A key member of the front office is leaving the organization in a stunning move that caught many around baseball off guard.
Minnesota Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey is leaving the organization in a move that not many saw coming.
The Twins announced the news in a press release that framed the split as a "mutual" decision, though the timing just weeks before spring training raised plenty of eyebrows.
Falvey had run the club's baseball operations since the fall of 2016 and led the team to three division titles and four playoff appearances during his tenure.
The club went 70-92 in 2025 and finished fourth in the AL Central, which marked their worst season since losing 103 games back in 2016.
Jeremy Zoll Steps Into Lead Role
General manager Jeremy Zoll will now take over as the top decision-maker in Minnesota's baseball operations department, though his official title is not changing.
Zoll was promoted to GM last winter after Thad Levine stepped down and left the organization following eight years alongside Falvey.
Executive chair Tom Pohlad offered a statement thanking Falvey for everything he brought to the franchise while explaining how both sides reached this decision.
"Over the past several weeks, Derek and I had thoughtful and candid conversations about leadership, structure, and the future of the club," Pohlad said in the team's press release. "We reached a shared understanding that the needs of the organization are evolving and that a leadership transition is the best way to move forward."
The departure comes at a complicated time for the franchise, which is dealing with significant financial issues after carrying roughly $500 million in debt in recent years.
The Pohlad family recently brought in new limited partners to help stabilize the organization's finances, and those ownership changes may have played a role in this front office shakeup.
Front Office Struggles and a Fire Sale
Falvey's final season with the Twins was defined by one of the largest trade deadline fire sales in modern baseball history.
The club shipped out 10 players from their major league roster at the deadline, including big names like Carlos Correa, Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Willi Castro, who had all been key contributors to the 2023 team that broke Minnesota's infamous playoff losing streak.
The moves gutted the roster and signaled that ownership was prioritizing financial flexibility over competing for a postseason spot.
The 2025 campaign started rough with the Twins going 7-15 through their first 22 games, and even a 13-game winning streak in May could not save the season from falling apart.
Minnesota's offense dropped from 10th in runs scored in 2024 all the way down to 23rd in 2025, and the pitching staff never found consistency after the deadline deals stripped away much of their bullpen depth.
Falvey himself acknowledged the organizational failure last September after firing manager Rocco Baldelli following a seven-year run.
"This is a collective underperformance from our group and it starts with me," Falvey said at the time.
What Comes Next for Minnesota
The timing of this move raises questions about the Twins' direction heading into 2026, and whether Zoll will have the resources and authority to build a competitive roster.
Minnesota's farm system is considered one of the best in baseball after the deadline haul, and young players like Brooks Lee and Walker Jenkins could help turn things around in the coming years.
For now, the Twins are entering a new era without the executive who helped modernize their entire operation and brought playoff baseball back to Target Field.
Falvey's own statement suggested that the ownership transition created an opportunity for reflection about leadership and the club's future.
"Ownership transitions naturally create moments for reflection and honest dialogue about leadership, vision, and how an organization wants to move forward," Falvey said. "We had those conversations openly and constructively and ultimately reached a shared understanding that this was the right step both for the organization and for me personally."
Whether this change leads to more aggressive spending or continued cost-cutting remains to be seen, but Twins fans will be watching closely as spring training approaches.