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Twins introduce Derek Falvey and Thad Levine

The Twins held a press conference to introduce their new Chief Baseball Officer and General Manager today. Here’s what we learned.

By Maija Varda
Minnesota Twins Introduce Paul Molitor
This isn’t from today, but you can pretend like it is.
Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

Now that the Indians finally lost the World Series, the Twins’ new Chief Baseball Officer, Derek Falvey, can (publicly) get to work with his new team. The Twins held a press conference at Target Field this morning to introduce Falvey and the Twins’ new General Manager, Thad Levine, to the media.

Obviously, the two new leaders of the Twins’ front office didn’t get down into the nitty-gritty of their plans for the team, but we did learn some things:

  • Falvey and Levine both signed five-year deals with the team.
  • Falvey and Levine look like they could be related.
  • Falvey was 100% in charge of hiring Thad Levine, which is a great indication of how must autonomy he has. Jim Pohlad didn’t even meet Levine until last night.
  • Levine said his interest in the Twins GM job grew “exponentially” when Falvey was hired.
  • Levine said he wants Minnesota to be “the last stop” in his career.
  • Falvey described being impressed with Paul Molitor, and that him and Paul “share the same vision.” He also noted that Molitor has full control over filling out the lineup card each night.
  • Rob Antony will remain in the Twins front office, and all three guys will be heading to Scottsdale, AZ tonight for the GM meetings.
  • As has been stated, Falvey and Levine emphasized that they will be bringing in more advanced metrics, but will still balance them with “human” decisions. Falvey stated the need to use analytics to challenge assumptions. There was a lot of emphasis on improving communication, collaboration, and processes.
  • Falvey and Levine will be working as partners, making decisions collaboratively as a team. Falvey noted the expansion in media attention has led to more front office responsibilities, and the need for more people.
  • Falvey discussed needing a balance of young players and older veterans to create a sense of urgency about winning.
  • Sid Hartman hasn’t changed.
  • Falvey is confident the Pohlads will provide more resources to help implement their new approach, including in scouting, player development, and analytics.

Did you watch the press conference? What were your impressions of the Twins’ new guys?

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