Minnesota Twins: A Year That Changed Everything
On August 18, 2024, the Minnesota Twins looked like a team bound for October. They were two games back of the Guardians in the AL Central, had split a crucial series with them the weekend prior, and were coming off three straight wins against the defending World Series champion Rangers. Optimism buzzed through Target Field and beyond.
Then it all fell apart.
The Collapse Begins
With Pablo López dealing on the mound, Minnesota carried a four-run cushion into the seventh. Then reliever Jorge Alcala took the ball. Nineteen pitches later, the lead was gone. The Rangers walked off Jhoan Duran in extras, and what seemed like a single bad loss became the opening chapter in a historic unraveling.
From that point forward, the Twins never regained their footing. They finished the season 12–27, missing the playoffs despite sitting at 70–53 with a postseason probability north of 90 percent just weeks earlier. Injuries mounted, bats cooled, and clubhouse tension seeped into the dugout. What began as frustration turned into lifeless play — a once-promising year ending in apathy.
Fan Frustration and Ownership Uncertainty
For fans, the collapse reopened old wounds. Anger toward the Pohlad family, who had slashed payroll after the team’s first playoff win in nearly a decade, boiled over. The front office’s quiet trade deadline offered no reinforcements, fueling accusations of passivity.
By October, the conversation shifted. The Pohlads announced they were exploring a sale of the team, sparking hope that fresh ownership might reenergize the franchise. For a time, billionaire Justin Ishbia looked poised to take over. A lifelong baseball fan with deep pockets, Ishbia was linked to the Twins before pivoting toward buying into the White Sox. The dream of new stewardship evaporated, leaving fans disillusioned once more.
Running It Back
On the field, change was minimal. Veterans like Carlos Santana and Max Kepler moved on, while Ty France and Harrison Bader arrived. But the core remained intact. The front office itself stayed in place, promotions rewarded despite presiding over collapse. The gamble was clear: trust that the pre-collapse Twins, not the post-collapse version, represented who they really were.
By spring 2025, it was evident the gamble hadn’t paid off. Minnesota stumbled out of the gate, requiring another miracle win streak to claw back into contention. This time, the streak didn’t come.
Deadline Reckoning
Finally, in July 2025, the shake-up fans had long called for arrived. The Twins turned sellers at the deadline, parting with a slew of names: Chris Paddack, Jhoan Duran, Carlos Correa, Harrison Bader, Louie Varland, Ty France, and more. Correa’s departure, salary attached, marked the abrupt end of an era.
Suddenly, a once-stagnant roster was unrecognizable. Of the 18 players who suited up on August 18, 2024, only five remain active on today’s roster. Yet, despite the wholesale bullpen exodus, much of the offensive core endured.
Ownership Stays Put
Just as the roster turned over, ownership news swung back the other way. Rather than selling, the Pohlads announced they would remain in control, selling only limited shares to new partners. Fans who had cycled through frustration, hope, and heartbreak now found themselves right back where they started — tethered to the same family they had long blamed for mediocrity.
A Year Later: What If?
It’s hard not to wonder how differently things might have looked. What if the bullpen meltdown in Arlington never happened? What if the Twins had limped into the postseason despite their flaws? Would the front office have been praised for squeezing a playoff berth out of a flawed roster rather than excoriated for presiding over disaster? Would the ownership saga have carried the same urgency?
Instead, one year later, the Twins are defined by turbulence. A collapse that sparked anger. An offseason of stasis. A midseason fire sale. And, at the top, ownership that teased change before settling back into old patterns.
For Minnesota, August 18, 2024, wasn’t just another game. It was the pivot point that transformed the franchise — for better or worse.
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