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The Twins stated their intention to contend in 2026, but they did so a bit late, and their offseason was troublingly quiet for a mediocre team aspiring to a big improvement. They’ve mostly added on the edges of the roster, rather than making notable upgrades. As a result, it looked as though there would be plenty of incumbents on the Opening Day roster. Early on, however, a few players appear to be in unexpectedly perilous positions.
The Twins spent much of the offseason with Funderburk as the only left-handed relief option on their roster. Then, they signed Taylor Rogers, traded for Anthony Banda, and inked Andrew Chafin to a minor-league deal. Their bullpen remains less inspiring than it was for the last several seasons, and is now also extremely left-handed.
Funderburk ended 2025 as one of the only relief pitchers to make the most of the opportunity they were afforded at the trade deadline. From Aug. 1 forward, he allowed two earned runs in 24 innings and struck out 28% of hitters. It appeared he was a lock to make the roster as one of the more intriguing options in a bullpen that was ripped apart. Instead, he may serve as Triple-A depth, as the Twins can only afford to carry so many left-handed relievers, and Funderburk is the only one with minor-league options remaining. Especially if Chafin makes the team, Funderburk may not make the Opening Day roster, even if it’s easy to argue he’s earned it.
The disjointed roster has left the Twins with some difficult decisions to make. Because of their lack of quality options to fill in at shortstop and center field, as well as their self-inflicted surplus of left-handed hitting outfielders, they may have to get creative in a way that results in Austin Martin being left off the roster. Eric Wagaman is splitting time between first base and the outfield, giving the team another option for a right-handed hitter to mix in. Martin suddenly has competition for a role that looked all but locked down.
Martin finished 2025 with a 113 wRC+ and appeared to make strides defensively in left field. He also offers some much-needed speed to the roster. Unfortunately, the versatility that he was once praised for has become purely theoretical. The Twins clearly don’t trust him in the infield, and things appear to be headed in that direction regarding his center field defense. The team may be stuck choosing to fill out their bench with a goal of covering as many positions as possible, rather than choosing the best player, and that would be bad news for Austin Martin.
Roden’s roster battle has less to do with whom the Twins brought in this winter and more to do with whom they didn’t part ways with. The decision by the front office to target Roden at the trade deadline made it seem like a given that they would non-tender Trevor Larnach, as they already had a logjam of left-handed-hitting corner outfielders and needed as much financial flexibility as possible this winter. Instead, they kept him and barring a last-minute trade to dump his salary, they appear to have no choice but to carry him on the roster. There's probably only one roster spot for Roden or James Outman, the latter of whom is without minor-league options and has more experience in center field.
To be fair, there isn’t much of an argument to make for Roden based on his offense at the big-league level. He hasn’t produced, although that's in an extremely small sample. He may be the best defensive option in the outfield outside of Byron Buxton, and has nothing to prove in Triple-A after posting an OPS of over .900 across parts of two seasons. It seemed that Roden became a part of the Twins’ future when they targeted him in the Louis Varland trade. If he doesn’t begin the season with the team as a 26-year-old, it will be difficult not to further question their decision-making at last year’s trade deadline.
There are plenty of roster battles going on this spring, but these are just a few of the more surprising ones. Are there any others that are particularly worth keeping an eye on? Let us know below!
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