The Twins as constructed might be good enough to overtake Cleveland in the American League Central and have a very good chance of ending up as a wild card playoff team even if they can’t.
More than 100 games into the season, one that started with a putrid 7-13 stretch, we can say this: Those early struggles were the outlier. This is a good team — even better, in some ways, than the division-winning, playoff losing streak-ending 2023 version.
Average attendance at Target Field this year is 23,203. One would hope that improves with another month-plus of games before school resumes and a September filled with meaningful baseball, but if it doesn’t it will be the second-lowest average in a season not impacted by COVID since 2001 (and that’s assuming you don’t credit the 22,236 in 2022 as being part of the post-pandemic era).
That’s the entirety of the Target Field era, plus eight largely competitive seasons at the Metrodome. Fans have not flocked to the ballpark this year even after the relative playoff success last season when the Twins ended their 18-game postseason losing streak, won a series and had the upper hand against Houston before falling flat.
The reasons are complex, but some of it is this: The Twins have failed miserably to capitalize on the good will earned last October, first by declaring they were slashing payroll (and following through) and then by having their games off the air on Comcast for half the season (and counting).
This good will hurting has now carried over to the trade deadline, as Patrick Reusse and I talked about on Monday’s Daily Delivery podcast.
The messaging as the trade deadline approaches Tuesday, as reported by Bobby Nightengale, is that the Twins are taking a frugal approach to any additions because of lingering payroll (and by extension local TV) questions heading into 2025.
Adding any salary likely means subtracting another big-league salary, even for a two-month rental for the rotation who wouldn’t cost all that much in the grand scheme of things.
