A Chance Worth Taking: The Twins Are Still in This, Somehow

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of © Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images

By no means have the 2026 Twins gotten lucky. In fact, they can't catch a break. Their run differential (230 runs scored, 231 allowed) implies a 25-25 record, but they're 23-27. They lost their ace to season-ending elbow surgery on the first day of full-squad workouts in the spring, and their in loco Pablosis ace, Joe Ryan, has had multiple disruptions to his preparation and performance. Their star center fielder went off to international duty and found himself benched, slowing his start to the season. They had two strong breakout candidates in their rotation for the first month, but both are currently on the injured list. Now, their primary catcher is shelved for weeks by a broken bone in his hand. Their top two prospects got hurt in Triple-A.

Given all that (and especially given the aforementioned 23-27 record), though, things feel oddly hopeful. The Twins are 5.5 games behind the Guardians for first place in the AL Central, but they've already proved they can hang with that team, beating them twice in three games at Progressive Field earlier this month. They're only 1.5 games out of playoff position. According to FanGraphs, they have a 23.8% chance to make the playoffs—down from their highest point during their early-season hot streak, but right in the same range they've been in for the last four weeks or so.

While neither Matt Wallner nor Royce Lewis left the team much choice but to demote them to Triple-A, this situation made that decision both easier and more urgent. Ditto for their replacement of Simeon Woods Richardson in the starting rotation. Because of what now seem to be real problems—and not just slow starts—for the Royals, Tigers, Red Sox, Orioles, Mariners, Astros and Blue Jays, the door to the playoffs remains open to this team. To give themselves a chance to push through it, the team needed to make changes.

Here's a position-by-position breakdown of all 30 teams' wins above average, courtesy of Baseball Reference. The Twins' totals are highlighted.

Rk

Total

All P

SP

RP

Non-P

C

1B

2B

3B

SS

LF

CF

RF

OF (All)

DH

PH

1

Atlanta Braves9.5

ATL4.8

ATL3.9

SDP1.4

LAD6.3

BAL0.9

ATL1.9

STL1.7

LAD1.8

KCR2.6

SEA1.5

LAD2.2

STL2.1

BOS3.2

PHI1.0

ATL0.2

2

Los Angeles Dodgers9.3

NYY4.3

MIL3.8

PHI1.2

CHC5.8

CHC0.7

ATH1.3

MIL1.7

CHW1.2

MIA1.7

NYY1.3

CHC1.5

BOS1.8

CHC2.7

LAD1.0

LAD0.2

3

New York Yankees7.3

PHI3.4

NYY3.6

ATL0.9

ATL4.7

ATH0.7

BOS1.1

PIT1.4

CLE1.2

CIN1.4

DET0.9

LAA1.1

ARI1.8

NYY2.7

HOU0.9

CHC0.1

4

Milwaukee Brewers3.5

MIL3.4

TBR2.5

COL0.8

BOS3.6

MIN 0.6

NYY1.1

MIA1.3

ARI1.0

NYY1.3

CHC0.6

BOS1.1

NYY1.4

LAD2.6

TBR0.9

BOS0.0

5

Cleveland Guardians3.4

LAD3.0

CLE2.5

NYY0.7

NYY3.0

DET0.5

CHW1.0

CHC1.3

TEX0.7

WSN1.0

BAL0.5

MIN 0.9

WSN0.8

SEA1.9

ATL0.9

WSN0.0

6

Chicago Cubs3.0

CLE2.7

CHW2.4

LAD0.6

STL2.5

MIL0.3

HOU0.9

SEA1.3

KCR0.5

CLE0.9

TBR0.3

ATL0.8

TEX0.7

TEX1.5

CLE0.3

NYY0.0

7

Tampa Bay Rays1.7

ATH2.6

ATH2.4

ATH0.2

TEX2.2

SDP0.3

STL0.6

SFG1.1

HOU0.4

DET0.7

MIN 0.3

TOR0.7

CHC0.6

WSN1.3

CHC0.3

TBR0.0

8

Texas Rangers1.7

DET1.8

MIN 2.4

MIA0.2

ARI1.7

ATL0.3

PIT0.5

ATL1.1

SFG0.4

PIT0.7

BOS0.3

TEX0.6

LAD0.3

ARI1.1

MIL0.2

MIN -0.1

9

Athletics1.7

CHW1.6

PHI2.2

DET0.2

TBR1.1

LAD0.1

MIL0.4

CHW0.5

TBR0.3

TBR0.7

WSN0.3

SEA0.4

ATL0.2

ATL0.9

STL0.2

PIT-0.1

10

Chicago White Sox1.6

TOR1.6

LAD2.2

SEA0.2

HOU0.9

BOS0.1

SDP0.3

CLE0.3

CHC0.1

LAA0.5

TEX0.2

WSN0.2

CLE0.1

STL0.8

BOS0.1

ARI-0.1

11

Boston Red Sox1.1

SDP1.6

TOR1.8

CLE0.1

WSN0.7

TEX-0.1

TEX0.3

LAD0.3

TOR0.1

ARI0.5

LAD0.1

BAL0.1

KCR0.1

CLE-0.3

BAL0.1

HOU-0.1

12

Seattle Mariners0.7

MIN 0.8

DET1.6

SFG0.0

SEA0.7

KCR-0.1

CHC0.3

LAA0.2

DET0.0

HOU0.5

CIN0.1

PIT0.0

SEA0.0

TOR-0.3

NYY0.0

TEX-0.1

13

Philadelphia Phillies0.5

TBR0.6

PIT1.3

TEX-0.1

CLE0.7

HOU-0.2

BAL0.2

TBR0.2

SEA-0.1

CHW0.3

PHI-0.1

NYY0.0

TBR-0.1

BAL-0.4

WSN-0.1

KCR-0.2

14

Arizona Diamondbacks0.3

COL0.1

KCR0.7

TOR-0.1

PIT0.5

STL-0.2

CIN0.2

ARI0.2

PIT-0.1

CHC0.3

ATL-0.1

ARI-0.1

PIT-0.2

MIN -0.4

CIN-0.1

CIN-0.3

15

Kansas City Royals0.1

SEA0.0

CIN0.7

ARI-0.3

KCR0.4

COL-0.3

LAD0.2

TEX0.0

BOS-0.2

TEX0.2

COL-0.2

CHW-0.1

HOU-0.3

PIT-0.4

NYM-0.1

SDP-0.3

16

Pittsburgh Pirates0.1

KCR-0.3

SDP0.2

CHC-0.4

MIL0.1

PIT-0.3

PHI0.2

BAL0.0

ATL-0.2

SDP0.2

MIL-0.2

NYM-0.1

NYM-0.4

TBR-0.5

COL-0.1

MIA-0.3

17

St. Louis Cardinals-0.3

MIA-0.3

SEA-0.2

MIL-0.4

CHW0.0

MIA-0.4

MIN 0.1

ATH-0.1

LAA-0.3

STL0.2

PIT-0.2

CLE-0.1

CHW-0.4

KCR-0.6

ATH-0.2

CHW-0.3

18

Minnesota Twins -1.1

PIT-0.4

LAA-0.2

NYM-0.4

BAL-0.8

ARI-0.4

TBR0.0

WSN-0.1

COL-0.3

LAD0.1

CHW-0.2

KCR-0.1

ATH-0.4

CHW-0.7

TEX-0.3

ATH-0.3

19

Detroit Tigers-1.4

TEX-0.5

TEX-0.4

BOS-0.5

ATH-0.9

NYM-0.4

WSN-0.2

BOS-0.2

ATH-0.4

MIL0.0

NYM-0.3

HOU-0.2

TOR-0.5

NYM-0.8

DET-0.3

SEA-0.3

20

Toronto Blue Jays-1.6

NYM-0.9

STL-0.4

CHW-0.7

CIN-1.6

SFG-0.4

ARI-0.2

DET-0.2

STL-0.4

SFG-0.1

CLE-0.3

SDP-0.3

LAA-0.6

LAA-0.8

SEA-0.4

BAL-0.3

21

San Diego Padres-2.1

ARI-1.4

MIA-0.5

KCR-1.0

MIN -1.9

TOR-0.5

TOR-0.2

NYY-0.3

WSN-0.5

ATH-0.1

SDP-0.4

MIL-0.3

COL-0.7

HOU-0.9

LAA-0.4

LAA-0.3

22

Miami Marlins-2.4

CIN-1.4

NYM-0.6

WSN-1.0

LAA-1.9

SEA-0.5

COL-0.2

CIN-0.4

CIN-0.6

TOR-0.2

HOU-0.4

PHI-0.3

SFG-0.8

CIN-1.3

ARI-0.4

SFG-0.4

23

Cincinnati Reds-3.0

SFG-2.4

COL-0.7

MIN -1.6

MIA-2.1

CIN-0.5

LAA-0.3

KCR-0.4

PHI-0.6

NYM-0.3

STL-0.4

MIA-0.3

MIL-0.9

PHI-1.3

SDP-0.4

NYM-0.4

24

Washington Nationals-3.2

BOS-2.5

ARI-1.0

PIT-1.7

SFG-2.4

TBR-0.5

MIA-0.4

MIN -0.5

NYM-0.7

BAL-0.3

SFG-0.5

CIN-0.5

CIN-0.9

MIL-1.4

SFG-0.4

MIL-0.4

25

Houston Astros-3.8

CHC-2.8

HOU-1.7

TBR-1.9

PHI-2.9

LAA-0.5

NYM-0.5

TOR-0.5

MIL-0.7

PHI-0.3

ATH-0.5

COL-0.6

PHI-0.9

COL-1.5

MIN -0.5

CLE-0.4

26

New York Mets-4.8

STL-2.8

BOS-2.0

BAL-2.0

DET-3.2

WSN-0.7

SFG-0.6

HOU-0.6

MIN -0.7

ATL-0.4

TOR-0.5

SFG-0.7

BAL-1.0

DET-1.7

KCR-0.5

PHI-0.4

27

San Francisco Giants-4.8

LAA-3.3

CHC-2.4

CIN-2.0

TOR-3.2

CLE-0.7

CLE-0.6

PHI-0.7

SDP-0.8

SEA-0.4

ARI-0.6

TBR-0.7

SDP-1.2

ATH-1.8

MIA-0.6

STL-0.4

28

Colorado Rockies-5.0

WSN-3.9

SFG-2.4

STL-2.4

SDP-3.7

PHI-0.8

SEA-0.8

NYM-0.7

NYY-0.9

MIN -0.4

KCR-0.6

STL-0.9

MIA-1.2

SDP-1.9

CHW-0.9

TOR-0.6

29

Los Angeles Angels-5.2

HOU-4.7

BAL-2.8

HOU-3.0

NYM-3.9

NYY-0.9

KCR-0.9

COL-1.0

BAL-1.0

BOS-0.5

MIA-0.9

ATH-0.9

DET-1.5

SFG-2.0

TOR-1.0

COL-0.7

30

Baltimore Orioles-5.7

BAL-4.9

WSN-2.9

LAA-3.2

COL-5.1

CHW-1.1

DET-1.4

SDP-1.1

MIA-1.0

COL-1.0

LAA-1.3

DET-1.1

MIN -1.6

MIA-2.4

PIT-1.2

DET-0.8

Coming into this season, any hopes for this club to contend were anchored to their starting rotation being good. That hasn't happened in the way fans or the front office hoped and expected, in that Pablo López is out for the year and both Mick Abel and Taj Bradley have been sidelined, but lo, the unit has been a strength, after all. Bailey Ober is settling in as an obviously usable (though, just as obviously, vulnerable) keep-you-in-the-game guy. Woods Richardson was a disaster, but Zebby Matthews has looked just as good as Woods Richardson did bad.

Bradley is on the cusp of returning to a rotation that now includes Connor Prielipp as a full and semi-permanent member, with fellow hard-throwing lefty Kendry Rojas as a more provisional piece. With Woods Richardson out of that picture, the team has come round to enjoying both ample upside and enviable depth in their starting corps, by however circuitous a route. Ryan, Ober, Bradley, Prielipp, Matthews, and whichever of Abel and Rojas is the right mix of available and effective can be the starting pitching depth chart of a playoff team.

The (relatively) proactive fix of swapping Woods Richardson out for Matthews is echoed throughout the roster, where the team is (as expected) playing an even harder game of Whack-a-Mole. They entered the season with an utterly underpowered bullpen, and that unit still hasn't been good, so far. However, they're starting to cobble together a group that can be good, in the medium term. Already, they've churned through several external additions (Garrett Acton, Luis García, and Yoendrys Gómez), but more telling is what they've done with their internal options. Gone is Justin Topa, a roster casualty whom the team also couldn't trust anymore. Into the mix are Woods Richardson (who has a real chance to be useful in a long relief role, if deployed correctly) and Andrew Morris, who has unceremoniously claimed the mantle of relief ace. Rojas might yet spend some time in the pen, too, as the rotation gets healthier and stabilizes.

No team has gotten worse performances from its right fielders than the Twins, thanks to Wallner's all-around atrociousness, but he's now out of the frame. Minnesota is 26th in wins above average from third basemen, but now, Lewis is out of the way, too. The replacements for those players won't put the team in the top echelon at either spot, but they have a real chance to be better than Lewis and Wallner. The outline of a decent team is coming into focus.

That invites the question: What's next? What does the team need to do to keep improving, so they can take advantage of this unexpected opportunity to stay relevant all summer? Firstly, as the chart shows, things still aren't good at shortstop. Brooks Lee has responded better to the influence of new hitting coach Keith Beauregard than his fellow last-wave top prospects, Wallner and Lewis, but he's still only batting .248/.299/.388. He's doing a slightly better job of making contact against breaking and offspeed stuff, but that's the only notable change in his profile. Nor has he become a viable defensive shortstop. 

Lee almost certainly could play a solid third base, and his bat is playable. In the medium term, then, the move is obvious: call up Kaelen Culpepper, test him at short, and slide Lee over. That will be risky at any point this year, though, and Culpepper isn't quite ready for it yet. Right now, the team will stick with Lee at that position, and the first change we're likely to see will be a slow shift toward more matchup play.

Tristan Gray, Orlando Arcia and Ryan Kreidler form an underwhelming but extremely intriguing collection of role players on the infield. Gray brings a left-handed bat, with enough bat speed to be dangerous. Kreidler looked like he would never hit in the big leagues, but in a tiny sample this year, he's hitting in the big leagues. Arcia brings the most experience defensively, and while he'd be no more than a minor upgrade on Lee's glove at short, he would be a big step up from Luke Keaschall's glove work at second.

That brings us to Keaschall, who has belatedly pulled his OPS to the right side of .600. He's just not going to work as a defensive second baseman, though any real move to another position has to wait, right now. He can hit enough to outpace his defensive woes, though, and the team now has several guys on the roster whom Derek Shelton can use to mitigate the damage Keaschall can do in the field. 

It won't be easy for the team to sustain the momentum they've built by winning three of their last four series. Ryan Jeffers's absence looms large. There are guys on this roster overperforming, and guys already coming back to Earth after hot starts. (Witness Trevor Larnach's .217/.280/.326 batting line in May.) They have a 10-game road trip to survive, beginning Friday, in which they'll play the Red Sox, White Sox and Pirates. Don't forget, either, that this team is just 23-27. They haven't exactly surged. They've just maintained a decent pace longer than expected. 

However, the chance before them is real. By staying afloat into (at least) the final third of May, they've checked the box Tom Pohlad put on their to-do list over the winter, when he made the then-improbable claim that the team would contend this year. Pohlad said last month that he would supplement the roster via trade this summer, if new top executive Jeremy Zoll came to him with a chance to do so. Now, that feels less like a pipe dream and more like a possibility. By winning just enough to stay alive, Zoll, Shelton and the team have bought themselves enough time to fix some of their most glaring flaws.

View full article

[Whitey333]

Contending team?  Mainly because they play in a terrible division.  They certainly are not serious contenders in the overall scheme of things.  I admit to this point they have played better than I thought.  It's fun watching them when they play decent baseball.  They have a long way to go to join the better teams

[mike8791]

Nice article Matt!  While my expectations for 2026 were as low as they've been in years, as we approach the 1/3 mark of the season, the Twins are still very much in contention.  Of course, this is much more attributable to the shockingly poor performance of the Tigers and Royals, but why kick a gift horse in the mouth?

As you point out, sub performances by Lewis and Wallner have hamstrung the offense, as has the bullpen muddle.  With Jeffers out now, the offense looks in worse shape.  Still, there have been some surprising contributions from guys like Clemens, Gray, and in a small sample size, Kreider.  No, this is not murderers  row, but at least there's a glimmer of hope that with the sure outs removed from the lineup, there is a stronger possibility that this lineup could trend towards an average offense.  And while the pen is still a mess, there has been some recent, albeit limited, success from guys like Morris, Banda, and Gomez.  We'll have to wait awhile to see if they're just a flash in the "pen" ,  but at least we have a little more hope for improvement.

But as you mention, despite the injuries, the rotation is cause for real optimism: Ryan is a s good as ever, Ober is at least serviceable, Mathews and Prielipp have given the rotation a big boost, and with Bradley and Abel on the mend, our SP looks like a strength.  The big question: do we have enough SP to allow for a trade of Ryan?  This is so important because Ryan is the one player on the team who could fill the glaring hole on this club - a bonafide cleanup hitter.  Not sure if Zoll is capable of achieving such an outcome, but if he could, it could be a step forward to real contention, even this year.  At least there's a glimmer of hope now!

[William K Johnson]

Beginning to worry about Keaschall's bat.  A lot of pop ups to the right side is usually an indication of a slow bat or misread of a pitch.

[arby58]

23 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

Contending team?  Mainly because they play in a terrible division.  They certainly are not serious contenders in the overall scheme of things.  I admit to this point they have played better than I thought.  It's fun watching them when they play decent baseball.  They have a long way to go to join the better teams

With the exception of the East, the rest of the American League this year is a 'terrible division.' The  West is even worse than the Central. Right now, Cleveland has the third best record in the AL (and both those ahead of them are in the East), and the leader in the West is one game over .500. 

[Hunter4848]

I hope Tom Pohlad paid you handsomely for this propaganda puff piece. 

Just because we are a middling team in the worst division in baseball does not make them a playoff contender...

[jorgenswest]

There has been a lot of close games and entertaining baseball this year. The 162 matter to me.

[IndianaTwin]

21 minutes ago, mike8791 said:

 

…But as you mention, despite the injuries, the rotation is cause for real optimism: Ryan is a s good as ever, Ober is at least serviceable, Mathews and Prielipp have given the rotation a big boost, and with Bradley and Abel on the mend, our SP looks like a strength.  The big question: do we have enough SP to allow for a trade of Ryan?  This is so important because Ryan is the one player on the team who could fill the glaring hole on this club - a bonafide cleanup hitter.  Not sure if Zoll is capable of achieving such an outcome, but if he could, it could be a step forward to real contention, even this year.  At least there's a glimmer of hope now!

Are you suggesting trading Ryan for a bonifide cleanup hitter to improve year’s team?

That ain’t happening. Not because Ryan isn’t worth that, but because no team in contention is going to trade their cleanup hitter midseason. 

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Cleveland always surprises me. I'm not sure how they win as much as they do. But, alas, they've gained some separation. While I expect them to regress a little bit, along with the White Sox, I think Detroit will eventually right the ship just enough to make a run. The Twins could hang around in the AL Central for another few weeks, but it will be a tall task with this line up. Who would have thought the bullpen wouldn't be the main problem right now?!

There's always the path to the wildcard - that usually stays a jumbled mess well into September - but even with that, I think Seattle and Toronto will go on extended runs as they get healthy.

If being 'in it' was really a priority, the Twins would have approached the previous off-season much differently than they did. The only questions for me - when do they trade Ryan and Jeffers - and if / when do we see Jenkins, Rodriguez, Culpepper, Mendez, etc..

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Really good article that sums up where the Twins stand today. Let's keep riding this roller coaster and just hang on and enjoy the view and try not to puke. 

[Blyleven2011]

A chance worth taking  ??

It's been awhile since the front office has taken any kind of a chance and when they did they blundered it in 2022 deadline and regretted it since , and they have become gun shy since the 2023 deadline when it was necessary for deadline acquisitions  , and the off  seasons have been dreadful...

The twins are playing better baseball than anyone ever expected in 2026 , a chance is always worth taking and some moves of shaking up this roster of position players and bullpen arms was finally necessary  ...

With the poor central division play , there is a chance to stay in contention with some more development if the defense and hitting improve from our current rostered players  ...

Injuries or poor play to our propects in the minors on 40 man roster have probably delayed some of these prospects from debuting in 2026 Gonzalesis starting to heat up , could someone not on the 40 man roster help the current team , that is a chance they might have to take ...

Nothing hurts by DFAing a under performing veteran  , they started with topa  , Garcia should be another to open a 40 man roster spot and there should be others to follow  ...

 

[Over The Hill Again]

Like others I’m moderately surprised that the Twins are (mathematically) relevant at Memorial Day. So far, I’m enjoying this season more than I would have thought. My perception is that Shelton mostly pulls the right levers (given what the FO gives him to work with) and the team may have a tendency to more aggressive on the base paths. Overall more entertaining than I would have guessed. FWIW I expect things to normalize and other Central teams to pick it up. Count me in the minority I guess of people not wanting to see Ryan get traded. 

[Parfigliano]

Contention?  For what?  They had a good week.  Period.  They lost a big part of their offense (Jeffers) for months. 

Who is the real Josh Bell the guy from the last 3 games or the guy from the previous 35?  Who is the real Keaschall the last 40 games in 2025 or the first 40 in 2026?  Caratini, Kreidler, Outman, starting 4-5 games a week is an offense black hole that definitely will happen for long stretches of games.

Hope I'm wrong but I stand by my prediction that they will lose 90+ games.

 

 

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

This road trip will be an interesting one. Longest trip of the season and teams - Red Sox, White Sox, Pirates - that the Twins should be able to compete with. Have a winning trip (6-4) and come back to Target Field hovering around .500 the first week of June. Keep things interesting for as long as possible - and while I'll continue to root for the players no matter what - when it comes to the front office, I have zero confidence that they'll do right by the team or the fans.

[CRF]

Let's face it...they're going nowhere. Not even close. It sure is nice to have a manager that has a clue though. 

[Greglw3]

It’s a testimony to the work of one Derek Shelton who hired Grady Sizemore, Latroy Hawkins, etc and has reshaped the team approach to hitting and overall approach to the game of baseball in a positive way.

Be careful about run differential, it may look like better than 23-27 BUT the Twins had some big blowout games where they scored lots of runs which is misleadingly distorting run differential. The real story still includes too many hitters with low batting averages and lots of short ends of 2-1 and 3-2 games for lack of offense.

Moving out Wallner and Lewis was un-Twinslike but ever so correct and necessary in multiple ways. The Gomez signing is looking good and Morris inspiring more optimism for the pen.

Arcia contributing big hit in his first game looked good.

When it’s time to (not too long), I want to see Culpepper maybe Fedko and Hendry Mendez up and helping the offense. And after a brutal start, Gabrial Gonzalez has started to hit lots!

Improve the offense, and the bullpen, at least some and if Abel and Bradley come back strong, they could have one of the strongest starting rotations in Twins history 1-5.

To be 23-27 is a big testimony to the way Derek Shelton is reshaping this team. And I’ll include the sometimes maligned Jeremy Zoll, who has help point the ship in the right direction as well. With what Baseball America called "The most talented roster in all of minor league baseball", the Twins really do have a chance the year. Surprisingly!

[Jeff K]

I think the article does a good job pointing out that the Twins have some pieces in place to have a future.  With that in mind, I don't ever recall the AL being so bad.  Whether the Twins can eek into the playoffs, or not, this is not a team built to win in 2026.  I would not trade up and coming players for a shot at the playoffs this year.  I would continue to push to get the young players experience at the ML level.  The starting pitching has been truly excellent and their numbers are likely understated given the porous defense behind them.  They may well be able to build a competetent bullpen by converting some of our starters.  SWR, Royas, Matthews and Festa could make an interesting bullpen later this season and into 27...if we have a season.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Instead of trading assets and controllable talent in hopes of making a run, I'd be more excited about the Twins if they signed Jeffers and Ryan to an extension and started having discussions with Bradley about the same. Snowball's chance in hell but that's what I would like to see.

[LA Vikes Fan]

I recognize this is the height of optimism, but I tend to agree with Matthew. Let’s define “competitive“ as 85 wins, which would give us a chance to make the playoffs. The Twins are really only about four players away from that level. The starting rotation is plenty good enough to get us to 85 wins or even 90. The bullpen is getting better, but it’s basically two quality late inning relievers short. The lineup is three guys short, but hopefully we will getting one of them back when Jeffers is ready to play in six weeks. Keaschall could be another.
In short, one above average hittter and two bullpen options from the minors could make this team competitive. Yes, and pigs could fly. Told you I was an optimist. 

[1985Fan]

There are still players that should be moved off the team ala Wallner & Lewis. Keaschall could really benefit from time at AAA. He was promoted way too quickly to try to save last season and he has suffered from it. He needs to either learn to play 2B or the outfield, but learn to play competent defense somewhere! I’m sure his hitting will come around at some point and his base running has value. 
If Keaschall is demoted, either stick with Clemons or one of Gray, Kreidler, or Arcia at 2B. Let KC play a full season at AAA to let his development happen and he can mature. They need to learn from the premature promotions of Lewis, Wallner, and Keaschall (among others). Don’t keep repeating past mistakes. 
I’d like to see Fedko and Sabato get a shot. With Clemons playing 2B, that would free up time at 1B. Larnach is another guy that is going to force a decision soon. He’s lost any power he had and really doesn’t deserve FT playing role in LF. Maybe Fedko could get a shot in LF to see what he can do. They need some pop in the lineup with Jeffers down, let Fedko & Sabato try to fill the void. 

[Sampson5]

Don't really expect any hitting prospect to come up until after the deadline when I'm guessing larnach & bell are traded really no one else who's playing demotion bad left outside of maybe keashall but with his ops in the 600s can't see that happening although that can change with a bad week or 2 . I'm more interested to see what happens with the rotation when taj & mick return they should honestly keep rojas up in a reliever role but could see him and zebby both going down & just replace swr with prelip as the 5th starter 

[Nshore]

It's a shame because the Twins have lost multiple close winnable games.  If Lewis or Wallner had shown even the slightest bit of baseball competence the picture would look much better.

[friedbrycenbeans]

 

48 minutes ago, Greglw3 said:

To be 23-27 is a big testimony to the way Derek Shelton is reshaping this team. And I’ll include the sometimes maligned Jeremy Zoll, who has help point the ship in the right direction as well. With what Baseball America called "The most talented roster in all of minor league baseball", the Twins really do have a chance the year. Surprisingly!

I think Shelton is doing a fine job overall, but I don't think we really know anything about how he is "reshaping" this team. It's still incredibly early in his tenure and it's hard to draw much from a sample size this small. They are on pace to win 74 games, which is right where Vegas had them in the preseason. There are a ton of very talented teams underperforming now. The Twins are an undermanned team that is playing to their projections. Which is really all you can ask of a first-year manager. 

And to be clear, if the wheels fall off, that wouldn't be Shelton's fault either. 

I definitely agree you don't have to squint hard to see not just a competitive team, but a really good one potentially. It will take some players actually developing and a little more injury luck. But I think next year is the true start to a potential contention window in terms of the division. 

[D.C Twins]

[Richie the Rally Goat]

3 hours ago, Whitey333 said:

Contending team?  Mainly because they play in a terrible division.  They certainly are not serious contenders in the overall scheme of things.  I admit to this point they have played better than I thought.  It's fun watching them when they play decent baseball.  They have a long way to go to join the better teams

They play in a terrible league too. 3 days ago the West Sacramento As led the AL West with a below .500 record and still today Texas, the third Wildcard, is below .500. The Twins are absolutely contenders right now.
 

To be clear, my view is the state of the AL in 2026 should not entice Zoll to go all-in on 2026. They should not behave like contenders, they should continue to rebuild the bullpen and get younger in the field. This team is still very old.

what sucks about this trade deadline is the injuries could torpedo any value they could get to bolster the future. While the AL is a mess, the NL is a horse race with a ton of potential buyers of front line starting pitching and mashing catchers

[Farmer Stafford]

I will reject the negativity in this comment section. There is all sorts of reason to be optimistic at least a little, not the least bit because the fun of being competitive ought to inspire some childlike wonder in our cold, cold hearts. If you don't accept the possibility of being hurt by your team (as all fans should, even though we should all be familiar with said pain already and respect it) then you will only feel relief when greatness or victory arrives, not happiness and joy. The starting rotation is pulling through even as it falls apart. Buck has been hitting homers left and right and Bell is seemingly through a slump. Let's have some fun.

But I'm an eternal optimist.

[Woof Bronzer]

Making any move with an eye toward "contention" is just going to push back the inevitable rebuild longer.  This is an old, bad team that is going nowhere.  Play the kids, even if it means some of them struggle.  

[hitterscount]

They are in a conundrum, they had a really good rotation last year…. it’s good this year, possibly better even with the loss of Lopez, , certainly deeper. The construction of the everyday lineup still is questionable…. don’t need to go into the pieces they ran back to start the season and some lower end free agents. If they are serious about going for the division they will need to add a couple of BP arms and bring up your future players from the minors to help at SS and the OF. I would do that anyway, they should have a solid rotation for several years, get Cullpepper, Rodriquez, Jenkins the experience this year, yes there will be bumps and possibly some of them needing to be sent back, but I would be building for next season and if you stay in the hunt that’s a bonus. They have the hard part set in the rotation, bringing up some of the future might also push the attendance past 5,000 a game.