"As Hayes mentions in the article, cutting down on pro scouts is a league-wide trend. He uses the Cubs as an example, linking to a November 2024 article from Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic detailing that club's move to more analytics and less reliance on traditional scouting. Hayes writes that the Twins, like the Cubs, have been relying more on video in recent years with far less travel for in-person scouting."
"The decision to rely more on analytics and less on scouting is one that is often debated in baseball circles, going back at least to the Moneyball days and surely even beyond that. However, Hayes says the Twins scaling back the department is about cutting costs, which is potentially ominous for the club's future. Money has been hovering around the Twins in many ways recently."
Four of five pro scouting positions with the Twins were eliminated, with Ken Compton, John Manuel, Keith Stohr and Jose Marzan not having contracts renewed and Wesley Wright remaining as the lone pro scout. The team has increased reliance on video and analytics and reduced in-person scouting travel. Other clubs have made similar moves, though some retained larger pro scouting staffs. The scale-back is presented as a cost-cutting measure amid reduced regional sports network revenue after the RSN deal was not renewed and MLB-managed broadcasting in 2025. The team chased contention early in 2025 but fell out of the playoff race before the trade deadline.
Read at MLB Trade Rumors
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