4 Reasons for Optimism About the 2026 Minnesota Twins

[Mike Sixel]

I really like the rotation possibilities. 

I like Keaschell.

I like Wallner being more consistent. 

That's three for me....

[Mike h]

When I read the headline I tried to guess what the 4 reasons could be. Optimism comes from improvements which comes from changes.  Whether you placed blame for last years record on the manager, the front office, or ownership, you got your wish - all three have been changed.  Ok, the Pohlads still own the team but they changed their representative.  They also brought in some new coaches.  On the field, they said goodbye to half a dozen players who had had good resumes and potential but couldn’t produce, guys like Gasper, Bride, Julien, Miranda, and Keirsey.  New players, hopefully better players, will get their AB’s.  We can be optimistic that the new guys will be better. 
I will add that losing Correa’s contract, not the man, was good for the team due to the financial flexibility it provides.  We can be optimistic that the FO will reinvest that money wisely for upgrades where needed.  As for his presence on the field his leadership will be missed but at the same time  his leaving brings Culpepper and Houston a little closer and if we can believe the hype they may be even better.

Another reason for optimism is the alleged speed they now have.  Is it possible they might have 3 players with 30+SB? Maybe 4?   That’s exciting to watch and should lead to more runs. 
Finally, I like how Lee came to camp a little lighter and having worked hard all winter on his defense.  Hopefully that will payoff and he will be improved.  Wallner  has had a great spring;  we can hope it will carry over to the season..

I have lots of reasons NOT to be optimistic this year but that’s for a different article.  I’ll just say……in balance,  ….they are still a few years away.  But I still love baseball!

[JD-TWINS]

4 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

I will be watching a lot more Saint's games until that "emerging core" makes it to Mpls.  They will be a lot more exciting to watch.

Crystal Ball? ……. they’ll be different faces for sure.

[JD-TWINS]

4 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Another mostly healthy year from Buxton would/will be very fun to watch.

I'm interested to see what Bradley and Abel do. I don't know if I'd call it optimism, but I'm interested. I saw Abel throw at Spring Training, and he's incredibly intriguing. So, I guess there's a little optimism that he can step forward as someone who looks like a playoff caliber starter we can start rebuilding the staff around.

Most definitely interested in seeing Emma, Jenkins, GG, etc. debut. Similar to the pitching, it's mostly interest at this point, but there's certainly a little optimism for Jenkins in particular.

Wallner has looked locked in after the first couple weeks of spring, so there's a little optimism for me there, as well. If he can put together a full season to match what he did in half seasons in 2023 and 2024, that'd be a huge boost to the lineup. Just like the previous 2 stances, it's mostly interest at this point, but I have a little optimism around him. At this point, Lewis is simply interest to see if he can get his career back on track.

In summary, there's certainly some interesting things, but much more minimal optimism leading into this season.

Completely agree - can Lewis do something “positive” on the field? Can Wallner not suck? Have some interesting potential pieces in St. Paul - may see a couple help out by mid-season? Buxton, success through July almost certainly frees him to a team of his choice, IF he would consider that for himself ….. he seems mentally locked in to MN though.

Pablo going down was the gut punch on my optimism - good things can still happen (Bradley/Abel) …….. maybe Festa gets healthy and contributes at some point? Maybe Caratini ‘s bat wakes up? 🤞🤞🤞

[Hunter4848]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

I really like the rotation possibilities. 

I like Keaschell.

I like Wallner being more consistent. 

That's three for me....

I got some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you

[Mike Sixel]

22 minutes ago, Hunter4848 said:

I got some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you

Feel free to come into an optimism post! I'm just trying to be in the spirit of the thread. 

[JD-TWINS]

Didn’t read all the comments - went through the article quickly, twice. How is Luke Keaschall not mentioned at all when discussing/describing the potential upside for ‘26 and “key pieces of the future core”???? At this point, his style of play along with his capabilities, could be what the organization tries to get everyone else to try to mimic!

[strumdatjag]

I see 2026 as a transitional year that probably will be disappointing for the fans.   But it’s all about 2027 and 2028.
The Twins hopefully will get a majority of owners to join them in 2027 to play hardball in the upcoming labor strife.  MLB absolutely needs a salary cap.    That and other adjustments can make the league more competitive for the small and midmarket teams.   Wouldn’t it be great to see the Yankees as the MLB equivalent of the NFL NY Giants??? 
After that year of labor strife and a reduced or completely canceled mlb schedule, the Twins should hope to return in 2028 with a roster of rising young stars who are in a system where this franchise has a better shot at competing. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

5 hours ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

I meant Arcia. Thanks for the catch

I was glad I could scoop up that wild throw of yours to first base and save you an error.

[JADBP]

I have only one hope:  that by season's end, that we have completely flushed out the Larnach, Lee, Wallner, etc generation and replaced them with our AAA team!  

Otherwise, I have cancelled my  MLB tv subscription and won't follow the Twins until they bring up the next generation--this was was failure by Falvey with a big Baldelli BOO BOO!  Good by and good riddance.  Now I hope the new coaches, staff and GM can clean up  the mess.  

The only ones to keep are Buxton, Keaschall and, if he improves, Lewis.  

[mike8791]

We need a little optimism on TD.  One of the most glaring issues this spring has been the offense.  Other than a 15-0 trouncing of the hated Yankees, Twins offense has been sorely lacking this spring.  The last 3 games of the preseason has seen a reawakening.  Keuchel has been a terror all spring, Wallner and Lee have been strong, and now Buxton, Jeffers, Caratini have started to warm up.  Even Outman shows some life.  This was against Roger Suarez, one of the better SPs in the Al.  

Can the offense continue clicking once the regular season begins?  We'll soon find out but I, for one, feel more hopeful than I have all ST.  Now maybe we might see some miracles in the pen.

[mark sills]

9 hours ago, rdehring said:

Question MLR?  Who has the better lineup, the Twins or Saints?

I think the saints might win that series

[tarheeltwinsfan]

8 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Yeah, I should've put a message out on here to see who was there and see if I could meet a few of my fellow TD posters. I watched Houston some on the back fields and he's certainly on a different level than most every teammate I saw him do drills with. I don't know about his bat yet, so I'm fine waiting. No amount of defense makes up for an auto-out in the lineup. But I'm hoping he can hit enough to get there because it'd be great to have a true topline defender at SS for many years. Ober is a big boy. I didn't see him throw, though. Hill has an electric arm, and I love watching Tait hit. Hope they can really start to put it together this year and move up the system further.

Tait gave me a baseball after I  told him nice catch on a wild Dasan Hill pitch at one of the back fields where the pitchers throw in a line to various catchers.. Watching and listening at this location early in the morning  is my favorite spring training pastime. .

[AceWrigley]

4 Reasons for Optimism About the 2026 Minnesota Twins:

1 - The sky is blue

2 - Good seats should be available

3 - Parking should be easy

4 - There will be beer

[Major League Ready]

7 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Crystal Ball? ……. they’ll be different faces for sure.

I think there is a very good chance two of Jenkins / Rodriguez / Gonzalez / Roden will be better than Larnach and Martin.  I would bet even money on Culpepper being better than Lee too.

[dxpavelka]

Damn you sir.  Such positivity.  Have you forgotten who butters your bread?

 

[dxpavelka]

13 hours ago, mike8791 said:

We need a little optimism on TD.  One of the most glaring issues this spring has been the offense.  Other than a 15-0 trouncing of the hated Yankees, Twins offense has been sorely lacking this spring.  The last 3 games of the preseason has seen a reawakening.  Keuchel has been a terror all spring, Wallner and Lee have been strong, and now Buxton, Jeffers, Caratini have started to warm up.  Even Outman shows some life.  This was against Roger Suarez, one of the better SPs in the Al.  

Can the offense continue clicking once the regular season begins?  We'll soon find out but I, for one, feel more hopeful than I have all ST.  Now maybe we might see some miracles in the pen.

Pine for optimism here and you'll get told to go to twins.com

[twinstalker]

LOL at positive mentions of Emmanuel Rodriguez and Marek Houston.

[JD-TWINS]

11 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

I think there is a very good chance two of Jenkins / Rodriguez / Gonzalez / Roden will be better than Larnach and Martin.  I would bet even money on Culpepper being better than Lee too.

I don’t disagree, it’s just that #1 Picks on the current 26 man roster were ALL thought of in the same vein……. Wallner/Larnach/Lewis/Lee/Martin ……. ALL highly touted “prospects”! The results, to date, with these 5 have us yearning for 5 “new guys” to help displace the fairly recent “prospective stars.”

[rv78]

4 reasons for Optimism

1. Joe Ryan

2. Byron Buxton

3. Ryan Jeffers

4. Pablo Lopez (not really)

Look out trade deadline.......... here we come.

2026, a prove it year for Lewis, Lee, Wallner, Larnach, Martin or they'll be gone too. 

[JD-TWINS]

11 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

I think there is a very good chance two of Jenkins / Rodriguez / Gonzalez / Roden will be better than Larnach and Martin.  I would bet even money on Culpepper being better than Lee too.

Gotta say ……… not much of a risk betting even money on nearly anyone coming up in next 2 years being better than Lee. Relative to his press clippings, he may be the biggest disappointment of anyone to date. Maybe he was greatly overhyped, and the criticism isn’t very fair? Regardless, he’s just now working on strength and agility/quickness skills. Seems he was coddled in college and with Twin’s development group, relying only on talent until this past post season - probably typical across the sport but it’s really hit home with him! I thought he was a “given” to be at least League average or better. Wrong!

[Major League Ready]

55 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

I don’t disagree, it’s just that #1 Picks on the current 26 man roster were ALL thought of in the same vein……. Wallner/Larnach/Lewis/Lee/Martin ……. ALL highly touted “prospects”! The results, to date, with these 5 have us yearning for 5 “new guys” to help displace the fairly recent “prospective stars.”

I understand where you are coming from.  My perspective is probably different because the only player of these 5 I thought was a great prospect was Lewis.  I never believed in Lee and got a lot of crap here for saying so.  Defensive ability for Wallner and Larnach was always quite suspect and Martin was not an impressive prospect.  Jenkins, Rodriguez, and Culpepper have multiple tools.  They are much more complete players and therefore have a much higher ceiling IMO.   Gonzalez is an average athlete at best but that hit tool could make him an impact player. 

Part of this is that I see this group much differently.  The other part is that I see no chance with the current group so moving on at least provides an opportunity to reach a higher level.  

[amjgt]

19 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Completely agree - can Lewis do something “positive” on the field? Can Wallner not suck?

Wallner has had 13 months in his career with 20 or more plate appearances.

In 10 of those 13 months he's had an OPS+ over 110.