'I'm really excited': Falvey dishes on all things 2025 Twins

Derek Falvey, the Twins¡¯ president of baseball operations, is feeling good about his team in 2025. In an interview with MLB.com on Thursday, Falvey answered a wide range of questions from the club's health to the pitching depth in the organization.

MLB.com: How do you feel about the 2025 Twins?

Derek Falvey: "I¡¯m really excited about the group right now. ¡­ You want to put yourself in a position where you are looking up and saying, 'OK, we have the core of our team, and guys are ready to go.' That really started for us during the middle of the winter when we received our check-ins from [shortstop] Carlos Correa, who is feeling great about his foot. [Outfielder] Bryon Buxton is coming off a tremendous year in terms of taking a step forward by playing over 100 games and needing to build off of that and wanting to. Maybe for the first time in six or seven years, he is not having a procedure or issue that would lead to some rehab in the offseason. [Third baseman] Royce Lewis is in a great, healthy spot. Joe Ryan looks tremendous. All these guys that dealt with some issues at the end of last year all came into camp in a great spot.

"When you have Ryan, Pablo L¨®pez and Bailey Ober anchoring your rotation, and relievers Jhoan Dur¨¢n and Griffin Jax looking like they are in midseason form, it¡¯s just exciting to get started. You want those exhibition games to already begin."

MLB.com: Is there still a bitter taste about last September, when the club went 9-18?

Falvey: "No question. I think it fueled us throughout the offseason. It fueled the work that these players did. It fueled the work the coaches did behind the scenes as far as preparing for the season. It fueled us in the front office to think about what we can do to be better. You played good baseball for a good chunk of the season, and then, you get to the end of the season. The offense went away. We really couldn¡¯t score runs consistently the way we needed to. Our pitching kept us in some games, but ultimately put a lot of stress in the bullpen.

"One-run games every night, close games -- things didn¡¯t go our way. Two ways to look at it: You just brush it off and move forward or you can do a postmortem, look at it and think about it. Think about ways you can be better the next year, and that¡¯s what we challenged everyone in our environment to do."

MLB.com: Besides winning, what do you want to see differently from the team?

Falvey: "When I look back at last year¡¯s team, I will not question the effort and the approach. Our guys never wavered when they showed up. Even during the tougher stretches -- I remember we had a tough extra-inning game in Boston [on Sept. 27] toward the end of the year where we pulled it out after three extra innings -- we had to battle every pitch. I remember, during the postgame, how guys were ready to go. It didn¡¯t work out for us, ultimately, on the field, but it wasn¡¯t because of a lack of effort.

"I will say, I think our guys have thought about how to start winning games that we lost last year. We were waiting for that one big three-run homer at different times to the point that maybe guys put a little too much pressure on themselves. I think, this year, there has been a concerted effort among the hitting guys to just figure out a way to grind out different types of at-bats. You don¡¯t always have to wait for the three-run homer. Sometimes you just have to find a way to move the line along. You get to hit, then you move on to the next guy. You take a walk, then you move on to the next guy. I think our guys are talking about that kind of offensive approach."

MLB.com: Are we going to see more old-school baseball than analytics? Or will there be a mixture of both?

Falvey: "I would say a mixture of both. We don¡¯t sit here and say, 'There are going to be very specific things where we have to go all the way back to moving runners along, things like that.' That¡¯s always been part of the game. That¡®s true of using advanced analytics or, ultimately, the traditional measures of the game. I think it¡¯s more about the way we compete through the end of at-bats and making sure that, when you are behind in the count, you are taking a slightly different approach rather than being behind in the count and you still have your 3-1 swing ready to go."

MLB.com: What will you keep your eye on starting Saturday against the Braves?

Falvey: "There is a competition over at first base, guys that have the ability to play over there. Ty France came in -- he was an All-Star a couple of years ago. We think he can contribute to us. Guys like Jose Miranda and Edouard Julien have played some different spots in the infield, but they are going to get time at first. Both of those guys -- at different times in their career -- have carried us. ¡­ These guys have the ability to lift us. They are going to need to step up and have some ability over at first base defensively."

MLB.com: Your big three -- Buxton, Lewis and Correra -- missed a lot of games last year because of injuries. What makes you think they are going to be available this year?

Falvey: "It¡¯s a great question, and it¡¯s obviously a key point for us. ¡­The reason I walk into this year feeling better is each of those guys enter Spring Training in a better spot. You go back a year, Byron was coming off a procedure [and] trying to figure out where he was at and build out the timeline [to get back on the field]. He has had a fully healthy offseason entering camp.

"Royce Lewis dealt with some issues the prior year. He came back and he had an issue right out of the chute on Opening Day. It was really tough for us. They figured out some of the things they need to do to continue to adapt their game and offseason planning. They are all incredibly hard workers around the stuff they have to do. It¡¯s continuing to learn your body and make those adjustments. I feel good because each of them feels good about where they are entering this camp."

MLB.com: Former general manager Jim Bowden says, ¡°You never have enough pitching.¡± Do you see yourself acquiring some pitching during Spring Training?

Falvey: "I agree with Jim, but by and large, there is this misnomer in baseball you have pitching depth. There is no such thing. There is not enough. The one thing I would say is ... getting Chris Paddock healthy is a real positive for us. He is throwing the ball great in the early part of camp. He had an awesome offseason coming off his Tommy John surgery from the year before. ¡­ Then, you have the likes of Simeon Woods Richardson, who really stepped up for us last year and pitched great. He really solidified a spot for us.

"Then, we had a touch of David Festa and Zebby Matthews -- guys that started in the Minor Leagues and came to the big leagues. Andrew Morris is in camp this year -- he is another arm who got to Triple-A, and has the ability to give us depth. ¡­ We will always be open-minded to acquisitions, but I think where we are right now, I think the vast majority [of pitching] that we are going to have this year is probably in this camp."