Scoggins: Someone had to take the fall for Twins, and that someone was Rocco Baldelli

Standing pat was not an option. Someone had to take the fall for the nightmare that the Twins find themselves in, so ownership and front office boss Derek Falvey picked the easiest and most convenient target.

The organization fired manager Rocco Baldelli on Monday after seven seasons, including a 70-92 finish in his final campaign.

The move measured a zero on the surprise meter, but this amounts to putting new shingles on a home that requires a complete teardown and rebuild.

“This game is ultimately measured by results, and over the past two seasons we did not reach the goals we set,” Falvey said in a release. “I take personal responsibility for that.”

So he fired a subordinate, a tale as old as time in professional sports.

Removing the manager from the equation does not send accountability high enough up the ladder, nor will it appease fan anger and distrust of Falvey and the Pohlad ownership.

To steal Jim Pohlad’s line, the organization is experiencing a total system failure. This move is a half measure that stops short of acknowledging that Baldelli was simply the face behind someone else’s failed masterplan.

Not that Baldelli built a strong case to keep his job. Missing the postseason for the fourth time in five seasons made this outcome inevitable.

Critiquing a manager’s moves becomes a daily obsession within every fanbase, and Baldelli provided his share of fodder with his in-game strategy. Ultimately, there was simply too much bad baseball on his watch. Too many underwhelming performances and not enough development in young players to believe that a meaningful jump would be coming.

The monumental collapse at the end of the 2024 season, followed by everything that went wrong this season essentially guaranteed a new voice in the dugout.

Baldelli, however, wasn’t responsible for slashing payroll that made his job infinitely more difficult. He didn’t execute roster moves that backfired. He didn’t trade every quality reliever in the bullpen — the one strength of the team — and then deliver tone-deaf remarks in a letter to fans trying to sell the unsaleable.

That all happened above him.

Ask yourself this question: Does firing Baldelli bring any more confidence in the team’s direction? This move represents a Band-Aid that doesn’t address deeper issues that revolve around ownership and Falvey’s plan.

In a recent interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune, family ownership member Tom Pohlad said: “You want to question the wisdom of our investment? Great. But don’t question [our] commitment to investing in the Twins.”

How exactly are fans supposed to feel when the team slashes payroll and guts the roster at the trade deadline? And how do they explain those decisions to manager candidates during the interview process?

MLB.com recently ranked the Twins farm system as the second-best in the league. That’s encouraging, but this constant waiting game on prospects who might never pan out tests even the most loyal and patient. The organization is asking fans to take a giant leap of faith that has not been earned.

The Twins finished with the fourth-worst record in the major leagues and sold their fewest tickets for home games since 2000, when they played at the Metrodome. The organization has a lot of damage to undo on the field and at the ticket office.