Unfortunately, the Pohlad family still own the franchise, and barred the front office from adding any salary, whether via trade or waiver claim. That meant Falvey was handcuffed to the bargain bin, where he found a struggling starter, Cole Irvin, who had been jettisoned from his previous employer, after posting a 1.407 WHIP and 77 ERA+ with the Baltimore Orioles.

Irvin wasn’t the Twins’ first option. Hell, he probably wasn’t in their top 25. But that’s what happens when the Pohlad family owns the baseball team you are paid to oversee. It’s the same reason we were stuck watching the Twins’ only trade deadline acquisition, reliever Trevor Richards, forget how to successfully throw a baseball from the mound to the catchers mitt.

Former Minnesota Twins reliever Cole Irvin off to Korea

Thus, they picked up Cole Irvin off the waiver wire, via the Baltimore Orioles, in mid-September. He would not have been eligible to pitch in the postseason, but Minnesota’s bullpen was desperate for arms down the stretch. Ultimately his playoff eligibility never came into play, since the Twins didn’t make the postseason.

Irvin lasted just four games in a Twins uniform, before he was waived. And now, just a couple of months later, it doesn’t look like the 30-year-old former 5th round draft pick has given up on his MLB dreams… at least for now. On Friday, news broke that Irvin is taking his baseball talents to South Korea.

#KBO signing: LHP Cole Irvin (ex-Phillies, A's, O's, Twins) is headed to Korea. Signed with the Doosan Bears for $1 million (maximum for all first-year foreign players)

— Jeeho Yoo (@Jeeho_1) November 15, 2024

Last season, Irvin played on a one-year contract worth $2 million. The major league minimum is roughly $776,000 for 2025. It’s likely the 6-year MLB vet was choosing between the KBO and a minor league contract in America.

Related: Minnesota Twins Claim They Aren’t Interested in Trading Stars

Cole Irvin heads to Korea with 134 major league appearances under his belt. He will be 31 years old this season, and should have an opportunity to come back stateside, should he pitch well. It’s also possible that Irvin decides to re-up with the Doosan Bears next season. If he gets back to form, Irvin would have additional earning power and more stability if he stays overseas.

Cole Irvin, Nasty 78mph Curveball. 😨 pic.twitter.com/Oh5DKydcJf

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 4, 2024

Of course, the southpaw has to be hoping for better results in 2025, where he went from 107 innings with Baltimore, to four games with Minnesota, to out of the country entirely. No one wants to sign up for that sort of fall.

It’s like the worst Mad Lib of all time. Insert a score, inning, opponent, losing relief pitcher, along with the hit that delivered the final blow, and that’s how the Twins ruined their playoffs odds that night. Unfortunately, it’s a Mad Lib that is playing out in real life right now, in Minnesota. Over and over again and over again, for the past month.

At this point, not only is their bullpen unreliable, but most of their pitching staff cannot be trusted. Of course, that’s what happens when ownership prioritizes shrinking player payroll by 15%, over winning. Shocker: collecting wins becomes more difficult.

Minnesota Twins optioning Jorge Alcala, replacing him with LHP Cole Irvin

After the loss, Minnesota dropped to 79-71, on the season. Then, surprising news broke that they plan to drop relief pitcher Jorge Alcala down to the minor leagues, in order to make room for left-handed pitcher, Cole Irvin, who they just signed earlier in the day, Monday.

#MNTwins are optioning Jorge Alcala to make space for LHP Cole Irvin, which is definitely surprising.

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) September 17, 2024

This team is gassed and beat up. Their best players are playing well below 100%, and their pitching staff is a shell of what it was last season, at this time. Remember, Sonny Gray walked in the offseason, and the Twins did no replace him. That put more owness on young pitchers, and the bullpen.

Then Joe Ryan got hurt, Louie Varland sucked and Pablo Lopez struggled out of the gate. Jax, who gave up the lead last night, has risen to be one of the best pitchers in the MLB. But Jhoan Duran took a step back, after proving to be one of the most dominant closers in baseball in 2023, and the rest of the bullpen has been a rollercoaster ride.

Related: What Can We Reasonably Expect from Minnesota Twins Big Three?

Yes, Cole Sands has been really good lately, but he wasn’t even in the big leagues for most of the first half, because he wasn’t good enough. Sure, Jorge Alcala looked like he was getting his MLB on track, through the first 1.5 weeks of August, posting a 1.60 ERA, 2.89 FIP and a 4.93 OPS against in 39.1 IP between March 30 and August 2.

Why option Alcala for an arm that can’t pitch in the playoffs?

But 29-year-old Dominican right-hander has been atrocious for most of the 2nd half. In 15 appearances (15.1 IP) since August 4, Alcala has a 8.22 ERA, 8.19 FIP and .995 OPS against. His most recent meltdown came Friday, when he blew a late lead to the Cincinnati Reds that killed all the good vibes surrounding Byron Buxton’s return from IR, that same night.

That’s why Alcala is being optioned to triple-A, today, and why the Twins are turning to a pitcher who isn’t very good, not to mention he is not eligible for the postseason. Rocco must want another lefty arm on staff, for the last couple weeks of the season. Jorge Alcala needs to get his head on straight, before the playoffs, and he has options available. Yes, I said playoffs.

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If the Twins — who currently hold a 1.5 game lead on the Detroit Tigers for the final Wildcard spot in the American League — make the postseason, they are going to need Jorge Alcala to pitch. They simply do not have anyone else. Why don’t they have anyone else? We already went over that. Not just in this article, but many times before.

Yes, the postseason is a big “if”, at this point. But it’s still more likely, than not. According to Fangraphs Tuesday morning, the Twins have a 76.2% chance to make the 2024 MLB playoff bracket.