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It seemed extremely likely that Trevor Larnach would be non-tendered last November, after another underwhelming season in which the Twins further added to their logjam of left-handed-hitting outfielders. Instead, he’s remained with the team and made their decision pay off—until recently, that is. We're starting to see some signs that the end of Larnach's Twins tenure may not be far off.
Larnach was drafted as a bat-first slugger with defensive limitations. The slugging piece has never come to fruition, as evidenced by his career slugging percentage just a touch over .400. The lack of offensive development for a bat-first player made the club's decision to tender Larnach last winter eyebrow-raising. Still, he rewarded the team’s decision with an .812 OPS through July. We’ve seen flashes of strong production from him before, but 2026 has been the most sustained stretch of his career.
As good as he’s been all season, though, it seems Larnach’s woeful August has the Twins pivoting in a hurry. He’s posted a .148/.207/.259 slash line in the month, and his playing time is drying up in favor of players like Alan Roden as the team falls further out of contention. The Twins aren’t out of it yet, but their willingness to scale back Larnach’s playing time may show their trust (or lack thereof) in his strong season thus far, and how they feel about him long-term.
Larnach is arbitration-eligible for the last time this winter, and he will be due for a sizable raise from the $4.475 million he’s making this season. Many questioned whether the Twins would tender him last offseason because of his inconsistency and wealth of other left-handed-hitting outfielders. The salary increase, as well as a poor finish to the season, could result in a non-tender—not to mention the Twins having more young options for the corner outfield than ever.
Roden has already begun eating into Larnach’s playing time. At the very least, Roden is a vastly superior defender in the corner outfield. His lack of offensive production so far can be partially explained by his lack of consistent playing time. Still, there’s a realistic world where he’s as productive as Larnach, if given the opportunity. Roden will be 27 years old in 2027, and if the Twins see enough from him down the stretch, that alone may be enough to find a better way to allocate Larnach’s projected salary.
Walker Jenkins needs no introduction to Twins fans. He’s center field-capable if Byron Buxton isn’t healthy, but the Twins will find playing time for him one way or another in 2027. Jenkins is the Twins’ top prospect and one of the best in all of baseball, and if they can’t find him playing time with Larnach on the roster, it’s safe to say Larnach will be the one to go.
Another underrated factor in Larnach’s future with the Twins is Emmanuel Rodriguez being back in the Saints’ lineup. A former top prospect derailed by injuries seemingly every season, Rodriguez is out of options next season, meaning he will have to make the Opening Day roster to stay with the organization. He’s not without question marks, but Rodriguez’s skillset is too tantalizing not to give him a prolonged chance to translate it to the big-league level. With all of these left-handed outfield options, it’s hard to make the math work for 2027 when it comes to getting all of them playing time with Larnach in the picture. None of these three names are proven commodities, but it could be argued that Larnach isn’t, either.
The most interesting storyline for the rest of 2026 is whether Larnach earns any playing time back at all. If Roden performs or Jenkins comes up, he may lose his near-everyday role for good. If the team falls out of contention and plans to non-tender him, they have no reason to give him playing time. There may even be a world where they want to see Emmanuel Rodriguez down the stretch, at the expense of Larnach. They have plenty of options.
It’s easy to see that Larnach has fallen out of favor with the Twins after just under a month of struggles. It once again feels like Larnach’s time with the Twins may be nearing the end. Will that feeling be proven correct this time?
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