Derek Falvey was hired as the Twins' chief baseball officer four months ago, and the ensuing time has been a whirlwind of getting up to speed and implementing new plans. He chatted Friday with the Star Tribune's Michael Rand.
Q In your interactions with fans recently on the Twins Caravan, did you sense they were antsy wanting more free-agency moves?
A I think the reality is that every free-agency period has ebbs and flows to it. Early on, we identified a position we felt was very important to hit — the catching position. So getting Jason Castro was meaningful. … Our next step was to see how things shook out going into January. That was part of our plan. I think you're seeing there are a number of free agents still available that I think can impact us this year and beyond, so we're staying in touch with those guys right up until we get to spring training and maybe beyond to figure out ways we can add a number of those guys potentially as we go forward.
Q Is that a way to get a better value instead of diving in right away?
A There's a supply-and-demand component to any offseason. I think we're seeing right now there might be opportunities in the pitching market to have conversations. We have had a lot of those conversations over the last month or so, and I would expect those to start coming to a head really in the next week to 10 days.
Q How has it been knowing you are the person people will inevitably blame if moves don't work out?
A It comes with the job, and I've been fortunate to have guys like Mark Shapiro, Chris Antonetti and Terry Francona, who have had their fair share of criticism and fair share of praise, to teach me how to deal with that. You need to stick to your vision and your plan. But you need to be thoughtful when you adjust and not be too rigid.
