room to add to the roster, with major needs at several positions and in the bullpen. But if the Pohlads insist on having a payroll in the $90-100 million range, which would be near the bottom of the league, Falvey would likely have to deal at least one of Ryan or Lopez to have any room to maneuver.

In all of his public comments at this week's GM meetings in Las Vegas, Falvey has made it clear that he'd like to build around the Twins' core, not subtract from it.

"We have a good minor league system right now, and ultimately, hopefully we can build on that," he said in an MLB Network appearance on Thursday. "We have a good nucleus of young players and we're gonna try and build on it this offseason."

During that appearance, Matt Vasgersian asked Falvey directly about Ryan, whose name has been swirling in trade rumors since this summer. Ryan was an All-Star this season and isn't particularly expensive, as he has two arbitration years left before reaching free agency. But those arb years will cost a bit of money — the estimate for his 2026 salary is $5.8 million — and Ryan is the kind of player who could fetch a significant return in a trade. That's why it's logical to think he'd be a trade candidate if the Twins continue to sell off pieces.

Falvey's answer was that the Twins will listen to calls, but they'd prefer to have Ryan on their roster next year.

"We fully expect that a pitcher like Joe Ryan's gonna get a lot of calls, as is Pablo Lopez and other guys that we have on our roster," Falvey said. "But we think our starting pitching's our strength. When we think about a healthy Pablo, a healthy Joe, Bailey Ober coming back and pitching in the middle of our rotation, and then the young pitchers behind (them), I just mentioned two in Taj Bradley and Mick Abel, but Simeon Woods Richardson pitched great for us this year, Zebby Matthews is a great guy that we can lean on, David Festa coming back healthy.

"So for us to tick up and go in the right direction, you're gonna need to lean on starting pitching, and we feel like we have it there. Our focus is figuring out ways to add around it, rather than subtracting from it. We have to listen to everything that comes up, that's part of the job, but I feel good about having a guy like Joe Ryan on this club."

Again, that sounds good in theory, but what happens if Falvey's hands are tied by ownership-imposed payroll limits and a strong offer for Ryan comes across the table?

There's plenty of roster analysis that can be done ahead of the Twins' offseason, but all of it is completely overshadowed by the payroll question. After changing their mind about selling the team and instead bringing on two limited partners to help pay off significant debts, will the Pohlads spend money to try to build a contending team, or will they continue to cut costs? The latter option would only add to the mix of frustration and apathy that's prevalent in the Twins' fan base at the moment, as shown by 2025's attendance numbers and things like comments on the team's official social media posts.

Even national baseball insiders are calling for Twins ownership to spend money this winter.

"They have talent. They can build around Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, and Byron Buxton, for starters," Ken Rosenthal said this week. "And that's a pretty good nucleus of players that you can build around. But will they continue what they did at the deadline, which is just tear it down?

"Here's an ownership group that just took on two minority investors. A big part of that was to help pay down the debt. But how about putting money back into the team? At a time when your fans are as alienated as I can ever remember Twins fans being. I don't remember the last time Twins fans were this disaffected with their team."

Rosenthal's question is the one that looms over this entire Twins offseason. Falvey can make all kinds of public comments about wanting to build around Minnesota's core, but he isn't the one who sets the budget.

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