Are the Twins Actually Poised to Compete in 2026? They're Closer than You Think

[sun]

It's too easy to be a part of the mob mentality which ends up becoming myopic What does payroll have to do with playing baseball? Correa's large contract didn't really help the team win very much did it? It sure didn't help his hitting or fielding to improve much did it? He had trouble even staying on the field. What folks don't seem to appreciate is the potential for young players to grow. For some young players it's like turning on a light switch. One day they suddenly just get it & begin to hit. If folks really want to predict next year's weather then they should at least read the Farmers Almanac. I've heard that it's totally reliable at predicting the weather. With it you can even acurately predict how much the rings will grow on all of the trees next year.  Maybe some of the players will start to use the torpedo bat. Or maybe some will begin using the ax handle bat like when Kurt Suzuki did and started pounding the ball. The Twins aren't going to trade Joe or Pablo. They can sell tickets which puts fans in the seats and smiles on their faces. Trading them would be bad for business. Fans shouldn't be predicting the worse for the Twins next season when they haven't first consulted the Farmer's Almanac. They could at least wait until after the All Star break to see how the season goes. That's why they play the games.

[Vanimal46]

6 minutes ago, sun said:

What folks don't seem to appreciate is the potential for young players to grow.

I would appreciate that a lot more than what they’re doing right now. Which is playing guys that have no future on this team. We have Keaschall and Lee as the only position players under 25 years old getting regular playing time. The pitchers in today’s game were 33, 35, 35, and 31 years old. They are wasting innings on players who won’t be a solution for the next contending team. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

45 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Who is trading a legit MLB middle of the order bat for either one?

A team trading for Ryan or Lopez expects to contend in 2026, and they're not removing a key piece of their offense. 

And that ignores the very real question of Lopez,'s worth in a trade. IF he comes back and gets 4-5 starts, proves himself healthy and really good, then yeah. He'd be a valuable trade piece.  Short of all three of those things, his value starts dropping off pretty quick.

In any case, the return would be prospects. How close to the big leagues is certainly debatable. But they won't be traded for established big leaguers. And absolutely not a "middle of the order bat."

Trading one or both of Lopez/Ryan pushes back any chance of contending, rather than speeds it up.

Agree to disagree. They better be overwhelmed to trade one of them. If a team wants a playoff level starter with multiple years of control they better be ready to pay. 
I don’t see a scenario where both are traded. But if one is (my guess is Ryan IF one is traded) then they are getting a lot back 

[jorgenswest]

48 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Who is trading a legit MLB middle of the order bat for either one?

A team trading for Ryan or Lopez expects to contend in 2026, and they're not removing a key piece of their offense. 

And that ignores the very real question of Lopez,'s worth in a trade. IF he comes back and gets 4-5 starts, proves himself healthy and really good, then yeah. He'd be a valuable trade piece.  Short of all three of those things, his value starts dropping off pretty quick.

In any case, the return would be prospects. How close to the big leagues is certainly debatable. But they won't be traded for established big leaguers. And absolutely not a "middle of the order bat."

Trading one or both of Lopez/Ryan pushes back any chance of contending, rather than speeds it up.

Concur. Would a path to a trade be a team trading a bat with one or two years left for prospects or possibly a team trying to trade a contract? I think those kinds of deals happen every off season. The Twins have the prospect depth to win in these kinds of trades.

Someone is probably going to push me for specifics and I don’t have them. I would be really surprised though if no good bats move this winter.

[Paul Walerius]

Ober didn't all of a sudden forget how to pitch.   He will not have a short leash.   He has proven when healthy he is a potential ace.  

[sun]

20 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

I would appreciate that a lot more than what they’re doing right now. Which is playing guys that have no future on this team. We have Keaschall and Lee as the only position players under 25 years old getting regular playing time. The pitchers in today’s game were 33, 35, 35, and 31 years old. They are wasting innings on players who won’t be a solution for the next contending team. 

I remember when Justin Morneau really sucked at hitting. One day Tom Kelly sat down and had a talk with him and toid him he'd better start hitting and you know what, he did. The players need to rise to the occasion and meet expctations or they're going to be gone. Especially if thy ever want to hook uo with a better team someday to get a big payday.  

[shimrod]

2 hours ago, bunsen82 said:

I don’t see us having a bottom 4 or 5 payroll. 

Me either. Bottom 1 or 2.

[Vanimal46]

53 minutes ago, sun said:

I remember when Justin Morneau really sucked at hitting. One day Tom Kelly sat down and had a talk with him and toid him he'd better start hitting and you know what, he did.

Wow. What a cool totally made up story in your head. Morneau never played for manager Tom Kelly. He debuted in 2003 at 22 years old when Ron Gardenhire was at the helm. 

[USAFChief]

5 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Wow. What a cool totally made up story in your head. Morneau never played for manager Tom Kelly. He debuted in 2003 at 22 years old when Ron Gardenhire was at the helm. 

We should get TK to have a sit down with about 6 or 7 current Twins, IYAM.

[DocBauer]

I just SHOULDNT post this. I really shouldn't. But I'm in a MOOD at the moment.

When someone wants to propose an ACTUAL PLAN for 2026, with actual ideas and payroll numbers that makes sense, and any sort of PLAN ideas, then I'm willing to produce PARAGRAPHS about my opion.

So DON'T TRADE Lopez or Ryan or Ober and build on the rotation you have in place and build around what you have. Sorry I can't write in crayon. 

Sorry, but again, I'm in a MOOD regarding the Twins right now, no matter how much I love them after 50yrs, good and bad. And if someone wants to object to me, or give me the 1st demerit I've EVER received in over 12 years on TD, I guess go ahead. But I honestly expect more than this.

[Vanimal46]

13 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

We should get TK to have a sit down with about 6 or 7 current Twins, IYAM.

If that’s all it takes is him saying you should hit the ball and they become MVP level players let’s send all 100+ position players to TK’s house for a sit down. 

[1985Fan]

I think next year is going to be ugly. If you consider how Baldelli uses the starters, the BP gets a lot of innings every game (almost half). No matter how good the starters are, I don’t see that changing. A built-on-the-fly BP, like what they have now, is going to lose a lot of games. 
On the position side of the roster, there is Buxton, Lee, and Keaschall. That’s it. No one on the roster, including both Lee and Keaschall, has proven they can consistently produce. It may be that neither Lee or Keaschall can consistently produce either, but from what I see so far, they’re the only hitters I am optimistic about. Buxton has proven he can hit when healthy. Larnach is at best average. Wallner, Lewis, Julien, and the rest can’t be counted on. I think they are who they are right now, and I don’t see any of them improving. 
I also fail to see prospects in St.Paul knocking the door down to get to MLB. I know TD fans hope for Rodriguez, but he hasn’t proven anything IMO. No way should Jenkins be rushed to MLB, especially with the history of this regime in promoting prospects. Miranda, Julien, Martin, and Lewis have all been rushed through the minors only to fail in the big leagues. What’s worse is that they are advanced without fundamentals skills, so they never had a chance to begin with. 
I would be optimistic if they clean house and get new GM and manager. That won’t win games next season, but it should change the culture and style of play. Even if they’re losers, I could get behind a team playing ball the right way. 

[LastOnePicked]

1 hour ago, DocBauer said:

When someone wants to propose an ACTUAL PLAN for 2026, with actual ideas and payroll numbers that makes sense, and any sort of PLAN ideas, then I'm willing to produce PARAGRAPHS about my opion.

I would still like paragraphs of your opinion, Doc.

[rv78]

if one or two of them take a step forward with their development, this team starts to become a threat. 

 

That's a big "if"

[Rosterman]

There is no better time than the final weeks of the season to look at anyone or everyone that could contribute in 2026. Forget the minor league free agents clinging onto their careers. We need to see Abel, Bradley, Prielipp, Culpepper, Sabato, Fedko, some other catcher than Gasper, Eedes...just to give them exposure, things to work towards the off-season, along with the return of Festa and Woods Richardson.

The team can afford to keep Lopez if he shines in September. They have no need to even think about trading Ryan before the mid-season trade deadline. They need to extend Jeffers.

Hard decisions do have to be made on Kulien, Miranda. The Twins have to look at Larnach, Wallner, Roden, Outman. Martin and Lewis have to be on the bubble. Not saying much for the batting order right now. Let's think about having a true leadoff man, a solid 3 and 4 hitter in the lineup. And tackle the bullpen. Might be some aging past guys available (Rogers, Hendricks, Pressly) and who from the promising starter arms are best suited for shot (Adams and Ohl) or long (Hatch) stints in the pen. For the luv of baseball, get some lefties on the pitching staff.

[RpR]

5 minutes ago, Rosterman said:

There is no better time than the final weeks of the season to look at anyone or everyone that could contribute in 2026. Forget the minor league free agents clinging onto their careers. We need to see Abel, Bradley, Prielipp, Culpepper, Sabato, Fedko, some other catcher than Gasper, Eedes...just to give them exposure, things to work towards the off-season, along with the return of Festa and Woods Richardson.

The team can afford to keep Lopez if he shines in September. They have no need to even think about trading Ryan before the mid-season trade deadline. They need to extend Jeffers.

Hard decisions do have to be made on Kulien, Miranda. The Twins have to look at Larnach, Wallner, Roden, Outman. Martin and Lewis have to be on the bubble. Not saying much for the batting order right now. Let's think about having a true leadoff man, a solid 3 and 4 hitter in the lineup. And tackle the bullpen. Might be some aging past guys available (Rogers, Hendricks, Pressly) and who from the promising starter arms are best suited for shot (Adams and Ohl) or long (Hatch) stints in the pen. For the luv of baseball, get some lefties on the pitching staff.

Yup, let Major League pitchers and batters make fools of them; gee, Baldelli did that in one post season game, worked so well.

[Vanimal46]

12 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

If other GM’s believe 2027 will be gone due to a strike then the return for Ryan will not be as high as some here believe due to the loss of a year of control.

It will be interesting how they handle team controlled contracts during a potentially lost season. Will they all toll for a season? Guaranteed contracts I assume are guaranteed. 

[TheLeviathan]

I think that even if the moves they made have a good rate of pay-off...we're still looking at legit contention after whenever this brutal lock-out/strike/CBA battle ends.

I expect Lopez and probably Larnach to be traded.  Ideally they come away with someone that can play 1B in the deal.  A bullpen arm or two by trade wouldn't hurt either.  They'll have to be active on the trade market regardless.

But there are a wealth of guys in the minors that we can hope for....it just ain't going to be in 2026.  Not unless they pull off some trade miracles.

[Brandon27]

They aint going be contenders until at least 2030+ they are going do another round of a fire sale this offseason headliners going be lopez,Ryan and if the twins force him to wave his no trade clause buxton cause this team going be in very LONG rebuild those guys ain't staying for that 

[twinstalker]

No relief, almost no hitting, and the possibility of trading Ryan and Lopez.  Sure.

[Nshore]

Mr. Boxwell, I beg you to stop drinking.

[The Great Hambino]

12 hours ago, USAFChief said:

Great. Just fan*******tastic.

I'm among the last dinosaurs on earth to finally make the switch to streaming, I chose YoutubeTV, and now you're telling me whatever this ESPN thing is, it isnt on YoutubeTV.

****. *** **** it. ***********s. **** em.

As a fellow Youtube tv-er, I've been looking into this a lot. From what I've found, it sounds like this is more due to the timing of their agreement with ESPN.  It's set to expire in December, so this direct to consumer platform was never considered when they drafted their last agreement.  Other providers with more recent agreements with ESPN were able to include the DTC platform in their latest contract.  So I don't think there's anything to worry about ... yet.  If their agreement renews without it - or worse, doesn't renew at all - then let the asterisks fly.  

[NYCTK]

10 hours ago, DocBauer said:

I just SHOULDNT post this. I really shouldn't. But I'm in a MOOD at the moment.

When someone wants to propose an ACTUAL PLAN for 2026, with actual ideas and payroll numbers that makes sense, and any sort of PLAN ideas, then I'm willing to produce PARAGRAPHS about my opion.

So DON'T TRADE Lopez or Ryan or Ober and build on the rotation you have in place and build around what you have. Sorry I can't write in crayon. 

Sorry, but again, I'm in a MOOD regarding the Twins right now, no matter how much I love them after 50yrs, good and bad. And if someone wants to object to me, or give me the 1st demerit I've EVER received in over 12 years on TD, I guess go ahead. But I honestly expect more than this.

They are almost certainly going to trade one of Ryan and Lopez in the off-season, and it will be the right decision. Just like the trade deadline sell off was the right decision. 

If they were well managed, they won't try to hard to compete in 2026. They'll patch holes with one year vets and let the young players figure things out at the major league level, all building towards 2027 with the small possibility of relevancy in 2026. 

[Doctor Wu]

13 hours ago, USAFChief said:

Trading one or both of Lopez/Ryan pushes back any chance of contending, rather than speeds it up.

I think that sums it up nicely. Keep both pitchers and we at least have a chance of competing next season, provided that our bats come around and we can cobble together a decent bullpen, But if we trade those starters, then we are looking at a multi-year rebuild for sure. 

[Doctor Wu]

12 hours ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Agree to disagree. They better be overwhelmed to trade one of them. If a team wants a playoff level starter with multiple years of control they better be ready to pay. 
I don’t see a scenario where both are traded. But if one is (my guess is Ryan IF one is traded) then they are getting a lot back 

I still can't see both pitchers being traded during the off-season either. But for either pitcher, the return needs to be MUCH better than the ones we received last month. Of course, the quality we are offering is a lot higher too, but I'm tired of just trading for prospects who may or may not even stick. If we trade a top of the line starter, then we absolutely need some players who can contribute immediately. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

3 minutes ago, Doctor Wu said:

I still can't see both pitchers being traded during the off-season either. But for either pitcher, the return needs to be MUCH better than the ones we received last month. Of course, the quality we are offering is a lot higher too, but I'm tired of just trading for prospects who may or may not even stick. If we trade a top of the line starter, then we absolutely need some players who can contribute immediately. 

100%

[Eris]

The Twins will win again when they fix 1B, 3B, LF, RF, backup catcher, possibly SS, and don’t trade away front tier starting pitching without equivalent replacements. This assumes that Buxton stays healthy and Keaschall anchors 2B and Jeffers maintains as an average MLB catcher. 

[Jeff K]

17 hours ago, Danchat said:

I'd earmark it at 95% chance one of them is traded and somewhere around 50-60% that both go. My guess is Lopez is the first domino to fall.

That's how I see it too.  He has the larger current contract.  

[RpR]

4 hours ago, Eris said:

The Twins will win again when they fix 1B, 3B, LF, RF, backup catcher, possibly SS, and don’t trade away front tier starting pitching without equivalent replacements. This assumes that Buxton stays healthy and Keaschall anchors 2B and Jeffers maintains as an average MLB catcher. 

Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon.
The little dog laughed to see such fun
And the dish ran away with the spoon!

[Linus]

19 hours ago, USAFChief said:

We should get TK to have a sit down with about 6 or 7 current Twins, IYAM.

Starting with Austin Martin who is descending into Celestino territory for baserunning blunders.