A Lingering Lineup Imbalance Continues to Haunt the Twins

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins have seemed to have a roster flaw in recent years, with a lack of impact right-handed bats. It is not an issue that has flown under the radar, either. Season after season, the lineup has leaned heavily to the left side, often prioritizing corner outfielders with power from that side of the plate. While that approach can work in a vacuum, it has created a predictable and exploitable weakness when the Twins face quality left-handed pitching.

A Multi-Year Trend That Cannot Be Ignored
This is not a small-sample-size problem or an early-season overreaction. The Twins have consistently struggled against left-handed pitchers over the last several seasons, and the numbers paint a clear picture.

From 2022 through 2025, Minnesota’s production against lefties has been firmly middle of the pack at best and well below average at worst when compared across the league. Among 120 individual team seasons in that span, the Twins ranked near the bottom more often than not.

The 2022 club posted a .701 OPS, ranking 77th out of 120. In 2023, there was a modest improvement to a .726 OPS, good for 53rd. The 2024 team took another small step forward with a .732 OPS, ranking 47th. However, that progress stalled in 2025 when the Twins slipped back to a .705 OPS, ranking 72nd.

Now in 2026, the issue has become even more pronounced. Entering play on Thursday, Minnesota owns a .636 OPS against left-handed pitching, ranking 18th overall. That total has been greatly helped by positive performances this week against left-handed starters like Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez. However, that number reinforces a pattern that has lingered far too long for a team on the fringes of contention in the AL Central.

A Roster Built to Be Platooned
The current roster construction only amplifies the concern. Minnesota is overloaded with left-handed hitters who are often best utilized in platoon roles rather than everyday options against all pitching.

Players like Kody Clemens, Tristan Gray, Trevor Larnach, James Outman, and Matt Wallner all hit from the left side. Each brings something valuable, whether it is power or on-base ability, but asking that group collectively to handle tough left-handed starters is a difficult proposition.

Internally, there is hope that right-handed hitters like Royce Lewis and Luke Keaschall can provide balance and thump in those matchups. Lewis has shown flashes of being a middle-of-the-order force when healthy, but posted a .689 OPS against lefties last season. Keaschall is an intriguing young bat with a career .547 OPS when facing southpaws. Still, counting on them to fully stabilize the lineup against lefties feels optimistic given health questions and limited track records.

More importantly, the roster simply lacks enough right-handed depth to build a lineup tailored to attack a high-end southpaw. When a dominant left-handed starter takes the mound, Minnesota often has no choice but to run out a lineup that leans into its biggest weakness.

Help Is Coming, But Not the Right Kind
At first glance, help appears to be on the way. Four of the organization’s top five position player prospects opened the season at Triple-A, putting them one step away from the big leagues. However, their profiles do not necessarily solve this specific issue.

Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez are both left-handed hitters with significant upside. The Twins can reasonably hope that each develops into a hitter capable of holding his own against left-handed pitching, avoiding strict platoon roles. That would mirror the paths taken by Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, who became complete hitters despite batting left-handed.

There are encouraging signs, but there are also clear gaps. Last season, Jenkins posted a .730 OPS against lefties compared to a .910 OPS against righties. Rodriguez showed an even wider split in 2025 with a .607 OPS against southpaws and a .950 OPS against righties. Both players have the talent to improve those numbers, but projecting that growth is far from certain.

The organization’s best right-handed hitting prospects at the level offer a more direct solution, though they come with their own questions. Gabriel Gonzalez dominated left-handed pitching last season with a 1.022 OPS while also holding his own against righties at .869. Kaelen Culpepper, on the other hand, posted reverse splits with a .700 OPS against lefties and a .905 OPS against righties.

Gonzalez stands out as a potential impact bat who could help balance the lineup, but relying on prospects to fix a longstanding major league issue is rarely a comfortable strategy.

An Issue That Demands a Clear Answer
The Twins have built a lineup identity around left-handed power, but the downside of that approach continues to surface in meaningful ways. Without enough right-handed hitters capable of doing damage, especially against left-handed pitching, the offense becomes easier to neutralize.

This is no longer a short-term quirk. It is a multi-year roster-construction problem that has carried over across different versions of the team. Until Minnesota finds a way to add impact right-handed bats or develops internal options who can truly break the mold, opposing teams will continue to exploit this imbalance.

What steps should the front office take to resolve this issue once and for all? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

 

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[Linus]

The Twins obviously don’t view it as an issue that demands an answer since this style of lineup construction has been their MO. Since this topic has been beaten to death on this site I will just say the Twins need better hitters period. 

[DJL44]

They need a first baseman, not a platoon between a catcher and a utility player.

[bunsen82]

Taking stats from early spring during relatively cold temps isn't quite an apples to apples comparison though.  

[LA Vikes Fan]

We need a RH hitter and 1B is open First, pick up Christian Encarnacion-Strand, just DFA'd by the Reds. May not work, but has a chance. Was good in 2023, not so good in 24 and 25 due to injuries. Second, trade Larnach for a RH stick and/or bring up GG. 

[AftonTwinsFan]

Over the last 3 years the twins have averaged about 26% of their total plate appearances against lefty pitchers.  The issue isn't that the roster is too left handed, the issue is that they don't do enough damage against right handers.  All the left handers would be fine if they crushed right handed pitching, but that isn't the case.

[Major League Ready]

No argument but their weakest link is a switch hitter.  It would be a really big deal if Culpepper could do something similar to what "Keaschall" did last year.   Replacing the weakest link with an above average bat that can steal a base and play "D" would be big.

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

 Second, trade Larnach for a RH stick  

I like this trade: Trevor Larnach to the Astros for Christian Walker and the $20M the Twins would pay on the Correa contract 2027-28.

[LA Vikes Fan]

3 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I like this trade: Trevor Larnach to the Astros for Christian Walker and the $20M the Twins would pay on the Correa contract 2027-28.

For your mouth to God's ears. I would do that deal.  

[Bodie]

The imbalance is between bad bats (a plethora) and even decent bats (2? per season).

Edited April 11 by Bodie
Spell check shenanigans

[tony&rodney]

The major imbalance is in collecting DH players. This has been going on for three years now. 

The hope is that each of Culpepper, Rodriguez, and Jenkins fills a regular position after the All Star break. Sooner may be a stretch.

 

[DocBauer]

On the surface, this shouldn't be a problem. Generally speaking, 25-30% of ALL pitchers faced are RH. So having an abundant amount of LH bats...not exclusive, just an abundant amount...SHOULD be a good thing. While I believe BETTER LH bats are on their way in regards to Rodriguez, and Jenkins...possibly Mendez...to replace Larnach, and move Wallner to primary DH...who has actually shown some improved ability to handle LHP better than Kepler ever did...the SURPRISE is how inept they have actually been when you factor in Buxton, Lewis, Jeffers, and newbies like Keaschall and Martin. 

Well, OK, Keaschall and Martin are still so new that maybe splits shouldn't even be considered at this point. Lewis has been bad against LHP? Well, I'm sorry to say he's been pretty bad overall for over a year now, with some late 2025 glimpses, and early 2026 glimpses that state he might be about ready to turn a corner. 

You referenced K-Pepper in the OP as being better against RHP so far. First of all, I don't necessarily see that as a negative. A RH bat who can hit RHP is a GOOD thing. But law of averages state he will hit LHP better the more he sees them. That also applies to Keaschall. 

On the current roster, Bell, for his career, has fairly even splits, despite a poor 2025 against. So let's give that a little time to wait and see.

If we're ONLY talking about the current roster, then we need veterans like Buxton, Lewis, and Jeffers to take a step forward. If we are talking about youngsters, then Keaschall and Martin need to take a step forward.

Interestingly enough, the Twins questionable lineup against LHP just bested Skubal and Valdez from the Tigers. 

I LOVE that Gabriel Gonzalez is getting work at St Paul at 1B. That's an indication the FO is FINALLY using their imagination to put together a future roster. LH Mendez playing some 1B at AA is ALSO a useful imagination tactic. But RH Rosario... stuck in a logjam that put him back at AA when he deserves a AAA promotion...would also be smart to play some 1B.

Based on LH power, a solid overall 2025, I don't dislike Clemens as part of the Twins. But for a team that wants to compete, we should be looking for someone better to replace him. The Twins brought Wagaman on because he can kinda play 4 positions. And because he's good against LHP, and seemed to take a step forward with his bat the 2nd half of 2025. And so far, he hasn't done much. So I don’t think he's any immediate answer to help the lineup.

Considering how bad the roster construction is, the best replacement for Outman is a RH bat that MIGHT contribute. But who is available that could actually contribute and make a difference? And that's the biggest issue with this roster.

A couple decades ago, you had 10-11 man pitching staffs. So you had room for a deeper player roster. Now we have a backup catcher and THREE bench spots. And ONE is being used for a PR/defensive substitution? And that guy is seldom used? What is wrong with this picture? 

It's SO EASY to say Outman should be gone. And he should be, with no personal disrespect, but what RH is available to make a difference? For the UPTEENTH season, where is a bench RH OF available to make any kind of difference?

[stringer bell]

There are a lot of ways to look at the "lineup imbalance". Some thoughts from earlier in the thread were that they don't have a first baseman and they don't have a shortstop. Another is that they don't have enough good hitters. Another poster said they have too many DHs playing in the field. I think there is truth in all of those takes. Despite having bigger rosters (now 26 players), there are fewer position player spots than there have been historically. It used to be that nine or ten pitchers was enough, later it moved to 11-12 and now every team carries 13 pitchers. Having so few bench spots increases the value of versatility and makes wholesale platooning difficult, if not impossible. Since the majority of pitchers are right handed, the focus is on the left handed hitters. Having one or two guys who can hit well enough to play almost every day against lefties would minimize some of the "imbalance", but alas the Twins really don't have anybody who fits that description. Filling the problem positions of shortstop and first base might help and would address the "too many DHs" lament. That isn't the case here, so the Twins have a mismatched group that still is vulnerable to left handed pitching. I think they will do all right vs. lefties as the season goes on.

[dxpavelka]

With so many guys waiting in the wings (Jenkins, Rodriguez, Gonzalez, Culpepper, Mendez) some decisions are going to have to be made about guys currently part of the LH hitting log jam at the big league level.  Hopefully some of the answers will involve trades.  Hopefully some of said trades will net players who can hit left handed pitching.  These may end up being prospects but so be it.  The other way, if the team wants to change the way it historically does business, might involve taking on short term contracts that might cost some money.  Names to consider:  Christian Walker, Randy Arozerana, Bryan Reynolds, Yandy Diaz, Jazz Chisholm, Alec Bohm, Jarren Duran, Adley Rutschman, Ryan Mountcastle, Jo Adell, Jake Burger, Brenton Doyle, Ozzie Albies, Josh Jung.  These are all guys who could be moved by teams looking to get MORE left handed while we are looking for the opposite,  The other unconventional solution might be trading our some of our prospects for other teams right handed hitting prospects.  Would the Phillies part with Aiden Miller?  Maybe, but the cost would probably be Culpepper or Jenkins so probably a non starter.  Ryan Waldschmidt of Arizona is a possibility.  Angel Genao of the Indians but again probably at a cost of Culpepper so no gain there.  Joshua Baez of the Cardinals would probably cost you Emma.  
These are all unconventional and potentially painful sounding types of moves but let's be honest, conventional is how we got into this situation and is probably not how we're going to get out of it.

[JD-TWINS]

Culpepper & Gonzalez are RH hitters. No need to trade for “RH hitters” ………. BETTER HITTERS, regardless of which side is certainly of interest!!

The “game” hasn’t completely flipped in 2026……..there are still between 70-75% RH pitchers. Twins have seen an INORDINATE amount of LH starters to this point in ‘26.

Just beat Skubal - Valdez - Crochet within 7 days last week.

Buxton - Martin - Keaschall - Jeffers - Kriedler(Lewis) are 5 RH bats…… Larnach - Wallner - Clemens - Outman - Gray are 5 LH bats…… 3 guys are Switch hitters. Symmetry.

Now, replacing Outman - Clemens - Wallner with other options would be great news to my ears.

[IndianaTwin]

The article starts: "The Minnesota Twins have seemed to have a roster flaw in recent years, with a lack of impact right-handed bats."

Overall this year, Jeffers has a 139 OPS+, Lewis has a 133+ and Martin has a 154. Buxton got off to a bad start, but is up to 100+ and clearly headed in the right direction. The one downer so far is that Keaschall has gotten off to a horrible start (62). Plus Bell is 133 as a switch hitter. 

Last year, Jeffers had a 108, Keaschall 128 in limited at bats, Bader 113 in a partial season, Martin 106 in a partial season and Buxton 139.

In 2024, Correa was a 152 with a lot of injury, Buxton 137, Miranda 112 and Jeffers 103. 

That doesn't feel like a lack of impact right-handed bats. The much bigger issue is that the volume of LH bats hasn't consistently been effective.