A Look at the Twins 40-Man Roster Heading into a Key Offseason

[Nick Nelson]

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

The Twins finished the 2026 season with a full 40-man roster, but there's plenty of movement ahead as the front office works to reconfigure and revamp its collection of usable talent over the winter. As we start thinking about where the Twins might add or overhaul during the offseason, it's helpful to get a clear read on where they stand heading in.

Below, you can find a breakdown of the 40-man roster as it sits before things get moving. I've broken the 40 players down into three groups: locked in, on the bubble, and pending free agents. The latter four players will officially hit the open market the day after the World Series ends, opening up four spots immediately, although several of those spots will be filled by players needing to be activated from the 60-day injured list (Mick Abel, David Festa, Pablo López).

Locked In

1. B. Buxton, OF 
2. V. Caratini, C 
3. K. Clemens, 2B 
4. K. Culpepper, SS 
5. G. Gonzalez, OF
6. W. Jenkins, OF 
7. L. Keaschall, OF 
8. R. Kreidler, UTIL
9. B, Lee, 3B
10. A. Martin, OF
11. H. Mendez, OF
12. A. Roden, OF
13. E. Rodriguez, OF
14. T. Adams, RHP
15. T. Bradley, RHP
16. K. Funderburk, LHP 
17. Y. Gomez, RHP 
18. J. Hoffman, RHP
19. D. Kremer, RHP
20. Z. Matthews, RHP
21. A. Morris, RHP
22. C. Prielipp, LHP 
23. M. Raya, RHP
24. K. Rojas, LHP
25. J. Ryan, RHP

On the Bubble

1. T. Gray, IF
2. T. Larnach, OF
3. R. Lewis, 1B
4. B. Ross, UTIL
5. A. Sabato, 1B
6. M. Wallner, OF
7. G. Acton, RHP
8. J. Anderson, RHP
9. T. Nance, RHP 
10. B. Ober, RHP
11. E. Orze, RHP

Pending Free Agents

1. J. Bell, DH
2. R. Jeffers, C
3. A. Minter, LHP
4. T. Rogers, LHP

60-Day Injured List

1. M. Abel, RHP 
2. A. Banda, LHP 
3. D. Festa, RHP
4. P. Lopez, RHP
5. M. Paredes, RHP
6. C. Sands, RHP

Breaking Down the Bubble Candidates

I characterized 11 players who are currently on the 40-man roster, and three players on the 60-day IL, as "on the bubble." They are still under team control for 2027, but there's at least a reasonable chance the Twins will choose to move on via non-tender, DFA, or low-scale trade. There's a range for degree of likelihood here — they are almost certain to move on from Matt Wallner, and I can't imagine Aaron Sabato makes it past the first cut. Someone like Royce Lewis or Eric Orze, meanwhile, is more of a coin flip.

Either way, between the four pending free agents and those bubble candidates, that's 15 total spots that could be cleared up without a whole lot of pain. Again, we have to assume that three will be taken over by the returns of Abel, Festa and López — TBD on Anthony Banda, Mike Paredes and Cole Sands — but there is no shortage of available space for new additions.

Protecting Prospects from the Rule 5 Draft

Of course, another key consideration for 40-man roster planning is the need to protect eligible prospects from being plucked away in the Rule 5. Last year's batch included Kendry Rojas, Connor Prielipp, Andrew Morris, John Klein, Gabriel Gonzalez and Hendry Mendez. The first three went on to play fairly significant roles for the Twins staff in 2026.

This year, there are relatively few obvious names who would merit consideration for this purpose. That's not to say there aren't plenty of prospects capable of contributing to the team's future, but there's little urgency to add them now, especially since it means starting up a young player's three-options timeline. 

Among newly eligible players, Yasser Mercedes is the standout name. Cody Christie wrote about the tough decision the Twins face here, as Mercedes has plenty of intriguing tools but hasn't turned them into consistent performance in the low minors. think they'll lean toward protecting him, and there might be some other sleepers that aren't really on the radar (such as Klein a year ago), but I don't envision the Twins needing to set aside nearly as many roster spots for incoming prospects.

An Open Slate

Maybe it's not surprising for a team that won only 77 games, but the Twins are far from facing a 40-man roster crunch. They will have plenty of flexibility to add during the offseason, so it comes down to how ambitious the front office will be in shaking things up, and how aggressive ownership will be in providing resources to support meaningful upgrades.

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[stringer bell]

Even though he spent a majority of 2026 with the Twins, I can't see the Twins keeping Gray on their 40-man roster, especially since his last option was used this year. I'm also thinking Kreidler should be in the bubble group as his value is diminished by the use of his last option in '26 and his hitting declined dramatically in the second half of the year. I'd probably put Kremer in the bubble category, as well. He and Ober have similar age and projected arbitration numbers and there is a possibility that the Twins could keep Ober and let Kremer go.

 

[TJSweens]

Players like Gray and Kriedler are a dime a dozen. There is zero reason to keep them on the 40 man roster.

[stringer bell]

1 minute ago, TJSweens said:

Players like Gray and Kriedler are a dime a dozen. There is zero reason to keep them on the 40 man roster.

I'd say that there are many possible players like Gray--he's neither average as a hitter or fielder--but guys like Kreidler are a little tougher to find. Kreidler is a good defender in both the infield and the outfield and plays a capable shortstop. If the Twins let him go, I think he would get a contract with another team.

[Reptevia]

11 minutes ago, TJSweens said:

Players like Gray and Kriedler are a dime a dozen. There is zero reason to keep them on the 40 man roster.

I would say they same for Martin and Roden. 

[Whitey333]

For a team that has done very little the past many years the 40 man roster construction has let's of opportunities.  We have a lot of dead weight that can easily br removed.  Not that many tough decisions really.  Unless the team decides two roll out the same thing next season.  

[stringer bell]

Over the course of a season, so much changes every year. The Twins infield was set to start 2026--Bell/Caratini/Clemens at first, Keaschall, Lee, and Lewis and by midseason it was Lewis, Clemens, Kreidler/Gray and Lee with Culpepper coming on board in August. More changes will come and the key thing is to have players ready to fill the spots. I see a role for Roden, not so much for Martin and who really knows about bullpen arms.

They need to add at least one catcher, preferably a good defender who can slow down a running game. 

[nclahammer]

Royce Lewis is going to be a tough decision, I can't see the Minnesota Twins parting ways with him yet though.  If they do move on from Lewis, this would indeed be a new Minnesota Twins front office moving in a different direction.

[thelanges5]

Ross should stay in Kriedlers spot. Hope they can find another trade partner for Larnach. Banda won’t be ready until mid-season so I’d move on from him. Martin is on the bubble for me. 

[Vanimal46]

There’s plenty of room for Tom P to “meaningfully invest” in the team. 

[saviking]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

Even though he spent a majority of 2026 with the Twins, I can't see the Twins keeping Gray on their 40-man roster, especially since his last option was used this year. I'm also thinking Kreidler should be in the bubble group as his value is diminished by the use of his last option in '26 and his hitting declined dramatically in the second half of the year. I'd probably put Kremer in the bubble category, as well. He and Ober have similar age and projected arbitration numbers and there is a possibility that the Twins could keep Ober and let Kremer go.

 

I much prefer keeping Kremer over Ober ..

[Blyleven2011]

We need to strengthen the lineup and pitching …

yes with little pain a bunch of these players can be traded , non tendered and DFA’d  …

non tendering arbitration players with higher salaries projected I can see to being realistic if they are injury prone or just didn’t contribute in a meaningful way  …

will be interesting as it’s Zoll’s call this off season with not much advise from personnel because they have cleaned house in scouting and FO positions …

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, Reptevia said:

I would say they same for Martin and Roden. 

Martin and Roden have options. Kreidler and Gray do not. 

[DJL44]

50 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Banda won’t be ready until mid-season so I’d move on from him. 

Banda should be ready by spring training.

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

Even though he spent a majority of 2026 with the Twins, I can't see the Twins keeping Gray on their 40-man roster, especially since his last option was used this year. I'm also thinking Kreidler should be in the bubble group as his value is diminished by the use of his last option in '26 and his hitting declined dramatically in the second half of the year. I'd probably put Kremer in the bubble category, as well. He and Ober have similar age and projected arbitration numbers and there is a possibility that the Twins could keep Ober and let Kremer go.

 

My eye test says keep Kremer throw Ober overboard.