Week in Review: Cold Start

The Weekly Nutshell:
In their first full week of the 2026 season, the Twins dropped four of six, and they've now lost all three series they've played. Both in Kansas City and at home, games were played under cold, wet conditions that contributed to sloppy play, but the Twins struggled far more than their opponents to overcome the inclement weather. 

Sparse crowds at Target Field over the opening weekend were a clear indicator of what we already knew: fan morale is direly low and this team is having a hard time drawing interest. Unless their offense can start to show some signs of life, it's only likely to get worse.

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 3/30 through Sun, 4/5
***
Record Last Week: 2-4 (Overall: 3-6)
Run Differential Last Week: -2 (Overall: -2)
Standing: 5th Place in AL Central (2.5 GB) 

Latest Game Results

Game 4 | KC 3, MIN 1: Offense Once Again Goes Silent Against Lefty Starter

• Buxton, Keaschall: 0-7

Game 5 | KC 13, MIN 9: Twins Lose Control in Rain-Soaked Loss at Kauffman

• Twins pitchers: 15 H, 5 BB, 2 HBP, 2 HR allowed

Game 6 | MIN 5, KC 1: Sweep Avoided Behind Strong Outing From Bradley

• Bradley: 6 IP, 0 ER, 3 K

Game 7 | MIN 10, TB 4: Late Home Runs Seal Victory in Home Opener

• Gray: 1-2, BB, HR, 5 RBI

Game 8 | TB 7, MIN 1: Abel Struggles Again as Lineup Gets Shut Down by Another LHP

• Abel: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 5 ER

Game 9 | TB 4, MIN 1 (10): Pitching Staff Eventually Buckles in Extras as Offense Flops

• Woods Richardson: 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 K

NEWS & NOTES

The relief pitching carousel has begun to spin. Expect it to continue all summer long. As they often do, the Twins traded for a recently DFA'ed reliever, jumping the waiver line to acquire right-hander Garrett Acton from Miami in exchange for minor-leaguer Logan Whitaker. David Festa was moved to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man, confirming that he's essentially out until at least June, which is a bummer. 

The Twins wasted little time getting Acton onto the active roster, swapping him for Zak Kent on Sunday. Kent heads to Triple-A after tossing two shutout innings in Saturday's loss. Acton, 27, has allowed eight earned runs and three homers in 6 ⅔ MLB innings, but has big strikeout numbers in the minors. Probably the type of arm worth taking a look at in a season like this. Presumably he'll step into Kent's vacated role as a low-leverage mop-up type who can provide some length if needed. (And will likely find himself on the carousel soon enough.)

HIGHLIGHTS

Not many hitters in the Twins lineup are getting the job done, but Josh Bell has been an early exception. He's looking very much like the guy who excelled in the second half with the Nats last year, and was a rare ignitor for the offense this past week, clubbing two homers and a double while driving in six. Bell entered play on Sunday tied for the league lead with nine runs scored.

Tristan Gray also supplied some power and run production, taking advantage of his opportunity to start at short in the home opener (due to Brooks Lee's illness) by sealing the game in the eighth with a grand slam. Gray has made only 18 plate appearances but he's already got eight RBIs to lead the team.

Taj Bradley look another promising step in his second start of the season, cruising through six innings of shutout ball on Thursday to help salvage a win in KC. He wasn't quite flinging the same level of swing-and-miss filth as he did in Baltimore, but Bradley looked plenty good and reasonably efficient, walking only one while getting through six on 100 pitches. He's allowed one through through 10 ⅓ innings in two starts.

On Sunday, Simeon Woods Richardson delivered the deepest start of the season for Minnesota thus far, holding Tampa to one run over 6 ⅔ frames in a game where he unfortunately received no run support. In his last seven starts dating back to September, Woods Richardson has a 2.33 ERA and 42-to-12 K/BB ratio in 38 ⅔ innings.

LOWLIGHTS

New manager, new hitting coach, same old maddeningly ineffective offense. The Twins were held to a single run in three of their six games last week, and naturally lost all three. In Sunday's finale against the Rays, with a chance to take their first series behind a stellar outing from Woods Richardson, the Twins couldn't get much of anything going, producing just three hits and two walks in 10 innings. 

A day earlier, Steven Matz became the latest left-handed starter to stymy the Minnesota lineup, breezing through six innings with two hits allowed. As a team the Twins are batting .186 with a .619 OPS against lefty starting pitchers. Derek Shelton is doing his best to stack up righties for favorable matchups, but no one's been capable of doing anything with them.

The biggest problem at the moment is that the Twins just aren't getting anything from their No. 2 and 3 hitters. Luke Keaschall has been getting some singles, but not showing any power nor much patience. He's got just two walks and one extra-base hit through 39 plate appearances.

Byron Buxton celebrated surpassing 10 years of major-league service, but did so amidst a deep slump at the plate. He went 0-for-18 on the week with six strikeouts and no walks, though he thankfully evaded an injury scare on an HBP that sent him walking straight into the clubhouse.

Ultimately I'm not overly concerned about either of those two, although Keaschall's slow start does raise an eyebrow following the quiet finish last year. The rest of the lineup is doing nothing to pick them up or inspire confidence generally.

Austin Martin is drawing some walks, but he went 3-for-13 last week and is still looking for his first extra-base hit. Matt Wallner popped three solo homers but was otherwise 2-for-23 with 12 strikeouts and zero walks. Royce Lewis has been similarly all-or-nothing — he's got four extra-base hits but zero singles and a .167 average through 29 PA. Ryan Jeffers was 3-for-16 and still hasn't driven in a run this year. Kody Clemens keeps getting looks in the leadoff spot despite a .150 average and .261 OBP.

Lee continues to be a complete non-factor with the bat, slashing .167/.250/.167 through seven games. He's looked bad enough that the Twins have to be starting to weigh their options; there's no reason he should have an especially long leash. 

We're 10 days into the season and I'm already tired of watching most of these guys flail away at the plate.  I'm ready for some fresh blood in the lineup and I wonder how quickly the Twins might be inclined to oblige. 

TRENDING STORYLINE

This space in the weekly recap is frequently going to be focused on prospects playing at Triple-A, at least early in the season, because really that is the only compelling source of intrigue right now: How soon can some of these highly regarded near-ready talents prove that they ARE ready, and infuse some life into a persistently stale Twins team?

Kaelen Culpepper is doing his part to put the heat on Lee. He homered in both legs of a double-header in St. Paul on Sunday, his second and third of the season. Emmanuel Rodriguez also homered twice over the weekend, building on his strong spring showing. Alan Roden has his OPS up over 1.000 for the Saints. Walker Jenkins has been a bit slower to get going but it only feels like a matter of time.

LOOKING AHEAD

Three more left-handed starters on the docket in the coming week, which is not great news, especially when the first one happens to go by the name of Tarik Skubal. Facing two high-quality opponents in the Tigers and Blue Jays, the Twins will need to play significantly better ball than they have thus far, or else this is gonna be ugly. 

MONDAY, APRIL 6: TIGERS @ TWINS — RHP Casey Mize v. RHP Joe Ryan
TUESDAY, APRIL 7: TIGERS @ TWINS — LHP Tarik Skubal v. RHP Taj Bradley
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8: TIGERS @ TWINS — LHP Framber Valdez v. RHP Bailey Ober
THURSDAY, APRIL 9: TIGERS @ TWINS — RHP Jack Flaherty v. RHP Mick Abel
FRIDAY, APRIL 10: TWINS @ BLUE JAYS — RHP Simeon Woods Richardson v. TBD
SATURDAY, APRIL 11: TWINS @ BLUE JAYS — RHP Joe Ryan v. LHP Eric Lauer
SUNDAY, APRIL 12: TWINS @ BLUE JAYS — RHP Taj Bradley v. RHP Max Scherzer