3 Positions That Will Telegraph Minnesota Twins' Intentions in 2026

The Twins front office has expressed a desire to add to the current roster, but their ability to do so is likely to be limited by the impending partial sale of the team. Even when this is resolved, we've learned that getting a straight answer on anything from this regime is not going to happen. Regarding the team’s intentions to contend in 2026, fans will have to draw their own conclusions based on how the offseason goes. There are several spots on the roster to watch to gauge whether the Twins are trying to contend in 2026, but three stand out.

First Base
The Twins have been shuffling first basemen for the last few years, opting to fill the spot with cheap veterans who have had varying degrees of success. In 2025, it was one of the team’s weaker positions. Opening Day starter Ty France eventually lost his job to career journeyman Kody Clemens, who had some nice moments but wasn’t the kind of player a contending team wants to have in the lineup every day.

First base is at the bottom of the defensive spectrum. Having a good defensive first baseman is nice, but offensive production is an absolute must. The 29-year-old Clemens is the incumbent, coming off a .715 OPS, which was below league average overall and well below average among first basemen. The Twins also have no legitimate prospects on their way to take the position over midseason. 

It’ll be worth watching whether they see value in upgrading the position, either in free agency or via trade. The team is in desperate need of a boost offensively, and adding a first baseman with more upside is one of the most cost-effective upgrades they can make. If they roll with what they have headed into 2026, it’s worth questioning how serious they are.

The Bullpen
The once-elite Twins bullpen is now one of the worst in baseball, following a shocking sell-off at the trade deadline. Falvey and company downplayed the effect of these moves, explaining that they had built the previous bullpen internally. While that's true, he failed to mention that assembling the previous group took years of trial and error. Pretending that the current group (along with a few waiver claims and minor-league signings) will be competitive in 2026 is unrealistic.

This regime has shown that they don’t value relievers highly enough to spend much on them in free agency. They’ve rarely invested in them, and it’s gone quite poorly on the rare occasions when they have. Unfortunately, they’ve left themselves no choice but to do it this winter, if they’re serious about competing in 2026. The Twins could have a top-five rotation in 2026, yet they may miss the playoffs with their current bullpen. They need to hit on two or three legitimate arms to turn to at the back end of games, or the rest of the roster won’t matter. If they choose to stand pat, they likely aren’t especially worried about winning games in 2026.

López and Ryan
The most obvious tell for the Twins' intentions in 2026 will be what they do with Joe Ryan and Pablo López. Derek Falvey has expressed his desire to keep both players, but payroll may leave him no choice but to sell them off for parts. Regardless of what they bring back, trading one or both of them would be waving the white flag. 

The rotation is the lone bright spot of the Twins' roster. We can dream of a world where Taj Bradley, Mick Abel and others take a big step and fill the void left by trading away high-end starters, but that would be refusing to admit what’s right in front of us. López and Ryan each have multiple years of team control at prices below their market value. Teams looking to compete don’t trade these types of players when they’re in the situation the Twins are in. They do it to lower their payroll and try to sell the cheaper prospects they get in return, as a reason for the fanbase to have hope. 

If either López or Ryan is traded, the Twins are telling us 2026 doesn’t matter. The path to competing without one of these two at the front of the rotation becomes far too narrow. The team would be left with question marks across all departments, and it’s been years since this front office has given confidence that they can find answers.

Local writers will undoubtedly continue to push for answers regarding the Twins' intentions for 2026, but there’s very little chance they will get them at any point this offseason. Actions speak louder than words, anyway, and watching their moves this offseason will give us all the answers we need. Will the Twins make a legitimate effort to improve in 2026, or will their stated goals of adding to the roster be undermined by the actions they take?