At least these Twins are different

 The thing that plagued the Twins under Terry Ryan was an all encompassing reluctance to ever do anything. They would trust their roster, their development, and wouldn't make the big deadline buys or free agent acquisitions. It drove me nuts. 

The problem was an over-devotion to their prospects, most of whom were pitching prospects, and none of whom were as good as the Twins seemed to believe. Kevin Slowey was rumored to be a part of trade packages nearly every year in the late 00's, and ultimately left for a PTBNL in a forgettable move. For their part, the Twins, after adding Rick Reed and Shannon Stewart at the beginning of the millennium failed to make any significant deals while TR was in town.

Frankly, I would have preferred some deadline excitement, a sign that the Twins were trying to invest in a particular season, over the privilege of seeing Kevin Slowey's entire illustrious career first hand. Bill Smith and Rob Antony in his brief tenure were, at the very least, of average aggression in making moves and taking risks. 

As we in Minnesota are all surely aware right now, the Derek Falvey/Thad Levine tandem are much more aggressive in their roster construction than the Twins have ever seen in their experience. Sure, there has been a change from Carl Pohlad to his clearly more free spending descendants, but even know, Falvey and Levine aren't spending at the highest end of Major League Baseball. What I am saying is, the increase in trade activity is philosophical, and not financial.

The issue with Falvey and Levine right now is that we can lament the players that the Twins lost and suggest that the Twins are now on the wrong path, that standing pat is the right move. Luis Arraez is hitting .400. Spencer Steer and Casey Legumina are part of the Reds roster, and Yennier Cano might be an all star in Baltimore. 

You can gripe about that all you want, but the Twins also traded for Sonny Gray. You can complain about Luis Arraez, but the Twins added Pablo Lopez, a better player than Kevin Slowey ever was, AND added a top ten prospect. In my opinion, at least, it's better to be proactive and fix weaknesses. Title runs are not guaranteed, and teams should try to take advantage of the opportunities.

Of course, the success rate of the 2000s Twins and the 2020s Twins is nearly exactly the same. While the Twins are indeed different in operating style and aggression, they still maintain the very same losing streak in the postseason. It will at least be satisfying to know that this generation of the Twins' bureaucracy will not head closer to the offseason quietly. Unlike Terry Ryan, they will do SOMETHING.

It remains to be seen if it will be effective.