Trade country: Welcome to Fear and Loathing at Target Field

I'm not sure at what point it was decided in my brain that the 2022 Twins reminded me of the 1971 novel and 1998 film "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," but it's there now.

Fundamentally, these Twins have very little in common with Hunter S. Thompson's feverish, drug-induced examination of American culture.

But this gonzo front office, which has turned the offseason into pure chaos, is equally entertaining even if all the late night/early morning deals are fueled by nothing more than caffeine.

I talked about the latest deal on Thursday's Daily Delivery podcast as it continued to materialize while I recorded. Phil Miller also joined the podcast for a general overall preview of this team and chaotic offseason.

And fortunately, a few of you chose to play along with my Fear and Loathing comparison adventure on Twitter.

It's almost like Derek Falvey and Thad Levine took a look at everything they've done in the last month — and, if we're being honest, going back to last year's trade deadline — and decided they just weren't done yet.

We can't stop here. This is trade country.

The latest deal, which was finalized barely 24 hours before the twice postponed season opener — once for labor, once for weather — ships out the Twins' best and most reliable relief pitcher in Taylor Rogers as well as a first round pick (Brent Rooker) from the first Twins draft Falvey and Levine oversaw in 2017.

In return, the Twins received Chris Paddack, a promising but inconsistent young starting pitcher under team control for three seasons as well as veteran relief pitcher Emilio Pagan.

The trade addresses a starting pitching need that was glaring, but it adds an even larger bullpen void. Like so many Twins moves this offseason, it is more interesting than definitively good or bad.

We might not know for a while if this was all worth it, but we do know this for now: Since the middle of last season, this front office has traded away its most consistent hitter (Nelson Cruz), its best starting pitcher (Jose Berrios), a catcher who won the Silver Slugger award (Mitch Garver), a shortstop it just traded for (Isiah Kiner-Falefa), its largest outside free agent signing ever (Josh Donaldson), last year's first round draft pick (Chase Petty) and now its best reliever and presumed closer (Rogers).

If we can set aside wins and losses for a moment, we are left with this: This has been fascinating to watch, and this season promises to be entertaining.