The 7 Biggest Decisions for the Twins’ Offseason: Alan Roden’s Evaporating Role

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

When the Twins traded Louis Varland to the Toronto Blue Jays at the 2025 trade deadline, the biggest piece coming back to Minnesota was Kendry Rojas. However, Alan Roden was an important part of the return, as well. Roden was viewed as a big-league-ready player who could improve the Twins' lineup immediately. That made him an intriguing addition to the trade, especially for a team looking for ways to bolster its offense without sacrificing too much of its future.

Alas, Roden's role has become increasingly difficult to identify. He's continued to perform well in the minor leagues. He has shown flashes of that same production in Minnesota. He also has enough defensive versatility to find a role somewhere on the roster, if his bat can keep up as his playing time increases. However, the Twins have a crowded group of young position players competing for playing time, and Roden's path to regular at-bats appears to be disappearing. That creates one of the more interesting roster decisions of the offseason.

The Pros of Keeping Alan Roden

The biggest argument for keeping Roden is pretty simple: He can hit. Roden has consistently produced at Triple-A over the last couple of seasons (133 wRC+ in 2026, 122 wRC+ in 2025), giving the Twins plenty of evidence that his offensive production isn't simply the product of a small sample size. He also performed well during his limited opportunities with Minnesota this season. In 32 games, he posted a 120 wRC+. Roden didn't receive enough playing time to establish himself as an everyday player, but he showed why the Twins were interested in acquiring him in the first place.

The Twins don't have to wonder whether Roden can handle Triple-A pitching. He's already answered that question. The more difficult one is whether Minnesota can give him enough major-league playing time to determine whether his offensive production translates over a larger sample.

Roden has experience playing all three outfield positions, although the Twins haven't appeared particularly comfortable using him in center field. That limits his versatility to some degree, but it doesn't eliminate it entirely. First base could also become an option. Roden hasn't regularly played first base since college, so moving him there would represent something of an experiment. Still, the Twins could view first base as another way to get his bat into the lineup, if they don't believe he can be trusted as an everyday outfielder—or just don't want to put him there at the expense of higher-profile prospects.

There's value in having a player who can move around the diamond while providing quality at-bats. Roden gives the Twins another left-handed option who has already demonstrated an ability to produce at Triple-A. If injuries strike or another young player struggles, having Roden available could prevent Minnesota from needing to make a more significant roster move.

The Cons of Keeping Alan Roden

Because Roden was a collegiate draft pick in 2022, he will already be 27 years old next season. That doesn't make him old, by any means, but it does change the calculus surrounding his development. The Twins can't treat Roden like a 22-year-old prospect who needs another year or two to figure things out. He needs to play.

That creates an awkward situation. Roden still has a minor league option remaining. The Twins could theoretically send him back to Triple-A and keep him as organizational depth. But what, exactly, would Roden be proving there? He's already performed well at that level. Sending a 27-year-old back to Triple-A after he has demonstrated that he can handle the competition would feel like treading water, rather than developing a player.

The larger issue is opportunity. Minnesota has several younger players who need playing time, including players the organization may view as having a higher long-term ceiling, including Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, and Luke Keaschall. If Roden isn't going to receive consistent at-bats, keeping him on the 26-man roster could mean taking a roster spot away from someone who needs to play. They shouldn't do that, so if they do keep him, they have to be willing to stash him in the minors most of the time—understanding, all the while, that that's not the best thing for the player.

What Would the Timeline Look Like?

The Twins won't have to make just one decision on Roden. They have several options available. Roden isn't arbitration-eligible until 2029, so it seems unlikely they'll simply cut him loose. He's minimum-salaried for multiple seasons, and he still comes with roster flexibility. 

They could, however, trade him. Roden's age, Triple-A track record and remaining minor-league option could make him an interesting target for another organization looking for a potential major-league contributor without giving up a premium prospect.

Minnesota could keep him on the roster and give him an opportunity to compete for a larger role in spring training. That would allow the organization to see whether he can force his way into the lineup. If Roden is going to be part of the 2027 Twins, Minnesota needs to find a way to give him opportunities. Maybe that means more time in the outfield. Maybe it means experimenting with him at first base. Maybe it means finding another roster fit.

What doesn't make much sense is simply sending a productive 27-year-old back to Triple-A because the Twins don't know what else to do with him. The organization acquired Roden because it believed he was ready for the majors. Now, the Twins have to decide whether they still believe that.

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What will the Twins decide with Roden? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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[Coach]

Roden reminds me of a Larnach 2.0.  Hits with limited power or speed. With our new generation of wheels coming up, Roden will just be another base clogger.  

[Danchat]

Play him or trade him... no point in keeping him at AAA. Did we not trade for Roden so he could help the major league team?

[Cris E]

The Cons arguments are muddled.  Roden is old so he has to play, but if he's here he won't play because we have youngsters that have to play because they're young.  Does everyone have to play? What about the guys that have plateaued and can be planted on a bench until needed. I think that's Roden, among others. 

For example Austin Martin is a guy that can be counted on to be a meh glove, probably hit lefties without power and maybe steal a base, and he can eat seeds and hang out just about as good as a relief pitcher or backup catcher.  Roden is better than him, except he's another leftie bat. But somehow his numbers against LH pitching were way higher than against RH in 2026. SSS of course, but it was true in SSS in 2025 as well. Truth be told Roden is only so good a hitter and he's had some great luck against same side pitching recently, while Martin is bad against RH and pretty much only an OBP guy against LH. I let Roden show me something at 1B or list him as the fifth OF behind BB, WJ, ER and LK.  

[GNess]

Roden doesn't appear to be better than the 4 outfielders that are ahead of him. Buxton, Jenkins, Keaschall and Rodriguez. (Perhaps Gonzalez and Martin as well?.)

This leaves him in a tough spot for playing time/ AB's to. prove he should be higher in the Twins OF pecking order.  Spring training success would certainly help his cause.

But a surplus of players is not a bad thing for the Twins - they don't have too many positional surpluses so to speak on the roster as things stand.

How might the Twins benefit? Trade or insurance policy/depth or Roden elevates his game to the point he has earned more AB's.

[Cris E]

17 minutes ago, Coach said:

Roden reminds me of a Larnach 2.0.  Hits with limited power or speed. With our new generation of wheels coming up, Roden will just be another base clogger.  

He's not a bad fielder though, and he's not really slow.

But the real problem with this argument is that guys on base are valuable at any speed, especially when a team is as adverse to risk as the Twins and never steal anyway. I'll tell you what, you take a speedster like Martin (and his .655 OPS) and I'll take a problem runner like Larnach (and his .788 OPS) and we'll see which one spends more time crossing home plate, or "blocking" the track stars. For the record, the 2026 Twins had the rapid Keaschall score the most runs (86) and the fast Buxton in fifth with 64 runs, but your other top five were Bell (78), Clemens (74) and Lee (72), none of whom are fast enough to be backed up behind Roden or even Larnach.  This base clogging image is from 1962 when Maury Wills couldn't get past Ron Fairly or Frank Howard. C'mon, watch some modern baseball, it's pretty fun.

[Althebum82]

What a mess that 2025 trading deadline bloodbath created.  At the time I complained about the apparent no-value additions of Outman and Roden, because bringing them in created more confusion in the outfield plans in addition to the anticipated bullpen woes that dragged through to this year's deadline.

So, maybe my whining was only partially right, Roden has shown that he can belong.  We still have an outfield mess even with Outman, Fedko, and (from 2025) McCusker taken out of the picture.  

If Roden gets moved to 1B, then let's make the clean break to move on from Royce Lewis and let some other team put up with his pattern of underachievement.

Also, I don't expect Roden to be traded.  

[Coach]

11 minutes ago, Cris E said:

He's not a bad fielder though, and he's not really slow.

But the real problem with this argument is that guys on base are valuable at any speed, especially when a team is as adverse to risk as the Twins and never steal anyway. I'll tell you what, you take a speedster like Martin (and his .655 OPS) and I'll take a problem runner like Larnach (and his .788 OPS) and we'll see which one spends more time crossing home plate, or "blocking" the track stars. For the record, the 2026 Twins had the rapid Keaschall score the most runs (86) and the fast Buxton in fifth with 64 runs, but your other top five were Bell (78), Clemens (74) and Lee (72), none of whom are fast enough to be backed up behind Roden or even Larnach.  This base clogging image is from 1962 when Maury Wills couldn't get past Ron Fairly or Frank Howard. C'mon, watch some modern baseball, it's pretty fun.

Martin, Larnach, and Roden are all sub-par for a winning team.  Not even good off the bench, we have better now.

[Cory Engelhardt]

There is literally no con to Alan Roden. They certainly found space for Larnach, and Roden is a better defender than Larnach was.

I don't know that he will play 162 games next year and get over 600 at bats, but he'll have a role somewhere. 1B and OF. Frankly, all of Buxton and Jenkins and Rodriguez have had injuries in their history, so assuming they are all healthy and able to play the field for 150+ games is also most likely naive.

At worst he is our 4th outfielder and 1B. That probably means he'll get 450 at bats next year. And based on both his AAA numbers and his savant page, I'm actually pretty interested to see how that plays out.

[LA Vikes Fan]

Roden has one advantage over his competition (Jenkins and EmRod) - he's actually hit MLB pitching at an acceptable level for an everyday player. Roden hit .291/.376/.392(.768) in 91 PAs last year with an equal 12.8% BB and SO rate. That is significantly better than either of the other two guys. Now, I think Jenkins in particular has a much higher ceiling. Not so sure about Rodriguez. EmRod may wind up striking out 30%+ of the time at the MLB level without the walk rate or power to justify that kind of a lineup drag.

I don't see any reason to move on from Roden or send him to AAA. I think you give Roden a 1B mitt, have him work on that during the off-season to improve his versatility, and bring him to Spring Training with a direct opportunity to win a starting job in a corner outfield position or at 1B. He may not be a player who can consistently have an OBP above .370 and a OPS above .750 with a low strikeout rate like he was last year in a limited sample size. But he might be. That is a really valuable player, especially since he's not a defense liability and he can run some. I would not be adverse to putting him in ta trade package to get quality player but I don't see any reason to just to trade him for another prospect. Don't trade away guys who show they could be assets just because you think another guy might be a good player in the future but hasn't shown that yet. Let's keep him around and give him a chance.

[LA Vikes Fan]

Just now, Cory Engelhardt said:

There is literally no con to Alan Roden. They certainly found space for Larnach, and Roden is a better defender than Larnach was.

I don't know that he will play 162 games next year and get over 600 at bats, but he'll have a role somewhere. 1B and OF. Frankly, all of Buxton and Jenkins and Rodriguez have had injuries in their history, so assuming they are all healthy and able to play the field for 150+ games is also most likely naive.

At worst he is our 4th outfielder and 1B. That probably means he'll get 450 at bats next year. And based on both his AAA numbers and his savant page, I'm actually pretty interested to see how that plays out.

Well said. Let's not discount Roden just because there are other shiny objects out there that we think might be better. You know what? They might not be better.

[Coach]

2 minutes ago, Althebum82 said:

What a mess that 2025 trading deadline bloodbath created.  At the time I complained about the apparent no-value additions of Outman and Roden, because adding them created more confusion in the outfield plans in addition to the anticipated bullpen woes that dragged through to this year's deadline.

So, maybe my whining was only partially right, Roden has shown that he can belong.  We still have an outfield mess even with Outman, Fedko, and (from 2025) McCusker taken out of the picture.  

If Roden gets moved to 1B, then let's make the clean break to move on from Royce Lewis and let some other team put up with his pattern of underachievement.

Also, I don't expect Roden to be traded.  

Besides losing Duran and Varland, both first MLB Award relievers, that was the beginning of the end for this year.  The other trades are working out slowly but surely.

[Linus]

I don’t see a problem. There is a half a chance that EmRod really struggles. He is the very definition of boom or bust. If it’s bust Roden is a nice backup plan. To a lesser degree you can say the same thing about Jenkins - he might have to go back to AAA for a minute. Or Buck isn’t healthy- there are all kinds of scenarios where Roden is needed. 

[Coach]

Allen Roden is a jack of all trades, and a master of none.

[Coach]

3 minutes ago, Linus said:

I don’t see a problem. There is a half a chance that EmRod really struggles. He is the very definition of boom or bust. If it’s bust Roden is a nice backup plan. To a lesser degree you can say the same thing about Jenkins - he might have to go back to AAA for a minute. Or Buck isn’t healthy- there are all kinds of scenarios where Roden is needed. 

It's not necessarily boom or bust.  We have others in the wings.  Kendle for example.

[rdehring]

In know Roden played first base at Creighton.  My question is:  how much?  Was he competent there?  Or filling in a few games?  

What I am fairly certain of is Roden belongs in major league baseball.  If the Twins don't have a spot, they should be able to include him in a package that brings back something of need.

Roden is an upper mid-west guy.  Wondering, could he be similar to another of those guys who plays first base for the Cubs?  That worked out nicely for the Cubbies, didn't it?

[Linus]

1 minute ago, Coach said:

It's not necessarily boom or bust.  We have others in the wings.  Kendle for example.

Not exactly sure what you are trying to say but I doubt Kendle, who is 25 and in AA is a solution to the problems Roden solves. 

[weitz41]

I think they need to keep him around and on the active roster. It they start the OF we're all expecting, there will be 90 games with at least one outfielder on the IL. The 1B idea makes sense until Houston is the starting SS and Clemens gets shifted there. But you cross that bridge when you get to it.

[Jim H]

32 minutes ago, Cris E said:

He's not a bad fielder though, and he's not really slow.

But the real problem with this argument is that guys on base are valuable at any speed, especially when a team is as adverse to risk as the Twins and never steal anyway. I'll tell you what, you take a speedster like Martin (and his .655 OPS) and I'll take a problem runner like Larnach (and his .788 OPS) and we'll see which one spends more time crossing home plate, or "blocking" the track stars. For the record, the 2026 Twins had the rapid Keaschall score the most runs (86) and the fast Buxton in fifth with 64 runs, but your other top five were Bell (78), Clemens (74) and Lee (72), none of whom are fast enough to be backed up behind Roden or even Larnach.  This base clogging image is from 1962 when Maury Wills couldn't get past Ron Fairly or Frank Howard. C'mon, watch some modern baseball, it's pretty fun.

Ok, the top 4 guys in plate appearances also were the top 4 players in runs scored. This shows what, exactly? On top of that, Bell and Clemens spent most of the year batting 3rd and 4th. I am not sure their runs scored is all that impressive in that context.  I wonder how many runs Roden scores if he bats 3rd all year?  The problem is he got almost no run at the major league level, so we can even make a good guess.

The real question for me was why he traded for? He was sandwiched between veteran left handed hitting outfielders Wallner, Larnarch, and Outman, and higher ceiling outfielders nearly ready in the minors. Now, a year later, we still don't know if Roden has a future with the Twins.

 

[DataNerd]

Does anyone feel confident in Buxton/Jenkins/ERod's ability to stay healthy?  We need to be prepared for the scenario for an OF next year with none of those guys, and Roden easily works there.

[Nashvilletwin]

2 hours ago, Althebum82 said:

What a mess that 2025 trading deadline bloodbath created.  At the time I complained about the apparent no-value additions of Outman and Roden, because bringing them in created more confusion in the outfield plans in addition to the anticipated bullpen woes that dragged through to this year's deadline.

So, maybe my whining was only partially right, Roden has shown that he can belong.  We still have an outfield mess even with Outman, Fedko, and (from 2025) McCusker taken out of the picture.  

If Roden gets moved to 1B, then let's make the clean break to move on from Royce Lewis and let some other team put up with his pattern of underachievement.

Also, I don't expect Roden to be traded.  

Yep, the best deal they has on the table at the ‘25 deadline was the one they didn’t do.   Delusional morons might be a little harsh, but it’s not to far off.

[Nashvilletwin]

Roden comes to camp and competes for outfielder #5-7 with Martin and Gonzalez.  He also should compete with Lewis and Sabato at 1B.  See how things go and take it from there.  He either stays up in one or two roles and gets enough ABs or he’s traded.  Fairly straightforward.  But no reason to make a decision now.

What to do with Roden is hardly one of the top questions facing the Twins in the off-season.  

[Coach]

1 hour ago, Althebum82 said:

What a mess that 2025 trading deadline bloodbath created.  At the time I complained about the apparent no-value additions of Outman and Roden, because bringing them in created more confusion in the outfield plans in addition to the anticipated bullpen woes that dragged through to this year's deadline.

So, maybe my whining was only partially right, Roden has shown that he can belong.  We still have an outfield mess even with Outman, Fedko, and (from 2025) McCusker taken out of the picture.  

If Roden gets moved to 1B, then let's make the clean break to move on from Royce Lewis and let some other team put up with his pattern of underachievement.

Also, I don't expect Roden to be traded.  

Scrape him off.

[MackMan]

He's still young (lack of solid MLB playtime) when it comes down to it. The underlying metrics seem to favor him very well. Now I'm not a metrics are the end all, be all to die on a hill for. But his metrics seem to suggest he's better than average in most offensive categories. He may never be a huge power hitter, but he seems have a decent line drive style swing as he's below average on being underneath the ball. 

With that he also tend to get on top of the ball so groundout are a very real thing as well. To pair with that he doesn't have the fastest bat speed, which will cause the Exit velo to be low as well. If he can be a decent singles with some doubles scattered in there, I would take that at first base instead of Lewis. 

[Andy MacPhail]

2 hours ago, Coach said:

Roden reminds me of a Larnach 2.0.  Hits with limited power or speed. With our new generation of wheels coming up, Roden will just be another base clogger.  

Thanks Coach to bring this to our attention. It's really important to see through the hype especially with players obtained via trade. Rodon's hype is that he's a CFer, he's not, he's slow. Rodon was the headliner of the trade he was TOR's #5 prospect & Rojas #10. We got Outman & Rodon, did we really need another Larnach? We still have LH hitting OFers Jenkins, Rodriquez, Larnach, Wallner, Rodon. RF is Clemens best position & Mendez knocking on the door. We can trade Rodon & half of those players & still be sitting pretty. Rodon should be playing in the MLB. MN can't afford to do that. We have enough 1B candidates where we don't have to fit his questionable bat into the lineup.

[TheLeviathan]

2 hours ago, Linus said:

I don’t see a problem. There is a half a chance that EmRod really struggles. He is the very definition of boom or bust. If it’s bust Roden is a nice backup plan. To a lesser degree you can say the same thing about Jenkins - he might have to go back to AAA for a minute. Or Buck isn’t healthy- there are all kinds of scenarios where Roden is needed. 

Erod's health has hardly been stable either.

To me, he's the guy you replace on the 26 man roster when you dump Larnach.  He can be your 1B/LF/RF guy against RHP and you let him see what he can do.