Why Minnesota Twins’ Outfield Depth Could Be a Valuable Offseason Asset

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins enter the offseason with more questions than answers. Ownership appears poised to reduce payroll, but the front office still hopes to be competitive in a winnable AL Central. That balancing act could push Derek Falvey and company to explore creative ways to improve the roster without adding significant salary. One of the clearest paths to doing that might be to deal from their outfield depth, an area where the organization has plenty of talent and intrigue.

 

At this week's GM Meetings in Las Vegas, Jon Morosi reported that the demand for starting-caliber outfielders is high. That's a bit obvious, and the report is short on details or newsworthy nuggets, but it might turn out to signal something real about the outfield market this winter. For the Minnesota Twins, that could not come at a better time. The organization boasts a deep group of major-league and near-ready outfielders, giving the front office an opportunity to get creative.

Byron Buxton: Unlikely though it seemed a few months ago, Buxton might waive his no-trade clause to join a contending club—particularly if the Twins continue to move veteran players this winter. He's coming off one of the best offensive stretches of his career and remains a highly athletic center fielder. His contract is team-friendly, and with several clubs looking for star-level outfielders, his value is at an all-time high. Trading Buxton would be a seismic move for the franchise, but it is one the front office might entertain if ownership prioritizes trimming costs.

Matt Wallner: Wallner experienced ups and downs last season but still managed to post a 110 OPS+, making him one of the more productive hitters in the Twins’ lineup. His combination of raw power and patience makes him an intriguing trade piece for teams looking for a controllable corner outfielder with upside. Minnesota could decide to hold onto Wallner and hope for another step forward in his development, but if the front office wants to shake up the core, he could be one of the first players moved.

Trevor Larnach: Larnach’s future with the Twins appears uncertain. He is projected to make $4.7 million through arbitration, too high a salary for a player without a clear path to everyday playing time. He had a 116 OPS+ in 2024, but that dipped below average in 2025 (99 OPS+). Minnesota could explore trading him before the non-tender deadline, but his market value might be limited. While his raw tools still stand out, most teams view Larnach as a depth piece, rather than a lineup cornerstone.

Austin Martin: Martin quietly finished the season strong and flashed the all-around game that once made him a top prospect. In 50 games, he produced a .740 OPS with 11 steals and a solid 31-to-22 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His ability to play multiple positions adds value, but another team could view him as an emerging regular after a promising finish. Trading Martin could address another area of need, though they may prefer to see if he can take another step forward next spring.

Minnesota’s outfield picture becomes even more crowded when factoring in recent trade deadline acquisitions. James Outman and Alan Roden both project to step into more consistent playing time if the Twins move one or more of their current outfielders. Top prospects Emmanuel Rodriguez and Walker Jenkins both finished last season at Triple-A St. Paul and should arrive in the majors as early as 2026, giving the organization even more reason to consider dealing from its depth.

The Twins are in a rare position: they can trade from strength without compromising their long-term outlook. If the rest of the league’s demand for outfielders remains high, Minnesota may find that its deepest position could also be its best source of value this winter.

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Whom should the Twins consider trading from the list above? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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[Cory Engelhardt]

I do have a hard time seeing Outman make the team even if/when Larnach (among others) is traded. But outside of that, if they can get a reliever for Larnach that would be a good start to the offseason in my opinion

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Ranking the value of the Twins' outfielders, I would have the following: 1, Buck, 2. Jenkins, 3. all the rest. My proposal is to hang on to "all the rest" and see who rise to the top, keeping in mind that Outman can't hit and Larnach can't play defense. . If it is Martin and Wallner and Roden, then so be it.

[arby58]

I think they hold onto Wallner, who, even with an up and down season last year has a career OPS+ of 127. My guess is he ends up DHing a lot. Larnach, on the other hand, has a career OPS+ of 101, and 1 more HR than Wallner for his career - in 635 more ABs. Yes, trade him for something serviceable.

Martin might be their best trade bait, as he definitely showed significant improvement, both in the OF and at the plate.  I doubt either Outman or Roden will get you much of anything in trade at the moment.

[LewFordLives]

There may be demand for everyday outfielders, but apart from Buxton I don't think any of the Twins outfielders fit that bill. And even Buxton has question marks because of his injury history. I think the Twins will trade some outfielders, but it will be more about clearing roster space. I don't expect they would receive any meaningful pieces in return.

[Mahoning]

Depth? The only ones any other team would covet are Buxton and Jenkins. Total trade value of the rest is minimal. 

[TwinsDr2021]

agree wiith @Mahoning what the Twins have is Buxton, a left handed platoon/DH (Wallner), a couple of prospects and bunch of replacement level players. 

 

[Otaknam]

Larnach is a likely trade piece, given his mediocre production where he seems to have leveled off and likely salary increase, a big no-no to this penurious ownership. Maybe he could bring a decent bullpen guy. As for Buxton, I don't know if they will shop him during the winter meetings, but they should listen to offers. His value right now is high and his contract isn’t a barrier for the big boys like the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Phillies, SF and maybe a few others. Buxton would surely approve a trade to a contender, instead of floundering the rest of his career with a team not trying to win. 
I hadn’t thought of Martin as a potential trade piece, given that he has played solid Major League Baseball for only two months. I expect him to remain with the Twins and vie for more playing time. His approach to hitting line drives, getting on base, and using his speed is under appreciated this days in MLB. I’m not expecting much from Outman, as he showed nothing in his time with the team, except strikeouts. 
The reasons to be modestly optimistic for 2026 is the development of Jenkins, EROD, Gonzales, Culpepper and the young starters acquired in trades. 

[old nurse]

9 minutes ago, Otaknam said:

Larnach is a likely trade piece, given his mediocre production where he seems to have leveled off and likely salary increase, a big no-no to this penurious ownership. Maybe he could bring a decent bullpen guy. As for Buxton, I don't know if they will shop him during the winter meetings, but they should listen to offers. His value right now is high and his contract isn’t a barrier for the big boys like the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Phillies, SF and maybe a few others. Buxton would surely approve a trade to a contender, instead of floundering the rest of his career with a team not trying to win. 
I hadn’t thought of Martin as a potential trade piece, given that he has played solid Major League Baseball for only two months. I expect him to remain with the Twins and vie for more playing time. His approach to hitting line drives, getting on base, and using his speed is under appreciated this days in MLB. I’m not expecting much from Outman, as he showed nothing in his time with the team, except strikeouts. 
The reasons to be modestly optimistic for 2026 is the development of Jenkins, EROD, Gonzales, Culpepper and the young starters acquired in trades. 

What is penurious about not overpaying for a mediocre corner outfielder/DH. 

[rdehring]

Great article, Cody.  And timely!

When thinking about who they have, I have gone from expecting them to trade one of Larnach/Wallner to hoping they trade both.  Some combination of Jenkins, EmRod and Gonzalez should be their corner outfielders by July.  And it is a strong likelihood that they are a huge improvement.  They should be fine with Martin and Roden as their starters on opening day and both should be fine DH/fourth/fifth outfielders moving forward.  I don't have much hope for Outman, but he works as a fourth guy until the kids arrive.

Have been dreaming that I see a Larnach trade any day now.  Larnach and a solid pitching prospect, say a AA guy, for a young reliever with a couple years big league experience and three or four-years control.  Someone like Louie Varland light who can be one of their 7th or 8th inning guys.  They then use the $4M savings from Larnach towards signing a good free agent reliever.  Yes, I know $4-5M won't get the top guys but should get someone dependable.  

Wallner probably has more upside than Larnach, thus, should bring back a better player.  Preferably a young first baseman or catcher to alternate with Clemons/Jeffers.  Maybe they have to add a prospect to get a better young player who can be part of their future, rather than a one-year fill-in.

I know a lot of Twins fans will scream and holler should they trade Wallner.  But personally, I am tired of watching him misplay the ball in right field while hitting solo home runs in games that were decided innings earlier.  He's a Minnesota kid, so wish him well with another team and move on.

 

[chpettit19]

Yeah, have to agree with the last few comments...the Tweet says "everyday outfielders." The Twins don't have that.

Buxton is at his peak value but holds all the cards when it comes to a trade this season. He could fetch real value if he agrees to be traded. He may even have to demand a trade for the Twins to move him.

Wallner has value because even his down year was an above average season. He's better suited to mash and K out of the 5 or 6 hole instead of the top 4 in a lineup, but he's a legit threat in the batter's box and that carries value.

Larnach is far more likely to be non-tendered than return anything meaningful in trade.

Austin Martin may have a little value, but nothing outrageous. He's not bringing back a top 100 prospect or anything. Rumors are Steven Kwan is on the block and he's the guy teams would go for before hoping Martin can be Kwan.

Outman and Roden have no trade value at all. They aren't even established as 13th guy on the bench outfielders let alone everyday outfielders. 

Emma, Jenkins, GG, Fedko, or anyone else people want to throw out are far from sure things. Jenkins has massive value, and I'm sure they could get something for Emma and GG, but trying to pick the 1 or 2 prospects that will make it and trading the ones who won't is an awful front office practice at this point of a team building cycle. You need to keep all your prospects to give yourself the best chance to get some that actually make it.

The Twins are not a source of everyday outfield talent for the league. Not even close.

[old nurse]

They could trade one or two of Larnach, Roden, Outman and Martin and the return might be a AAA reliever.  If a team is contending they will want better than these. If they are not contending they would have to have a belief that they can become regular outfielders to build around.  None of them have shown that.  

[Coach Wheels]

46 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

agree wiith @Mahoning what the Twins have is Buxton, a left handed platoon/DH (Wallner), a couple of prospects and bunch of replacement level players. 

 

Buxton brings the most value and for a rebuild and an appreciation of what Buxton has meant to the organization, he should be traded to a team that can win.

Larnach, Wallner, Martin, Roden, and Outman will bring back very little, but this team isn't interested in winning so....why hustle with trading guys with years left?

[Cory Engelhardt]

Am I wrong in assuming that Martin is set to be a Willi Castro type utility option? If he plays like he did in September I don't know that he needs to be penciled into one starting role. He can play 4-5 days a week even at all 3 outfield spots and also maybe some 2b. 

 

[hitterscount]

The gaslighting continues, Larnach and Wallner as valuable trade pieces cannot be taken seriously.... Can it? What am I missing, meaningless HR's, slow muddling baserunners, terrible defensive players... by all means trade either one if you can get a bag of balls in return.

[Cory Engelhardt]

8 minutes ago, old nurse said:

They could trade one or two of Larnach, Roden, Outman and Martin and the return might be a AAA reliever.  If a team is contending they will want better than these. If they are not contending they would have to have a belief that they can become regular outfielders to build around.  None of them have shown that.  

I guess I see zero reason to trade either Roden or Martin.

[Cory Engelhardt]

Just now, hitterscount said:

The gaslighting continues, Larnach and Wallner as valuable trade pieces cannot be taken seriously.... Can it? What am I missing, meaningless HR's, slow muddling baserunners, terrible defensive players... by all means trade either one if you can get a bag of balls in return.

Nick Gordon got Steven Okert. They need relievers. 

No one is saying that Larnach is getting a top 100 prospect. But he is coming off a better year than Nick Gordon did prior to being traded.

[chpettit19]

3 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Nick Gordon got Steven Okert. They need relievers. 

No one is saying that Larnach is getting a top 100 prospect. But he is coming off a better year than Nick Gordon did prior to being traded.

Gordon made 900k for the Marlins. Far different trade scenario than Larnach and his 5ish mil contract. You'd have to find a reliever that isn't worth the 5 mil they're making to offset the money.

[bean5302]

10 minutes ago, hitterscount said:

The gaslighting continues, Larnach and Wallner as valuable trade pieces cannot be taken seriously.... Can it? What am I missing, meaningless HR's, slow muddling baserunners, terrible defensive players... by all means trade either one if you can get a bag of balls in return.

Matt Wallner is worth a top 5 org prospect from any team or a mid-rotation growing expensive arm like Jesus Luzardo.

You're right about Larnach having no value, though.

I will never understand why people group Wallner and Larnach together.

[Cory Engelhardt]

9 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Gordon made 900k for the Marlins. Far different trade scenario than Larnach and his 5ish mil contract. You'd have to find a reliever that isn't worth the 5 mil they're making to offset the money.

I think that could be the plan yeah. 

[terrydactyls]

21 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Am I wrong in assuming that Martin is set to be a Willi Castro type utility option? If he plays like he did in September I don't know that he needs to be penciled into one starting role. He can play 4-5 days a week even at all 3 outfield spots and also maybe some 2b. 

 

I'm not convinced that Martin as a utility guy is a good idea.  I think that a lot of his late-season improvement is because he played the same position each day.

[Blyleven2011]

1 hour ago, LewFordLives said:

There may be demand for everyday outfielders, but apart from Buxton I don't think any of the Twins outfielders fit that bill. And even Buxton has question marks because of his injury history. I think the Twins will trade some outfielders, but it will be more about clearing roster space. I don't expect they would receive any meaningful pieces in return.

Agreed , the twins have a surplus of outfielders to possibly trade , there are plenty of outfielders that are better than our players in free agency that only cost money and not prospects  ,  Martin who can hit some , run some and plays leftfield  i would keep  ...

The rest that played in 2025 are not going to return much in value unless some team is looking for a permanent DH ...

[bean5302]

19 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Nick Gordon got Steven Okert. They need relievers. 

No one is saying that Larnach is getting a top 100 prospect. But he is coming off a better year than Nick Gordon did prior to being traded.

Larnach's "better" year was 0.2 fWAR and he's projected for a $5MM salary. Larnach has one year in his entire career where he wasn't a liability as a regular player for a good team, and even last year, it's not like you'd actually want him playing every day (1.4 fWAR).

He's a league average bat at DH if he plays every day. He's a good hitter, and he can add some value as a platoon bat if he's totally shielded from lefties. A platoon bat DH still doesn't have much value, though.

Okert got cut so while he was technically a reliever, he couldn't even stick out the whole season because of performance woes.

[hitterscount]

17 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Nick Gordon got Steven Okert. They need relievers. 

No one is saying that Larnach is getting a top 100 prospect. But he is coming off a better year than Nick Gordon did prior to being traded.

I guess if you're looking at power.... Gordon was a superior defender, better baserunner, and more versatile at the plate. I would take Gordon any day over either Larnach and Wallner.

[chpettit19]

4 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

I think that could be the plan yeah. 

It could be, but I think it'd be a bad one. Taking on $5 million deals for guys who aren't worth $5 million is not good team building strategy. It's why teams don't do it often. I think the Larnach situation is far more of a comp to Eddie Rosario than Nick Gordon. They'll try to trade him but he's much more likely to be non-tendered at that price point.

[Danchat]

32 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Outman and Roden have no trade value at all.

The Twins liked Roden enough to value him at half of Louie Varland... they had better be right about him.

[Cory Engelhardt]

Just now, chpettit19 said:

It could be, but I think it'd be a bad one. Taking on $5 million deals for guys who aren't worth $5 million is not good team building strategy. It's why teams don't do it often. I think the Larnach situation is far more of a comp to Eddie Rosario than Nick Gordon. They'll try to trade him but he's much more likely to be non-tendered at that price point.

That could be too. With the 40 man deadline coming up on Tuesday to protect players from the rule 5 draft, I have to think lots of teams have players in the bucket that they don't REALLY want them on their 26 man roster anymore, and seeing if they can move that for something they need more of.

For example, I would LOVE Sam Hentges from Cleveland if he is healthy this offseason. He's set to make about 3 million or so in arbitration. They probably aren't trading him to Minnesota, and especially not for Larnach, but that's the type of move I'm hoping for. A reliever who has good stuff who is probably coming off an injury.

[chpettit19]

2 minutes ago, hitterscount said:

I guess if you're looking at power.... Gordon was a superior defender, better baserunner, and more versatile at the plate. I would take Gordon any day over either Larnach and Wallner.

Have you actually looked at Nick Gordon's stats? More versatile at the plate? The guy hit .244 with a .283 OBP for his career. What's versatile about that? Nick Gordon had 1 good year. It was the year he slugged over .400. He wasn't versatile at all. 

[chpettit19]

1 minute ago, Danchat said:

The Twins liked Roden enough to value him at half of Louie Varland... they had better be right about him.

I don't know that that's the true value they gave to him, but I also don't value Varland as highly as many around here do. Just because it was 2 players coming back doesn't mean they valued them both equally. Roden may have been 90% of that trade return or 10. 

[hitterscount]

6 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Matt Wallner is worth a top 5 org prospect from any team or a mid-rotation growing expensive arm like Jesus Luzardo.

You're right about Larnach having no value, though.

I will never understand why people group Wallner and Larnach together.

Tell me what's the difference between them, a couple OPS points... I will never understand how people think they are that different and I stated this last spring training. Both below average defenders (although some love Wallners arm to make throws on the balls he couldn't get to) slow on the base paths, low contact that rarely advance runners, pretty high K rates, cannot hit left handed pitching. In all honesty, I'd take Larnach over Wallner, IMO if you need a clutch hit Id prefer to see him at the plate.