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Alan Roden has had a Twins career that has been very unfair to Alan Roden, starting the moment many Twins fans learned that he existed. Twins historians may recall the 2025 trade deadline, during which the Twins made nine trades, the last of which sent then-setup man Louis Varland to Toronto. Roden was the second piece of the return for Varland (and Ty France), arriving in Minnesota alongside lefty pitching prospect Kendry Rojas.
Fans were predisposed to dislike Roden for having the temerity to have been traded for a hometown kid, but he didn’t help himself much on the field. In 12 games, he mustered just a .463 OPS, then he sprained his thumb sliding into the wall chasing a foul ball. He missed the rest of that season.
And Roden wasn’t in a position to struggle. At the time of his acquisition, he was just one of many left-handed corner outfield options, alongside (but not limited to) Trevor Larnach, Matt Wallner, James Outman, Walker Jenkins, and Emmanuel Rodriguez. He was thrust into a situation where he not only needed to fight for playing time in the present, but also had to fend off higher-profile prospects on his heels.
After roster decisions and injury delayed Roden’s 2026 MLB season, he struggled out of the gate, with another OPS under .500 through his first eight games. However, even with a demotion and inconsistent playing time, he finished the season strong, slashing .317/.403/.450 and posting more walks than strikeouts over his last 24 games, to end the season with a .769 OPS in 32 games—15-20% better than average. It was fewer than 100 plate appearances, but it offered a glimpse of the player the Twins thought they had acquired from Toronto: a solid defensive corner outfielder with great strike-zone control and a little gap power. It’s not a high ceiling, but it’s easy to see how a player like Roden can be a solid, everyday player who helps teams win games.
However, everyday play in the outfield probably isn’t feasible in Minnesota next season, even assuming that Larnach has played his last game in a Twins jersey (which, given the club’s history, might be a big assumption). Roden will be jockeying for playing time with fellow lefties Jenkins and Rodriguez, the latter of whom is out of options and will need to be on the big-league roster. Furthermore, Byron Buxton and Luke Keaschall will see a good share of time in the outfield.
You might even say that the outfield is crowded before considering Roden. But there is some playing time to be spared. Jenkins, Rodriguez, Buxton, and Keaschall all have checkered injury histories, and it’s safe to assume there will be at least a couple of trips to the injured list from that group. Once you factor in rest days and a potentially fluid designated hitter spot, it’s not difficult to see some playing time every week. But at this point, he’s slotted in as the fifth outfielder.
However, there might be another lane to playing time for Roden. Prior to his surprise selection in the third round of the 2022 draft, Roden was viewed primarily as a first baseman, having logged 39 appearances there as a 22-year-old junior at Creighton, compared to 15 games in the outfield. He also split time between the outfield and first base his draft summer in the Cape Cod League.
As a pro, Roden has only logged one inning at first base, and he’s listed at 5-foot-11, but he’s got some athleticism, and it’s not hard to imagine him over there after watching France and Kody Clemens (both within an inch of Roden, height-wise) playing first base for the past two seasons.
Even if Roden’s a bit rusty around the bag, the Twins have been successful in recent years in improving first base defense in players like Clemens and France, the latter of whom won a Gold Glove after years of being regarded as a poor defender. Carlos Santana also won his first Gold Glove at first base as a Twin, and they converted players like Luis Arraez into passable first basemen.
This isn’t advocating for Roden to be an everyday first baseman or anything. But if the Twins want to get him on the field as much as is reasonably possible as a bench player, this is one way. A couple of outfield starts paired with a game at first base each week allows the Twins to play Roden about 50% of the time. Given Rodriguez’s lack of experience and Buxton’s recovery from offseason hip surgery, the Twins probably need to count on Roden even more at the beginning of the season than almost any other team’s fifth outfielder. And that day-to-day playing time can go up when any of the four guys ahead of him miss time later on.
Nonetheless, it's difficult to see Roden carving out a consistent three-game-per-week role without a little time on the dirt, and he has real experience playing first base. If his true talent level is close to what he showed in 32 games this season, he’s a player that the Twins should want in the lineup—and he’d be a luxury to have on the bench. Of course, that’s assuming his true talent level is close to what we saw late this season.
Roden as the backup first baseman (in addition to his work in the corners) makes sense with the roster as currently constructed, given that Royce Lewis is penciled into that spot and hits right-handed. Roden, a lefty, giving him a day off against righties would help Lewis’s numbers. But it remains to be seen if Lewis is indeed in that role next season. His production since the summer of 2024 certainly hasn’t earned it. If the everyday first baseman is instead Kody Clemens, a fellow lefty, it doesn’t make as much sense, unless the Twins play Clemens at second base on days Roden starts against a righty.
Similarly, many of the potential bats that the Twins could add in free agency to replace Lewis in some form (such as Jake Bauers, Brandon Lowe, Nathaniel Lowe, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jeff McNeil, or even Arraez) are left-handed. Adding a lefty infielder probably precludes Roden from any time on the dirt. But if they were to instead acquire a righty like Rhys Hoskins, Alec Bohm, or Gleyber Torres, Roden playing some first base could be valuable.
Even without a little work at first base, Roden seems to be a valuable role player on next year’s team who could be thrust into more action at any time. But being able to add a bit of time at first base would immensely benefit his career and the Twins’ roster flexibility.
Only read this if you won’t take it more than 10% seriously:
Alan Roden was a high school catcher. The Twins have a very murky catching picture next season. Of course, they shouldn’t have him also come to camp with a catcher’s mitt.
But maybe.
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