Falvey, Levine and the Minnesota Twins front office: An interim grade

Overall grade

Given Minnesota’s first-place standing, you’d expect Falvey and Levine to at least rate decently for their impact on the 2023 team … but Minnesota’s standing looks like more of a product of the AL Central’s mediocrity. The numbers say Falvey and Levine have actually hurt, not helped the Twins so far this season.

Here’s the first-half report card on the Twins’ front office. Note that grades for players departing the organization are based on the reverse of those players’ WAAs with their new teams.

Mode                    WAA                  Grade

Acquired              + 0.1                      C

Traded                  +2.6                       D

Signed                  +0.9                       C

FA Lost                 – 0.1                      C

Rookies                +0.8                       C

Overall                 – 0.7                      C

Overall, Falvey and Levine have made 30 personnel moves since the end of the 2022 season impacting the fortunes of the 2023 Twins. Only 12 of those moves yielded a positive impact on the team’s 2023 fortunes; 14 were negative and four have been neutral.

The Arraez departure is far and away the most impactful move. But for the most part it has been a quiet front office season. The only two other moves that generated impacts of at least 1.0 WAA in either direction both involved signings of second-tier players (Brock Stewart and Willie Castro) who have played above the backs of their baseball cards.

That means the Twins hold first place in their division in spite of, not due to, their front office leadership.