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<\/p>\nORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 The winter meetings are but a day old, and already the industry is hearing a different tone from the Minnesota Twins, one focused on improvement rather than tearing down.<\/p>\n
Agents and opposing teams seeking trade partners say there\u2019s a noticeable difference in how the Twins front office is discussing its plans for the 2026 season compared to its discussions at last month\u2019s general managers\u2019 meetings.<\/p>\n
Whereas before there seemed to be a lack of clarity about direction \u2014 which led to trade speculation surrounding All-Stars Byron Buxton, Joe Ryan and Pablo L\u00f3pez \u2014 now the Twins seem more certain about their plans and are holding off on potential blockbuster deals.<\/p>\n
Twins president Derek Falvey and general manager Jeremy Zoll confirmed the difference in tone early Monday evening. The shift is the result of several months spent convincing ownership that the foundation of the Twins\u2019 major-league roster is worthy of an upgrade rather than a further teardown, one that began when the club dealt away 10 players ahead of the July 31 trade deadline.<\/p>\n
\u201cA month ago, I was direct and honest in meetings we had,\u201d Falvey said. \u201cI said, \u2018I\u2019m not sure I\u2019m in a position right now to tell you exactly where we\u2019re headed. I\u2019m not in a position to move the ball forward much.\u2019 Now, it\u2019s a little more clear that we have been able to move the ball forward. \u2026 At this week\u2019s meetings, there\u2019s maybe a little more formal substance to some of those conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n Derek Falvey has convinced ownership of a change in approach this offseason. (Brace Hemmelgarn \/ Minnesota Twins via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Falvey indicated during last month\u2019s GM meetings that he hoped for an opportunity to start rebuilding the team\u2019s roster, but wasn\u2019t certain ownership wouldn\u2019t eventually yank the ball away from him at the last minute, like Lucy and Charlie Brown.<\/p>\n
The team\u2019s initial messaging prompted speculation about whether the Twins would entertain trade offers for L\u00f3pez, Ryan or both. And hearing that Minnesota might continue to sell off parts, Buxton indicated he\u2019d be willing to waive his no-trade clause<\/a> to play for winning teams.<\/p>\n But since arriving in Orlando this week, multiple major-league sources said the Twins have been more optimistic about their pursuits of potential free agents while signaling to teams that they\u2019re more likely than not to retain their All-Stars.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have told us they are more apt to hold,\u201d one rival executive said.<\/p>\n Falvey and Zoll agreed they\u2019ve recently received ownership\u2019s approval to build, though likely with limited resources. For the past two months with an ownership group that will soon feature two new limited partnership groups, Falvey said he\u2019s been trying to relay the idea that the bones of the Twins\u2019 roster are good enough to compete.<\/p>\n As far back as the end of the season, Falvey dreamed of building around a starting rotation featuring L\u00f3pez and Ryan backed by some mix of Bailey Ober, Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, Zebby Matthews, Simeon Woods Richardson and David Festa. When FanGraphs recently projected the club to finish 82-80<\/a> \u2014 raising the possibility of a winning record despite last summer\u2019s roster shakeup \u2014 Falvey used that and other projections to bolster his case to ownership about how the Twins could stack up against the rest of the league.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, they mean you aren\u2019t a team that is in the full teardown mode,\u201d Falvey said of those projections. \u201cThere\u2019s a good baseline team here. Now, do we have holes and needs? Absolutely. But every team can say that at this stage of the year. \u2026 I was hopeful (at the GM Meetings) that we\u2019d get to this place, but I always knew there could be different paths that we choose.\u201d<\/p>\n During a Monday news conference, new Twins manager Derek Shelton said he leaned more toward the optimistic side about the roster he\u2019d inherit. Working closely with Falvey during the hiring process, Shelton, who was named manager on Oct. 29, believed the Twins were on the way up instead of continuing to trend down.<\/p>\n