The Twins Are Eliminated: 5 Reasons They Broke Down When It Mattered

MINNEAPOLIS – There is no single reason why a team collapses. It took incompetence throughout the organization for the Minnesota Twins to be eliminated on Aug. 17 with a 92.4 percent chance of making the playoffs with a 7-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Target Field on Friday.

Baltimore starting pitcher Cade Povich, drafted by the Twins and acquired in a trade for Jorge López in August 2022, shut down his former team long enough to hand him his 25th loss in 37 games.

Had the Twins won, they would have remained in the running for a playoff spot after Atlanta’s 3-0 win over Kansas City. Instead, the Twins will end the season with two meaningless games. Here are five reasons why the Twins will stay home this October while Cleveland, Kansas City and Detroit clinch postseason berths.

Flawed starting pitching plan

Rookie Zebby Matthews posted a 5.71 ERA in eight starts. (Denis Poroy/USA Today via Imagn Images)

As if replacing the 288 1/3 innings of Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda (in 2023) through free agency wasn’t daunting enough, it seemed even more risky that two of the team’s potential replacements were pitchers recently signed with Anthony DeSclafani and Chris Paddack had to contend with injuries. Paddack was coming off his second Tommy John surgery and DeSclafani had only pitched 118 2/3 innings in the previous two seasons due to injuries. DeSclafani would never throw a pitch for the Twins, while Paddack lasted 88 1/3 innings before a second trip to the injured list ended his season. Another starter, Louie Varland, struggled and was removed from the rotation in late April. Due to a lack of reliable options, the Twins relied on rookies Simeon Woods Richardson and David Festa. A third rookie, Zebby Matthews, joined the rotation after Joe Ryan suffered a season-ending injury.

Injuries to key players

Every team struggles with injuries. The Twins’ problems happened to affect their best players. Royce Lewis missed 70 games with a right quadrant strain he suffered on Opening Day, then landed on the injured list again in July with a right adductor muscle strain that cost him another 16 games. Despite missing 14 games in May due to knee inflammation and 28 games in August and September due to hip inflammation, Byron Buxton played in 100 contests for only the second time in his career. The repercussions of Ryan’s departure after an August 7 start in Chicago due to a Grade 2 Teres Major destruction were felt for the remainder of the season, as the Twins were forced to rely on three rookie starters, all of them Her best innings of her career came in September and she struggled to get deep into games. A lack of innings from the rotation caused the bullpen to work harder to cover more innings. The biggest injury, however, was the loss of All-Star Carlos Correa, who returned in mid-September after missing 53 games with right plantar fasciitis. The absence of Correa’s crucial bat, solid defense and leadership cannot be minimized. Injuries to Max Kepler and Alex Kirilloff also cost the Twins key left-handers.

Crime dies a slow death

Carlos Correa was limited to just 11 plays in the second half. The Twins missed his bat. (Brian Fluharty/Imagn Images)

At one point midway through the season, the Twins ranked fifth in the majors in runs scored. Lewis, Correa, Buxton, Jose Miranda, Matt Wallner and Brooks Lee were all crazy at the plate. But that offense disappeared when the Twins needed it most. The front office’s plan was for the Twins to outscore their opponents, something the group was capable of doing most of the summer. But around the same time as Ryan’s injury, the offense went silent. Even with the returns of Correa and Buxton, the Twins continued to struggle, scoring 3.7 runs per game during a critical 37-game stretch.

Bullpen failures

The Twins are considered a potential top-two bullpen in the American League and as of Friday were ranked 18th among 30 teams in the MLB with an additional win probability of 1.82. Cleveland led the majors with 15.32. Injuries kept Brock Stewart and Justin Topa, who the Twins thought would be key contributors, out of action for a combined 37 games. Jhoan Duran missed the first month of the season with an oblique injury and never really looked good. Duran worked at a reduced speed and suffered massive regressions as he struggled in situations where he was unsure. Left-hander Caleb Thielbar was also out. Jorge Alcala collapsed in the second half. Meanwhile, none of the Twins’ offseason additions — a group that included Topa, Jay Jackson, Josh Staumont and Steven Okert — made significant contributions. To make matters worse, Trevor Richards, the team’s only trade deadline acquisition, walked 11 times in 13 innings and threw seven wild pitches before being designated for assignment.

Cleveland’s dominance

A team can only be punched in the gut so many times before they hit the mat and can’t get up. Cleveland repeatedly complained about the Twins and dominated the season series 10-3. Three of the Guardians’ ten wins came via walk-offs. Five of those were one-run wins and three were games decided by two runs. Essentially, Cleveland has been testing the Twins all season long.

(Top photo of Rocco Baldelli removing Trevor Richards from a game: Nuccio DiNuzzo / Getty Images)