Trusting the Process or Testing the Depth

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of William Parmeter

When pitchers and catchers reported to Fort Myers, the optimism surrounding the Minnesota Twins' rotation was grounded in numbers. This was supposed to be a strength built on both established major leaguers and emerging upper-level prospects knocking on the door. Instead, the depth chart has become something of a stress test before the calendar even flips to Opening Day.

The Twins had eight pitchers in contention for five starting spots when pitchers and catchers reported to Fort Myers. However, Pablo Lopez is out for the year following Tommy John surgery, and David Festa is expected not to be ready for Opening Day as he deals with a shoulder impingement.

That reality has reshaped the conversation around the starting staff this spring. Rather than debating which young arms might have to open the year in Saint Paul, the Twins are now figuring out how many inexperienced starters they can realistically carry while still positioning themselves to compete in a winnable division. The current pitchers in play for starting jobs are Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods Richardson, Taj Bradley, Zebby Matthews, and Mick Abel. Beyond that group, there are Connor Prielipp, Andrew Morris, Kendry Rojas, and John Klein.

Minnesota showed this winter that payroll flexibility exists, most notably in its aggressive but unsuccessful pursuit of Framber Valdez. Even so, the current trajectory suggests the organization is prepared to move forward with its six in-house rotation options while keeping its yet-to-debut pitching prospects as the next wave of reinforcement.

“We see a lot of upside,” Twins General Manager Jeremy Zoll said. “We'll use spring to see what's going on everywhere. Usually, you see a lull in action for a bit as teams settle in.”

The Case for Trusting the Depth
There is a legitimate argument that the Twins should allow this group to sink or swim on its own merits. Ryan and Ober have proven capable of handling major league workloads when healthy, while Woods Richardson showed flashes of mid-rotation stability last season. Bradley brings electric stuff that could translate immediately, and both Matthews and Abel represent the kind of upside that teams often spend years trying to acquire externally.

Younger pitchers also come with a sense of developmental urgency. Minnesota has invested years in shaping these arms at the minor league level. Blocking their opportunity with a short-term veteran might preserve depth on paper while simultaneously delaying the growth of pitchers who need to face big-league hitters to reach their ceilings.

“You're trying to find that right balance of ensuring you have enough depth and creating the right opportunities for guys to step forward,” Zoll said. “In a lot of cases, these guys have proven a lot in Class AAA already. You don't want to have guys in AAA just to say we did. But you never know what's going to pop up next and constantly are weighing those things.”

The Case Against Standing Pat
Of course, the downside is obvious. Betting on depth is easier when it has not already taken two major hits before March. Lopez was supposed to anchor the rotation, and Festa represented a high-probability early-season contributor. Removing both from the equation places enormous pressure on pitchers who are still adjusting to the demands of a full major league season.

The remaining options on the free agent market include Lucas Giolito, Zack Littell, Patrick Corbin, Tyler Anderson, and Nestor Cortes. While none project to replace the frontline production Minnesota hoped to get from Valdez or the innings stability they lost with López, there is something to be said for a veteran capable of absorbing starts across a full season. That reality leaves the front office weighing a familiar dilemma between protecting developmental pathways for its young arms and adding a more proven option to stabilize the rotation early in the year.

Spring has made one thing clear. Minnesota can trust its pitching depth, but doing so is no longer a philosophical preference. It is quickly becoming a necessity. Whether that necessity turns into a breakthrough season for the next wave of starters or exposes how thin the margin for error has become may ultimately define the Twins’ 2026 campaign.

Do the Twins need to sign a veteran pitcher? Or should the front office trust the team’s rotational depth? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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[Cory Engelhardt]

I think adding Littell wouldn’t hurt. If everything works out perfect and the young guys are throwing well, he has also done long relief before.

Beyond that, the other names you listed I’m not certain are upgrades. Giolito is I THINK, but the others I don’t know. 
 

I am excited to see the young pitching overall in the rotation.

Also, just generally, if they truly were thinking of Festa as a starting option I think that was naive at best 

[thelanges5]

2026 will be a season where we see what we’ve got, despite Tom Ps insistence on being competitive. 

I’d like to see this on both sides of the ball. Let the youth play. 

[OregonTwinsFan]

Time to see what the young guys can do.

[LambchoP]

Season hasn't even started and the injuries have already begun. I think a good way for the new Pohlad to prove he wants to be competitive would be to bring in some reinforcement. Sign Giolito or Litell for the rotation and bring in Kopech to shore up the right side of the pen. At this point he could probably be had on another minor league deal 

[DJL44]

Only bring in a veteran if you think you can flip them at the deadline.

[JD-TWINS]

8 hours ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

I think adding Littell wouldn’t hurt. If everything works out perfect and the young guys are throwing well, he has also done long relief before.

Beyond that, the other names you listed I’m not certain are upgrades. Giolito is I THINK, but the others I don’t know. 
 

I am excited to see the young pitching overall in the rotation.

Also, just generally, if they truly were thinking of Festa as a starting option I think that was naive at best 

Agree, Festa as a starter was far fetched.

Littell for 2 years, to me, stabilizes things. It allows Lopez to not hurry for ‘27 ……. it allows possible trade of Ryan if someone offers a nice ransom at the deadline or in the coming offseason. Little threw 186 innings in ‘25. His ERA for career is 3.88 and Pablo’s is 3.81. They get results with different level of stuff but he’s a VETERAN that is pretty solid. Maybe have to spend $9.5M for a year or maybe two years for $17M?

I assume he’s been negotiating with more than a couple clubs to date.

I understand excitement with youth at ALL spots but I also like to have a chance to win and Littell gives us that until young guys are ready.

[weitz41]

Well...Adel has looked good... end of post...

[stringer bell]

If you are trying to build a perennial contender bringing in veterans on one-year deal (or last year of their contract) isn't going to help long term. Falvey did this over and over and quite often the results weren't bad (Carlos Santana, Donovan Solano, Ty France, Harrison Bader), but none of those guys is going to be a major piece in long term success. The same is true for adding a Littel or Giolito. I suppose either will be better than whoever is the last starter in the rotation, but improving the club from 70ish wins to 75 does very little. The same is probably true for Josh Bell and perhaps Taylor Rogers this year. At least Caratini is signed on for two years and there is no one in the system that he is blocking.

[JD-TWINS]

If guys can play - young or old or in between, they will find a spot on a Roster if not with  the Twins, somewhere that needs a contributor. The continual second guessing of signing veterans on short deals is old …….. they are a bridge to young talent. If guys don’t pan out …….. i.e. Lee - Lewis - Wallner this year, and guys like Rodriguez & Culpepper are hurt or not ready, the FO will try to find bridges to keep the Club respectable in the meantime.

Nobody is getting blocked by Solano or France or Bader or Rogers………Team needs to fill roster spots with guys that may be helpful. Can’t beg for 3 months for Veteran relievers to help in ‘26 so young guys can continue their journey as starters and then bitch when guys like Rogers/Hendricks/Chafin are brought in to provide a short-term bridge. I don’t understand the logic anyway.

[RaoulDuke]

This is a season to figure out what you have.  

Get Abel innings, get Bradley innings, get anyone who steps up to claim a job innings.

When things don't go right for a starter figure out if they can excel as a bull pen arm.

Get a look at a ton of different relievers, see who sticks and who can be a part of the back end going forward.

If vets have a good first half you can flip them at the deadline.

They were not going to contend with Pablo without young arms breaking out anyway, now it is full bore on chasing those breakouts.

[dxpavelka]

If we can compete, great.  If not, this season is about seeing how many guys can get big league playing time just in case there is no season or a very short season in 2027 and we're not sitting here two years from now wondering what guys like Jenkins, Rodgriguez, Culpeper, Prielipp, Gonzalez and as many as a half dozen others might look like at the big league level.

 

[TJSweens]

Two things:

1. This team as constructed is not going to contend and Lucas Giolito is not going to move the meter.

2. Can you guys stop wedging the Twins pursuit of Framber Valdez into every other article? They didn't get him. Move on.

This team will contend when they develop a core that is competitive enough to be supplemented by a free agent signing. 

[Riverbrian]

Trusting the depth was always the answer.
I'm not shocked by the shock folks are exhibiting toward Pablo's injury. The loss of Pablo has turned into a load audible gulp. What do we do now... hand wringing? 

I got news for everyone. Injuries were always going to happen. Just like every year. Little ones... big ones. blue ones.. red ones. #6, 7, 8. on that starting pitching depth chart are going to get significant innings. They were always going to be a key to the success of this team. 

Anybody thinking we got Ryan, Lopez and Ober bring on 2026! Hasn't been paying attention to the previous years since the beginning of time. 

I like our starting rotation depth. It's a team strength. 

If you want to get nervous about something. Watch what happens when we have injuries in the infield and we will have infield injuries. Little Ones... Big Ones... Blue ones... Red ones.