Tom Pohlad has spent months talking like a man ready to swing big. Now the Twins are giving him the chance to prove it.
After taking two of three from the Yankees at Yankee Stadium and outscoring New York 19-10, Minnesota has moved itself into a spot that demands action. The Twins have won six of their last seven series, including four on the road, and have climbed to within three games of .500.
They’re four games back in the American League Central and only 1.5 games out of the final American League Wild Card spot. FanGraphs gives them a 33.1% shot at reaching the postseason.
With less than a month to go before the trade deadline, they’ve become clear buyers.
That puts Pohlad’s words under the spotlight. At his introductory press conference, he made the kind of statement fans had been waiting to hear after years of payroll cuts and cautious spending: "I'm not a half-measure guy. I'm a 'go big or go home' guy."
He followed that with something even more revealing: "We owe the fan base something. We owe our veteran and star players something.
And we owe this organization something. And that something is hope."
Those lines created a standard. If ownership is going to promise no half measures and talk about owing the fan base hope, then the moment to act has to be met with real movement. The Twins have done their part by battling back into the race despite injuries, roster holes, and a reduced payroll.
Pohlad reinforced that message in April when he spoke with Dan Hayes. He said taking over so late in the offseason limited what the club could do in free agency, then pointed straight to July as the time when the roster could be improved. In effect, he asked to be judged at the deadline.
Now the calendar has turned, and Minnesota is right where he said he wanted it to be. The club has kept stacking series wins, and that should give the front office room to invest in the roster.
There’s no need to wait until the last possible day. The Twins don’t have to rush into a deal, but they also don’t have to sit on their hands. If Jeremy Zoll finds a player who can help, there’s nothing stopping Minnesota from moving early and getting that player more time to make an impact.
The broader landscape helps, too. The American League has stayed wide open all year, which has kept the Twins in the mix even through an uneven first half.
And help from within is coming. Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper, and Emmanuel Rodriguez all have a chance to contribute later this season.
Add outside upgrades to that group, and Minnesota could have a much stronger second half.
This doesn’t mean the Twins need to tear up the farm system or chase a reckless deal. But there’s a clear line between aggressive, smart additions and doing nothing at all. A bullpen arm, a starter, or a bat would all fit the kind of move Pohlad has been talking about since day one.
And this deadline carries weight beyond 2026. It’s his first real shot to build trust with a fan base that has heard ownership promises before.
He said he wanted to think bigger. He said the quiet offseason was about timing.
He kept pointing to July.
Now July is here. Making a meaningful move wouldn’t lock in a playoff berth, but it would tell the clubhouse and the fans that this ownership group intends to follow through. Standing pat would send a message, too.
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Byron Buxton Trade Buzz Is Back And Twins Fans Know Why
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Still, the speculation has not gone away, even with Buxton publicly saying he does not intend to waive his no-trade clause. Some national lists have continued to include him among possible trade candidates, a reminder that star players with real leverage can still become part of the conversation even when the odds are long and the team insists there is nothing to see here. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Fans Just Got Another Brutal Kaelen Culpepper Delay
Kaelen Culpeppers summer has turned into stop-and-start frustration for the Twins, who have been trying to keep one of their best prospects on the field long enough to build momentum. The first-round pick has shown why the organization is so high on him at Triple-A St. Paul, but injuries have kept interrupting the progress since mid-June, leaving his season in fits and starts instead of the steady climb Minnesota hoped for.
Now Culpepper is back on the seven-day injured list, another unwelcome pause for a player the Twins would love to see finish the year healthy and pushing closer to the majors. It also fits a broader pattern in the system, where Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez have each lost time to injuries too, making every setback feel a little heavier for a club waiting on its top young talent to get rolling at the same time. [Read more 🡒]