Bobby Witt Jr.s extension is something to worry about.

Looking specifically at the on the field repercussions, the news of Bobby Witt's signing an extension with the Royals, it's bad news for Minnesota. Witt seemed like he arrived as a star specifically in his last series with the Twins. His July and August were incredible, and if he is even a shadow of that, he's going to be a huge problem for the Twins and the rest of the AL Central for at least 11 years. 

All that said, it is nice that there are only on the field repercussions. The only thing it MEANS is that the Twins will have a fearsome opponent within their division until Witt is no longer fearsome, or MLB tinkers with the divisions and the Royals are moved out of the Twins' division, should that ever happen. There should be no wailing and gnashing of teeth, as Twins fans of previous generations have grown accustomed to, over the organization not spending money. 

For one direct comparison, the Twins have already paid their shortstop, and are paying him significantly more per annum. For several other comparisons, they have also extended Byron Buxton, the home grown superstar, and Pablo Lopez, the star starting pitcher. Despite the reduction in payroll, the Twins are still committed to and unbothered by long term commitments.

But also, and even more importantly, this is the third generation of Pohlad ownership, and the apple has fallen far from the tree. While Carl was striving to do anything to get out from under the Twins 20 years ago, Joe, the now leader of the Twins, is committing to the long term ownership and stewardship of the organization. 

It shouldn't come as a surprise that a grandchild should be so different from his grandfather. After all, I have never once flown a recon mission against the Germans. Families change, and the Pohlads have been evolving into baseball fans.

It's happened slowly and steadily, but the transition away from the "cheap Pohlads" narrative is complete. The Twins faced monetary limitations owing their TV situation, and it was clearly discussed among the fans and local media that there was a pause on roster activity until it was sorted. The payroll haircut is ascribed to the reduced contract, not to the Pohlads' purse strings. 

Now that the TV is sorted out, speculation on whether moves will happen are phrased as "will Falvine act?" not "will the Pohlads spend the money?" For better or worse, for the foreseeable future, Twins fans can concern themselves with the talent of the organization, and the product on the field. 

Which means we can just worry about Bobby Witt kicking our ass.