Gabriel Gonzalez’s Future with the Twins is Getting Complicated

[Sam Caulder]

Image courtesy of Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins saw several of their top prospects make their way to Target Field in 2026. One of those prospects (but the least-discussed, perhaps) is outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez. He ranks as the Twins’ No. 9 organizational prospect, after coming over from Seattle in 2024 as part of the Jorge Polanco trade. While he did make his big-league debut this year, the season as a whole wasn’t exactly what people were expecting from the young outfielder.

Gonzalez appeared in just seven major-league games, logging only 11 plate appearances. His Triple-A numbers are probably more relevant when evaluating his development, and they weren’t particularly inspiring. With the St. Paul Saints, Gonzalez slashed .255/.324/.421. When you compare those numbers to what he did a year ago, it becomes a little more concerning. Although it came in a much smaller sample, Gonzalez slashed .316/.358/.504 in 2025. He was hitting the ball harder, getting on base more often and generally looking like the offensive player the Twins hoped they were getting when they acquired him. This year, that wasn't so.

Interestingly, his overall batted-ball profile was nearly identical in 2026. The difference was that he simply wasn’t getting the same results, and his quality of contact didn’t take the step forward many were hoping to see. In fact, it trended in the wrong direction. It was a disappointing year for Gonzalez, considering where he stood in the organization entering the season. With guys like Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez getting more run than Gonzalez late in the season (along with Luke Keaschall beginning his transition to the outfield), things have gotten a little more complicated.

What, then, does Gonzalez’s future with the Twins look like? It’s possible he does still have one. But if he’s going to remain with the Twins long-term, it’s unlikely to come as a full-time outfielder. Along with Jenkins, Rodriguez and Keaschall, Byron Buxton is obviously still in the mix for outfield playing time. Trevor Larnach could also be back next year (although there’s no guarantee of that). Austin Martin remains under team control, as well.

Playing time in the outfield is going to be sparse, and it seems like the Twins are aware of that, too. Gonzalez made 44 starts at first base for the Saints this season, which could be an indication of where the organization sees his future. He doesn’t have typical first baseman size at just 5-foot-11. Nor does he have the typical power profile associated with the position. But with some uncertainty surrounding the Twins’ long-term outlook at first base, it’s entirely possible that Gonzalez could transition into more of a first baseman. He could also remain an option in the outfield against left-handed pitchers, giving the Twins some flexibility in how they use him.

The most likely scenario is that Gonzalez doesn’t fit into the Twins’ long-term plans. The biggest concern is that he hasn’t shown an ability to consistently make hard contact. His average exit velocity in St. Paul this year was just 86.2 MPH, while his hard-hit rate was 30.6%. Those numbers make it difficult to envision him becoming an everyday offensive contributor, particularly if the Twins are asking him to play first base. He doesn’t have the speed or defensive prowess to make up for that lack of offensive production in the outfield corners. If he’s not providing much impact with the bat, there aren’t enough other tools to make up for it. That leaves the Twins with an interesting decision to make.

If I’m Minnesota, I’d at least be seeing what I could get for Gonzalez on the trade market, either by himself or as part of a larger package. If there’s an opportunity to turn him into a bullpen arm or a catcher/first baseman who can help the team compete in 2027, that’s a move worth exploring. I was very much in on Gonzalez entering this season. I thought he was one of the safer young bats in the organization, and there was a legitimate reason to believe 2026 could be the year he started to establish himself as a future piece for the Twins. Instead, he took a step backward.

That doesn’t mean Gonzalez can’t turn things around. He’s still young, and there’s plenty of time for him to develop into the player the Twins originally envisioned. But the organization also has to consider where the roster is headed and whether Gonzalez is still the best use of a roster spot. He might be more useful as a trade chip.

At the end of the day, you have to do what’s best for the team. With the Twins trying to get back into contention in 2027, that might just mean getting what they can for Gonzalez before it’s too late.

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[offensive_loons_fan]

Trade chip, baby.

[PatPfund]

As a RH bat and potential 1B ability, he has value for an org that needs both. You bring him back unless you get real value for your #9 asset, and if you do, then make that deal. But you don't dump him just to make some deal.

[MackMan]

I think he still has some value in the OF especially as we know that Emma and Buck are just ticking glass cannons. Also to go with that, Emma being LH he is going to be spelled when we face Lefties as Shelton showed he was not comfortable with him hitting against lefties during the short time he spent on the Big Club. 

Now if we could develop or get some of that 2025 Gonzalez, I'd be more than happy trying him out at first base. I honestly don't care about power. Hitting homeruns doesn't win you games when you're down by 2 and you need baserunners. A solo shot can't score 2 runs to win. 

[Nashvilletwin]

Unless you think his play is going to deteriorate - which is less likely than his play improving - you keep him as short term 5th - 7th OF (along with Martin and Roden) while keeping his long term option value as a viable starting/4th OF or 1B.  Roden, btw, has a similar profile.

[Andy MacPhail]

GG was hyped up to the Twins & they bought into it. Twins continued that hype to the fanbase. GG is on the long list of Twins' favorites that haven't panned out. GG is slow, doesn't have a good glove, doesn't have good jumps & routes. He's a big liability in the OF. Maybe that's why he's playing more 1B where his only defensive talent (arm) doesn't come into play.

GG is a free swinger & pitchers especially MLBer, will quickly take advantage of it. Twins have had a knack of picking losers & sticking with them. GG has been on the MLB's top 100 prospects & currently on the Twin's top 10. GG is a loser, finally take advantage of his hype, & trade him for someone good who serves a purpose. Buxton is our only true RH hitting OFer, Martin should be at 2B & Keaschal at 1B, they are out there because of need. Twins have a big need for RH hitting OFers but GG isn't the answer. The situation is simple, you trade him. But Twins & some fans complicate it.

[DJL44]

I don’t think he has any trade value. Teams are not looking for a RH platoon DH for their AAA roster. Keep him in AAA for now and see if his bat improves at age 23. If he hits like he did in AA they might actually find someone interested in trading for him.

[Byrdman]

Stick him in AAA and see if he can play 1B.  If he does well and and continue to hit then we might have a new first baseman.  Other than that a corner outfielder that can come up when a injury happens.

[MapleGroveTwinsFan]

Is sure does NOT look good picking up Polanco's. 10.5 million now, especially will all the bad things being said about GG. 

[GNess]

Since here on TD there is awareness of Gonzalez's underlying metrics are cause for concern, but somehow other MLB teams aren't aware of this and will value him enough to trade for him? 

 

[Brandon]

I guess he moves to 1B and He may move to DH too.  With the defensive versatility to play 4 positions.  The Twins could find him somewhere to play.  (LF, RF, 1B, DH).  

[MeleMouth]

Gonzalez had xWOBA of .278 and .280 the last two years in St. Paul. He will not succeed the majors.

The Twins got the puu-puu platter from Seattle in exchange for Polanco. Trading Polanco was a fine decision, but they would have been better off getting one good player instead of four not-so-good players.

You can Gonzalez to the long list of former Top 100 prospects acquired by FalveZoll whose status was already declining when they were acquired, as if they thought their development system had some kind of magic cleanser that would remove all the tarnish that had become visible about the players.

The question is not about how Gonzalez could make the majors, but whether they ought to cut him from the 40-man.

[HerbieFan]

25 minutes ago, Byrdman said:

Stick him in AAA and see if he can play 1B.  If he does well and and continue to hit then we might have a new first baseman.  Other than that a corner outfielder that can come up when a injury happens.

Yep

[Danchat]

As one who advocated for trading Gonzalez in 2024 for major league help and also advocated for moving him in 2026 to ease the logjam and get something for him, I'm kinda puzzled as to what the plan is. From everything I've heard he's a bad fielder in the OF and won't last there in the majors, so they moved him to part time 1B. Unfortunately he followed up a superb 2025 season at AA with a pretty bad one offensively for a 1B in 2026. Would have liked to see him more in September in his second option year, but the logjam prevented him.

I just don't get the strategy of holding onto so many OF/borderline OF prospects and not moving one or two of them for something. I guess I can see why they'd hold onto the RH when so many of them are lefties, but that's another problem of their own making. I don't know if Gonzalez is going to hit well enough at 1B to stick and may wind up as an AAAA player. He'll be out of options in 2028...

[Cris E]

Well there are only a couple things that can happen here: he either gets better in 2027, he gets worse, he stalls like this or he gets hurt.  The trick is discerning which is most likely and acting accordingly. 

If he's going to get better you keep him. But in any other situation you're better off moving him while there's still some ambiguity about his future value. If it's completely obvious that he's got no value then I guess you could hold him until someone else has a spot to take a flyer on him. But I think the consistency of inputs the past two years against the variability in results says there's still room to improve. He's got value to a building team. The trick is finding something a building team wants to give up that we need. 

I suggest COL or TAM or new guys in LAA or else someone maybe, how to say this, less cognitive like KCR or CIN.  At any rate places where they need more talent from any source and aren't as picky as the elite franchises can afford to be.

[DJL44]

11 minutes ago, Danchat said:

As one who advocated for trading Gonzalez in 2024 for major league help and also advocated for moving him in 2026 to ease the logjam and get something for him, I'm kinda puzzled as to what the plan is. From everything I've heard he's a bad fielder in the OF and won't last there in the majors, so they moved him to part time 1B. Unfortunately he followed up a superb 2025 season at AA with a pretty bad one offensively for a 1B in 2026. Would have liked to see him more in September in his second option year, but the logjam prevented him.

I just don't get the strategy of holding onto so many OF/borderline OF prospects and not moving one or two of them for something. I guess I can see why they'd hold onto the RH when so many of them are lefties, but that's another problem of their own making. I don't know if Gonzalez is going to hit well enough at 1B to stick and may wind up as an AAAA player. He'll be out of options in 2028...

Whatever calculator they use internally for determining player value is overrating bat-first corner outfielders. 

[jmlease1]

I don't think Gonzalez's future with the Twins is all that complicated at all. He's still got a couple of option years left and if he shows he can hit in AAA in 2027 then he's going to get opportunities in MLB, whether it's corner OF, DH, or 1B because there will almost certainly be a need for his RH bat.

Maybe he makes it, maybe he doesn't, but he's actually reasonably well-positioned. He needs to take a step forward; he didn't have a particularly good season at the plate, but he's also only 22 and had barely played in AAA. This isn't a guy who is 26 or repeating AAA for the 3rd time. And I'm not concerned that he didn't immediately produce in his late-season cup of coffee, because that's really what it was: he didn't exactly get much playing time. (7 PA's in 5 games is nothing) He'll very likely start next season in AAA, unless he's destroying it in spring training (which would be great) and there's not exactly a 40-man crunch right now for the Twins.

GG's future with the Twins doesn't make my Top Ten list of off-season things to think about, let alone be concerned about,.

[gman]

I might think they could look at Henry Mendez at first base next year. At 6'3" he has the size and is not a particularly good fielder in the outfield. He has been a good hitter, without displaying a lot of power. Gonzalez was not a good hitter or fielder this year and he may have to fight Rosario and Kendle as right handed hitting outfielders next year.

[LastOnePicked]

58 minutes ago, Danchat said:

I'm kinda puzzled as to what the plan is.

The core of this franchise's problems summed up perfectly in one tuck-in sentence.

[MackMan]

1 minute ago, LastOnePicked said:

The core of this franchise's problems summed up perfectly in one tuck-in sentence.

Yeah. They haven't had a real direction in almost 15-16 years. I thought they were figuring it out come 2023 after our post-season series win. Then they decided to cut budget and hope that similar results were going to happen. Then a fire sale of our BP in 2025 really showed us they wanted to rebuild. Then 2026 came around and the AL was really weak and it made us look really good compared to a lot of teams. So I don't even know what to expect for 2027 other than expect the unexpected

[Jacksson]

The organization should have a "PLAN" for each and every player in the organization that lays out their advancement through the system along with the use of developmental and training tools necessary to accomplish the "PLAN".  Sometimes the players develop as planned, sometimes they don't.  It is important to the long term success of the organization to identify those players who are not working out early in their career and move on from them, making way for better prospects.  Given the number of LH hitting OF, the players without a defensive position, the positional "holes" that exist in the organization, this is an area in need of increased attention.