The Minnesota Twins shook up this year's trade deadline when they, seemingly unexpectedly, decided to host a major fire sale and part ways with a ton of veteran players, including those with multiple years of control remaining on their contract.

MLB teams shedding salary − whether it be midseason at the trade deadline or choosing not to extend certain players − shouldn't be new for MLB fans. But as Minnesota Twins fans watched a team just 5.5 games back of a wild-card berth get stripped for parts, it wouldn't be unreasonable to simply ask: "why?"