This sentiment is especially true when it comes to MLB’s trade deadline. Remember when the Twins front office traded for Tyler Mahle Jorge López , and Michael Fulmer before the 2022 deadline? Immediately, those who followed the club deemed them deadline winners, acquiring a frontline starting pitcher and two high-leverage relievers. Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand were set to become stars with the Cincinnati Reds, making that deadline even more excruciating a misstep. In 2023, the Twins' inactivity at the deadline was the nail in the coffin of their playoff aspirations—until it wasn’t.