The 5 Players Bolted Down in the 2027 Minnesota Twins Lineup

[DJL44]

41 minutes ago, Coach said:

Buxton 2.0

I hope so. That would be an awesome outcome for Rodriguez. I’ve been hoping for Kepler 2.0 and that seems optimistic.

[Andy MacPhail]

Interesting Gregg. IMO, you're basically right. Emma ready or not will have to be on the team & playing or be traded. Jenkins will have to earn it, which he hasn't yet. Keaschal should be playing 1B, If Lewis is around, he'll be playing, should be at 2B, RF is Clemens's best position but need his LH bat at 1B/2B.

[DJL44]

7 minutes ago, Andy MacPhail said:

Interesting Gregg. IMO, you're basically right. Emma ready or not will have to be on the team & playing or be traded.

They could easily carry Rodriguez on the team and not play him. They did that with Outman and Keirsey.

[mnfireman]

5 minutes ago, Andy MacPhail said:

Interesting Gregg. IMO, you're basically right. Emma ready or not will have to be on the team & playing or be traded. Jenkins will have to earn it, which he hasn't yet. Keaschal should be playing 1B, If Lewis is around, he'll be playing, should be at 2B, RF is Clemens's best position but need his LH bat at 1B/2B.

I think Jenkins final 10 games earned him the right to break camp with the team whenever next season starts. I also think that even if he starts slow he gets at least the first month to show he belongs.

Clemens/Lewis or Clemens/Martin could make a good platoon UT role since they can cover basically the same positions. Or Martin and Rodriguez could make a good corner OF platoon since the team cannot send Rodriguez to AAA. Maybe only facing RHP next year could speed his MLB development, though doing that hindered Larnach and Wallner and other LH bats through the years.

[Kummel]

I would think there is a place for Clemens, eg, at 2nd base until Marek Houston comes up and Culpepper moves over (assuming all that works out and we are actually moving into a period where some of the young players stick).  

Catcher is a big hole if Jeffers moves on -- wish the Twins could somehow retain him next year, not likely I know.

Keaschall looked better in RF in Sept, I am in minority but I think he can improve there (not be such a liability in the field).

I assume they can manage to acquire a 1st baseman, a good hitter, and move on from Lewis.

 

[stringer bell]

6 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Clemens will be in the lineup every day

At least against right handers and perhaps against lefties as well. I've come around to respecting Clemens and appreciating what he's produced. He starts ahead of Lewis based on his last two seasons without question and if the Twins do bring in a guy (either first or second base) that moves Lewis to competing for a bench or platoon spot barring injury. 

While ERod may or may not be a regular starter at the beginning of 2027, I don't see the Twins tossing his potential down the drain. Their optimum outfield is the youngsters Jenkins and Rodriguez along with Buxton. Given injury histories and the nicce year that Luke Keaschall ended up having, I think there will be a lot of starts for others. 

[RpR]

52 minutes ago, Kummel said:

I would think there is a place for Clemens, eg, at 2nd base until Marek Houston comes up and Culpepper moves over (assuming all that works out and we are actually moving into a period where some of the young players stick).  

Catcher is a big hole if Jeffers moves on -- wish the Twins could somehow retain him next year, not likely I know.

Keaschall looked better in RF in Sept, I am in minority but I think he can improve there (not be such a liability in the field).

I assume they can manage to acquire a 1st baseman, a good hitter, and move on from Lewis.

 

Culpepper, Houston, Jenkins are still open books based on wishful thinking; Culpepper and Jenkin looked like promising rookies in their brief appearances.

Jeffers defense was the worst of his career, unless he starts hitting like Cruz, he is a deficit.

Keaschall is not bad when he can keep the ball in-front of him, but when he has to reach back, or over his head, he looks like some one with vertigo.

Lee should be back, he was good at Third Base; Lewis', talent so many gushed about, hitting, is his main failure. I have to say his glove work at First and Second was at least average.

Clemens and Kreidler will be back next year, one for late inning defense and one as a starter.

 

[Fatbat]

‘27 opening day roster is going to be a lot like the end of ‘26. There is a lot of youth and tons of ceilings not hit yet.  Might get one blockbuster trade that sends Lewis/ober or someone else out but the kids will stay and they will play.  Hopefully a front line pitcher shows up but not likely. 

[Brandon]

Clemens is clearly locked in to the lineup next season.  He has earned it. like Keaschall but for different reasons he gets placed at ?? position.  The Twins were 2nd in the league in scoring and they have improving players so its not like big changes need to be made.  Here are the major ?s for the offseason on our offense.

1.  Do we offer Jeffers a QO (Yes IMO) or do we sign him to a long term contract?  I am fine with either.  Since the Twins like to platoon C anyways they will probably platoon Lackey when he comes up anyways.  

2.  Do we retain Bell?  maybe.  He isn't a bad option for 8.75 million decision.  1.25 million is already guaranteed.  I would expect 20 HR and 70 - 80 RBI next season not 96 RBI.  

3.  Do we keep Lewis?  I am fine if we do and I am fine if we don't.  

Right now C and 1B are the major holes in the lineup.  We even have bench guys already Kreidler, Martin, Roden, and Alex Jackson.

The good news is we have options and money to spend.  OF has Buxton, Keaschall, Jenkins, Rodriguez, and Martin or Roden.  IF has Kreidler, Lee, Culpepper, Clemens, and ??? and C Jeffers / Cartini or Cartini / Jackson with one more player to roster. 

 

[Hunter4848]

18 hours ago, MeleMouth said:

Don't be so certain about the place in the lineup for Walker Jenkins. Like Mauer, Buxton, and Lewis before him, injuries seem to be a recurring problem. Further, his performance at the tail end of the year did not scream "put me in coach, I'm ready to play!" 

Maybe he'll end up being a giant bust like Mauer....

What a horrible outcome that would be...

[Hunter4848]

15 hours ago, Greggory Masterson said:

fwiw I expect Clemens to be a major factor next year, but I just have reasonable doubt that he's their first or second baseman on Opening Day

If Clemens is a major factor next year this is another 80 plus loss team.

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

There’s a lot of uncertainty about Twins baseball right now,

Ha! There is a lot of uncertainty about the whole sport of baseball in 2027.

[stringer bell]

58 minutes ago, Hunter4848 said:

If Clemens is a major factor next year this is another 80 plus loss team.

Clemens put with 2.7 WAR and 109 OPS+. Tampa won over 90 games and had exactly three position players with better numbers. Kody Clemens was a good major league player last year and if he can replicate his 2026 season in '27, he'll be a regular with the Twins. If the Twins can find three or four or even five better players than him (and play them full-time), they will have a good year. 

[Twins GFP]

17 hours ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

You are only thinking of past production, not future results. 
Clemens won’t play over Jenkins, as an example

If we are talking about secured positions in the lineup today, right now, I would rank the security of Clemens over Jenkins. If Jenkins has an absolutely miserable Spring Training, I can see him being starting the season in AAA.

Do I think that will happen? No.  Do I think Jenkins will be on the big team to start the year? Yes. But I would rank Clemens job security slightly higher than Jenkins to start the season. 

[Twins GFP]

16 hours ago, Greggory Masterson said:

fwiw I expect Clemens to be a major factor next year, but I just have reasonable doubt that he's their first or second baseman on Opening Day

Fair enough. What would it take to bump Clemens out of the lineup?
- No injuries starting the season
- Sign a FA 1B
- Sign a FA 2B

I can't see all of that happening. 

[JD-TWINS]

20 hours ago, miller761 said:

There are few 2B out there better than Clemens defensively or batting. He can even hit LHP. 

Kody has been versatile and his splits aren’t wildly different ……. .233 v. LH & .241 v. RH.

He’s on the Club! His 27HR’s can’t be dismissed! I don’t agree about the 2B defense… Team should be better there. I think he moves back & forth between 1B - 2B - Corner OF ………. really more of a guy that starts 75% of the time or more but he needs (Team’s responsibility) to hit down in the 6-7 spot in the line-up & not 3-4…….at least most of the time……..as you stated in part, his offense at 2B v. other guys in the game is high end, at least above average. Need better D there.

[JD-TWINS]

24 minutes ago, Twins GFP said:

If we are talking about secured positions in the lineup today, right now, I would rank the security of Clemens of Jenkins. If Jenkins has an absolutely miserable Spring Training, I can see him being starting the season in AAA.

Do I think that will happen? No.  Do I think Jenkins will be on the big team to start the year? Yes. But I would rank Clemens job security slightly higher than Jenkins to start the season. 

Unless he’s hurt - Jenkins is viewed as a Top 3 player on the Roster starting the season. Will he be healthy????

Clemens has certainly played his way on to the Roster over the past 1.6 years with the Twins! He’s definitely in the mix but more and more like Willi Castro roll v. everyday lock in line-up. …….. I’m 100% behind the Show Me school on earning a spot, so Jenkins isn’t a Star in my mind, yet, BUT, when healthy & with experience, his upside can’t be ignored …… they stuck with Lee - Clemens - Keaschall through early couple months of ‘26 with pretty poor performance from two of them with ups & downs with Clemens. Jenkins has enough obvious ability that he’s a lock on the Roster with a probable everyday spot in RF for the season…….regardless of Spring Training numbers.

[Andy MacPhail]

16 hours ago, DJL44 said:

They could easily carry Rodriguez on the team and not play him. They did that with Outman and Keirsey.

When Falvey was around, Outman had a lot of playing time. Because he had invested in him, They had very little invested in Keirsey, they didn't care. Twins have invested in Emma, since they can't send him down, they have to keep him up & give him every opportunity to succeed. That's my take.

[Hunter4848]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

Clemens put with 2.7 WAR and 109 OPS+. Tampa won over 90 games and had exactly three position players with better numbers. Kody Clemens was a good major league player last year and if he can replicate his 2026 season in '27, he'll be a regular with the Twins. If the Twins can find three or four or even five better players than him (and play them full-time), they will have a good year. 

He'll never repeat the success of this season...

[Andy MacPhail]

16 hours ago, mnfireman said:

I think Jenkins final 10 games earned him the right to break camp with the team whenever next season starts. I also think that even if he starts slow he gets at least the first month to show he belongs.

Clemens/Lewis or Clemens/Martin could make a good platoon UT role since they can cover basically the same positions. Or Martin and Rodriguez could make a good corner OF platoon since the team cannot send Rodriguez to AAA. Maybe only facing RHP next year could speed his MLB development, though doing that hindered Larnach and Wallner and other LH bats through the years.

I agree that Jenkins has had a pretty good last 10 games. If Jenkins had no competition, then yeah, it'd be good enough to write Jenkins in. But Jenkins does have competition & if his competition does great in spring training & Jenkins flops; the thought tendency is that Jenkins is young & he could use more development. I like Jenkins & IMO, he has a leg up, but I wouldn't say he has it nailed down. But I respect your opinion.

[saviking]

21 hours ago, miller761 said:

There are few 2B out there better than Clemens defensively or batting. He can even hit LHP. 

Clemens will most assuredly be back. 

[Ricky Vaughn]

I can see a scenario where Emma starts the year with the Twins in LF and Jenkins is in St Paul due to a roster crunch, because Emma needs to play or be lost. I don't think Jenkins will be in St Paul long. He'll be back up just as soon as they figure out who stays and who goes.

[MeleMouth]

4 hours ago, Hunter4848 said:

Maybe he'll end up being a giant bust like Mauer....

What a horrible outcome that would be...

Thanks for responding, but holy overreaction, Batman!

The issue isn't what caliber of player Jenkins could be, but whether he is locked into ("bolted down") the starting lineup for 2027.

He just had surgery and isn't certain to be ready at the start of the year. Recovering from surgery could impact his throwing, if not his hitting, for a while. His performance improved at the end of the year, but overall he struggled. People are thinking that he might be benched against left-handed starters if he makes the team. 

All of those are reasons why he might not be in the starting lineup to begin the year. Perhaps the most important long-term is the idea of benching him, aka "protecting him," against lefties. This is a mistake the Twins make over and over. If Jenkins is going to become a star, he needs to hit against lefties. If the choice is between keeping him in the majors and "protecting" him from lefties, or going to AAA and batting against everyone, he definitely should go to AAA. If his elbow isn't pristine, all the more reason he should start at AAA. Maybe it would be different if he came up and raked this fall, but. . . his hitting was much more like a Luis Arraez with worse strike zone control.

Everyone is excited about Jenkins, but that doesn't mean he should be "bolted down" into the lineup before seeing how he does in spring training, if he is even healthy enough to participate in spring training.

[MeleMouth]

22 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I think Rodriguez is going to spend a lot of time on the bench. His bat is going to need more time to develop.

How will his bat develop if he's not playing regularly?

This isn't going to be a great team, with limited opportunities for rookies. Unless Pohlad goes crazy and buys a lot of talent, the Twins are going to sink or swim with their young core. More at-bats for Bells, Martins, Larnachs, etc. will not create a winning team, but will lower the ceilings for the young players sitting on the bench. Playing dollar store free agents has been a trend for the Twins for many years, as has been losing. ERod can't be sent down, so he should play every day.

Of course, with the injury histories of ERod, Jenkins, and Buxton, the Twins will be lucky to get a combined two full seasons out of the trio.

[nicksaviking]

Both Lee and Clemens were excellent surprises this year, but I don't think I pencil both into the starting lineup, and might look to move one of them. Both really struggle getting on base and I think an underdiscussed cause of inconsistent team hitting, is rostering too many of these kinds of players. Month to month and especially year to year, these types of players are unpredictable because they can't balance out a cold hitting streak with drawing enough walks to make them useful.

Keeping Lee is preferable to me as he's younger and is more likely to improve. And I'd be good keeping both  if they both weren't everyday starters.

[DJL44]

20 minutes ago, MeleMouth said:

How will his bat develop if he's not playing regularly?

Slowly, which is better than having him put up 2026 Wallner numbers.

[LA Vikes Fan]

3 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Clemens put with 2.7 WAR and 109 OPS+. Tampa won over 90 games and had exactly three position players with better numbers. Kody Clemens was a good major league player last year and if he can replicate his 2026 season in '27, he'll be a regular with the Twins. If the Twins can find three or four or even five better players than him (and play them full-time), they will have a good year. 

Agreed. Clemens starts on the Twins in 2027. The only question is whether it's a 1B, where he is an above average fielder by the metrics, or 2B, where he is a below average fielder. I would put him at 1B and get a starting 2B in a trade or sign one in FA. Houston may be great, but I think he's at least another year away from even being called up unless there's an injury.  He has a good year at AAA, he gets a September a call up and is a 2028 guy. Average or bad year, he may be a 2029 guy.    

[Linus]

3 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Both Lee and Clemens were excellent surprises this year, but I don't think I pencile both into the starting lineup, and might look to move one of them. Both really struggle getting on base and I think an underdiscussed cause of inconsistent team hitting, is rostering too many of these kinds of players. Month to month and especially year to year, these types of players are unpredictable because they can't balance out a cold hitting streak with drawing enough walks to make them useful.

Keeping Lee is preferable to me as he's younger and is more likely to improve. And I'd be good keeping both  if they both weren't everyday starters.

I think this is an under discussed topic. The power is definitely a plus but really low OBP is a killer. We’ve got a few of these types and it’s probably a factor in the feast or famine nature of our lineup. 

[Hunter4848]

10 minutes ago, MeleMouth said:

Mauer missed most of his first year with an injury, and Buxton and Lewis missed a lot of time with injuries. Fans of the Minnesota Twins should know these histories and have them "bolted into" their DNA. Saying another oft-injured player who is potentially a future star, but is coming off surgery and being talked about as not being ready to hit left-handed pitchers, should be "bolted into" the starting lineup six months from now is a clear example of the triumph of hope over experience.

Yes it would be horrible if he ended up like Mauer...

[MeleMouth]

1 minute ago, Hunter4848 said:

Yes it would be horrible if he ended up like Mauer...

You either can't or don't want to understand my point. It would be great if he ended up like Mauer, but that doesn't mean his name should be in ink for the 2027 opening day line-up.