In doing so, the Twins made it clear that not only is Baldelli safe for the remainder of 2025, but that they intend to continue forward with him leading the team beyond this season.

It’s a baffling message to send right now, although it’s not clear when the team actually made the decision and Hayes’s reporting might have forced them into this untimely acknowledgment.

The Twins have been a bad baseball team for a long time now.

They are 49-70 in the 119 games since Jorge Alcala’s meltdown in Texas last summer, and that record doesn’t begin to tell the story of how lifeless and sloppy this team has looked.

They’re getting beat in ways that well-run teams simply don’t. They’re failing in the details. They’re playing poor defense, running into outs, and routinely losing winnable games.

One-run games, in particular, often shine a light on a manager’s in-game decision-making.

The Twins have now lost eight one-run games in a row and are 7-14 in those games on the year; they went 3-6 in those games over the final quarter of last year. It’s not the only problem, but it’s one where a manager can make a difference.

This team is headed toward missing the playoffs for the fourth time in five years.

That would be unacceptable for any franchise, but especially one that has consistently had the highest or second-highest payroll in a division as weak as the American League Central.

For all the talk of sustained contention and long-term vision, this is a team that continues to fall short.

Right now, the Twins are stuck in their worst stretch of the season.

They have lost 11 of 12 and 15 of their last 18. Since this collapse began on June 5, they have the worst pitching staff in baseball, with a 7.67 ERA. And it’s not just numbers painting a bleak picture.

In an in-game report on Monday, Audra Martin shared some troubling quotes from Twins batters, including Ty France, who said the Twins need to “take a little bit more pride” in themselves when they fall behind early. Even more troubling were comments from Carlos Correa, who said the team “can do a better job with preparation.”

Audra Martin reported that Correa had a conversation with the front office and coaching staff about the team’s lack of readiness.

You want your clubhouse leader holding people accountable, but it’s alarming to hear that your franchise shortstop felt compelled to initiate a conversation on preparedness, one of the most fundamental and important aspects of a manager’s job description.

And the signs of that lack of preparation show up constantly in the games themselves.

To be fair, it’s part of Baldelli’s managerial philosophy to have players communicate with each other when expectations aren’t being met, or when there’s information they can share.

“Staff members can do great things, but the guys in the clubhouse, they’re going through the exact same thing at the exact same time in that room,” Baldelli said, back on May 25. “You have guys that have great perspective in there, and there’s nothing like a teammate being real with you and helping you out. That can happen so many different ways, but that’s the best way for it to work. If a staff member in any way feels like they have to be the one to always have a conversation with a player about any topic, you’re probably missing something along the way.”

All of this adds up to a message from the front office that feels completely out of touch.

The decision to pick up Baldelli’s team option for 2026 might have been made quietly. We don’t know the exact timing of it, and it’s certainly possible the decision was finalized back during the team’s 13-game winning streak earlier this year, or even during spring training.

That wouldn’t make it a smart move.

It would just make it another example of the organization reacting to the wrong things. The winning streak, for instance, got the team back to .500 but didn’t erase the bad start, nor did it guarantee anything going forward.

There was simply no need to make this move now—or at all. If the team rallies, if Baldelli proves something down the stretch, there would have been time to revisit this later.

But having this information leak out during the worst stretch of baseball the Twins have played in years makes it feel like a slap in the face to fans who are tired of being told that everything is fine.

Even if Baldelli isn’t one of the main reasons the Twins are underperforming (and that’s a very defensible position), he is still the public face of the team. Managers get fired all the time, less because of what they do strategically and more because of the message it sends when you let them stick around.

Keeping him is a vote of confidence not just in his leadership, but in the direction of the organization. Right now, that direction is not acceptable.

The front office didn’t need to fire Baldelli. That’s not the argument. But to pick up his 2026 option right now communicates that they are perfectly okay with how things are going. That’s the problem.

There’s still time for things to turn around.

A hot month or two could push the Twins back into the race and take the heat off. But there’s just as much chance that things continue spiraling and the frustration grows louder. Either way, picking up Baldelli’s option was unnecessary, and it sends the wrong message.

Twins fans don’t want to be told that what they’ve seen for five years is good enough. Because it’s not. Unfortunately, with the sale of the team on hold, it seems that all leadership decisions are cleaving to the status quo.