Neal: What we really need from the Twins is the unexpected

Derek Falvey and Derek Shelton took on all questions. Questions about trading away an accomplished bullpen. Questions about how liquid the Twins ownership is. Questions about lessons Shelton learned during his managerial stint in Pittsburgh.

Then one fan in attendance on Jan. 21 at the 84th Old Timers Hot Stove banquet was tired of looking behind.

“What do we look forward to this year?” he asked. “What are we watching for? Who are we looking for? What do we want to see?”

That allowed Twins President Falvey to play his best card as one of the least-anticipated seasons in Twins history approaches.

“There’s a lot of really interesting talent and personalities,” Falvey said. “I know people who know Twins baseball history speak to how those groups came together. The [Michael] Cuddyers and the [Torii] Hunters. And I talked to LaTroy Hawkins about that, he’s now on our staff. You watched how those groups jelled and merged together.

“We have a nucleus right now that could be the next version of that.”

By that time, Shelton, the new manager, had gone on a speaking blitz, starting with the Capital Club in the morning and then hitting local radio stations. Falvey and Shelton would headline a winter caravan appearance at Treasure Island Casino on Jan. 22, then a media luncheon the next day followed by TwinsFest for the weekend.

They can’t sell winning baseball after last season’s 70-92 finish.

They can’t sell a robust offense.

They can tout a rotation that is led by Pablo López and Joe Ryan, both All-Stars, but it’s unclear how sturdy the rotation is after that.

They certainly can’t sell the bullpen after their fire sale before the trade deadline last season.

They can’t sell new leadership, as the Pohlad family pulled the team off the market and instead added limited partners, partners we will likely will never see or hear from.

The Twins have one thing to sell as pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers, Fla., on Feb. 12.

Hope.

They will talk about the core of developing players that could turn the Twins into a contending team. They will point to the promise that Royce Lewis and Matt Wallner have shown. They will tout their strong farm system, and that top prospect Walker Jenkins isn’t far away.

Everything except that they have a contending team.

This will be their message to a fan base that yearns for more. A fanbase tormented by post-playoff austerity following the 2023 wild-card series victory over Toronto.

And now as the team prepares to report to spring training, the Twins are engaging a fan base that is, rightfully, frazzled.

They want fans to pay for tickets. First, they need fans to pay attention.

Both are formidable tasks.

“They had good questions,” Shelton said following the banquet. “They were engaged. You see at times that they may be a little bit wounded and there’s some trust that has to be won back.

“I really liked the way Derek answered the questions up front, and our goal is to make sure we win the fans back.”

Julian sarcastically said the messages delivered by the Two Dereks — we have gone from Falvine to from a few years ago to the Two Dereks — encouraged him to attend more games this season. But then his name was pulled as the winner of four tickets to a Twins game that included being on the field for batting practice. Suddenly, Julian was cheering and pumping a fist.

He’s an example what the Twins need to do for their fan base this season — give them something they aren’t expecting.