Continued silence, increasing peril

 I've been pretty outspoken in my faith that the Twins will ultimately do something this winter. I have watched the Twins under the current front office wait out the market nearly every year they've been in charge. They've been particularly silent this year, but I don't think that will continue, and true to form, they will find bargains shortly before spring gets going.

The problem is that the Twins still don't really have a budget. There is no TV deal yet in place, and as yet, one doesn't appear close. The fact that it is taking this long likely doesn't bode well for the ultimate valuation of said deal. For the first time in a generation, teams aren't wondering how good a deal is going to be, but rather how bad. With the collapse of over the air television, there is less competition, and regional sports networks are evaporating.

The Twins are first in line to experience this. They are essentially testing the market for every other team that doesn't have the market availability the Dodgers, Yankees and a handful of others have. TV revenue is a major source of income, and organizationally, both for the Twins and or baseball, getting their deal settled is the most important thing that will happen. 

We want the Twins to win. Derek Falvey wants the Twins to win. The Pohlad family wants the Twins to win. The Pohlads, though, have a stake in the team. They aren't just fans or hobbyists, and the Twins are still a business. Owners may operate the team at a loss, but at some point, they will seek to limit the haircut they are forced to take in daily operations. 

And that is fine. There is nothing malicious there, that's how businesses work. The responsibility of the front office is to adapt. It's so quiet because they can't adapt, because they don't know what to adapt to. The longer it takes to get something in place, the later a pivot comes, and the harder it will be to have a cohesive plan. The organization has already started trimming their scouting and front office staff. A quick pivot is harder with less information already on hand. The longer the Twins go without a deal, the more impossible a task the remainder of the offseason becomes.

I thought a TV deal would be in place before Christmas. Maybe the Twins did too. Forget about the roster, this is the biggest story of the Twins offseason, and the longer it takes to get told, the worse the team is.