Coaching when it counts

There has been a through line on the Derek Falvey tenure, and it has been an investment in their pitching staff. Not necessarily in the players, of course, but to an environment engineered to get the most out of the arms they have. They have made a point to roster excellent receivers. They jumped on Jason Castro right away during Falvey's first offseason in charge. More recently, to outsiders Christian Vasquez looked like an obvious trade candidate, but the Twins held on to him, in no small part because the front office still values him as a benefit to the pitching staff, as a compliment to Ryan Jeffers.

The other lift has been via excellent coaching hires. It started with pitching coach Wes Johnson, and has been reflected through Pete Maki, as the major league rotation and bullpen have rounded back into form. Johnson's contribution was felt acutely in his departure. The Twins staff fell apart when he left abruptly in 2022 to take the same role at LSU (he is now the manager at Georgia), but have reconstituted under Maki.

The Falvey era was supposed to emphasize the pitching pipeline, and through scouting, analytics and importantly, minor league coaching, that emphasis has born fruit. Bailey Ober, Griffin Jax, Cole Sands and many with less time in the organization have blossomed thanks to the environment in the Twins organization. The Twins have developed an incubator for pitchers, and the coaches have played a big role in that, both in development and maintenance. 

Back when Johnson was hired, the Twins seemed like they just had a knack for coaching hires. Former hitting coach James Rowson steered the offense to an historic output before taking a new job in Miami. Since Rowson left, the Twins offense is best described as inconsistent. David Popkins couldn't elevate the offense in the same way Rowson got the most out of his players, or Maki is still getting results from the pitchers. 

Popkins was let go at the end of the year, and replaced him with Matt Borgschulte, who comes in with more experience than Popkins. The Twins hope that translates to the same kind of magic that Johnson, Rowson and Maki have manufactured. Since taking the reins, Falvey has shown a sharp eye for impactful coaching hires—so perhaps Borgschulte should be considered the team’s most significant addition of the offseason.