MLB and players agree to new 5-year CBA

[evenfall]

Originally Posted by alnorth

(The twins have a top-10 payroll well over $100MM)

The Twins have big problems. They have a lot of salary tied up in players that can't stay healthy and they have a farm system that is mostly depleted. You can date the team's decline and the departure from the old success formula to the Santana trade, perhaps. They got away from what made them good. The Royals are better positioned for the future than the Twins.

Minnesota's recent GM change may signal a return to the old approach, but the Twins prove that their model still has to be executed perfectly. It's exceedingly difficult. Minnesota has had limited success in some ways, they have posted a lot of wins in recent years but they have been bounced in the divisional round five times in a row and have been swept the last 3 times in a row.

Oakland is often pointed at as another example, but they haven't been to the World Series since 1990.

This system is proven in the regular season, but it doesn't usually point to postseason success, though there are a few contrary examples.

At any rate, the Twins aren't really a small market team anymore. They're right around the middle of the league in market size, and were #9 in payroll last year. They are not hamstrung any longer by a bad stadium situation. I don't think they are a good example of a small market team. Tampa Bay is probably better.