Cody Pirkl

The Twins turned to a trio of top prospects down the stretch this season as their playoff odds dwindled. These three had varying degrees of success, but teams looking to compete often don’t like to lean on too many rookies from day one. Can the Twins trust these three to slot right into the core of the MLB roster? Kaelen Culpepper The first in the wave of Twins call-ups in 2026, Kaelen Culpepper filled a much-needed role as the everyday shortstop and logged just under 130 plate appearances by season's end. He slashed a respectable .274/.328/.393 and flashed his raw power on several occasions, though it wasn’t consistent. Culpepper also finished with a positive Outs Above Average defensively and was inarguably a huge step up from Brooks Lee in the middle infield. Culpepper should be a lock for the opening day roster. He showed that he could hold his own at the plate while also being passable defensively. The lineup also needs as many impact right-handed hitters as it can get. His well-rounded skill set should make him a valuable contributor, even if he has some struggles adjusting during his sophomore season. It’s also helpful that the Twins don’t need to stash him in Triple-A as depth, as fellow top prospect Marek Houston should also be pushing for his debut in 2027. Walker Jenkins The Twins have to ask themselves two questions regarding Walker Jenkins headed into 2027: “Do we trust him in center field?” and “Did everything click at the plate at the end of the season?” Byron Buxton will need regular time off or days in the DH spot in 2027, and the Twins can’t afford to piece together center field again when he’s out of the lineup. Jenkins could struggle at the plate and still be a better option than much of what the Twins got from center field without Buxton in 2026, as long as his defense is trustworthy. Jenkins struggled mightily against major league pitchers when he was first promoted, and then posted a 1.015 OPS in his last 40 plate appearances. It’s a small, unprojectable sample, but if this white-hot stretch was truly Jenkins turning a corner, there’s no reason not to find everyday at-bats for one of the top prospects in all of baseball. He has nothing left to prove in Triple-A, and has the potential to be one of the best hitters in the Twins’ lineup. If Jenkins doesn’t make the opening day roster, the Twins must have made a significant addition to the outfield mix. Emmanuel Rodriguez It’s a shame Emmanuel Rodriguez wasn’t healthy earlier in the season, as he may have been called up months before he actually debuted. He struggled in 48 plate appearances, striking out in a third of his at-bats and hitting below the Mendoza line. He flashed some of the raw ability that once made him a top prospect before injuries derailed his ascent through the minor leagues. He also had great process and got quite unlucky according to some of his underlying metrics. Rodriguez posted a minuscule .270 wOBA, but his xwOBA of .354 would have been among elite company if he qualified. Byron Buxton posted a .343 xwOBA in 2026, for example. His expected slugging, barrel rate, hard-hit percentage, and bat speed were all at the 90th percentile or better. The swing-and-miss will always be an issue in his game, but it looks like bad luck kept Rodriguez from bursting onto the scene. Unlike the other two options, the Twins don’t have much choice but to carry Emmanuel Rodriguez on the opening day roster. He is out of options, meaning their failure to do so would expose him to waivers, where another team would happily snatch him up for nothing. Hopefully the Twins believe in ERod’s underlying numbers, because if he’s with the team in 2027, he will have to be on the opening day roster. It seems possible that, by breaking down each of these three rookies individually, they will not only make the Opening Day roster but also have a near-everyday role from day one. It’s an unorthodox approach for competing teams, but one the Twins could certainly justify given what we’ve seen in their debuts. Should all three of these rookies be trusted right away on opening day? Do Culpepper or Jenkins need more seasoning in the minor leagues? Let us know below! Image courtesy of Kelley L Cox, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect View full article

It has been years since Austin Martin’s pedigree as the 5th overall pick in the 2020 draft has carried much weight. His stock declined almost immediately, resulting in his trade to Minnesota. As his struggles continued, there was hope that he still had a future as a right-handed-hitting role player in a lineup that desperately needed one. His stock seems to have plummeted even further in 2026, however, leaving significant questions about where Martin sits in 2027. In theory, Austin Martin should be a very valuable player, even as a pure weak-side platoon/bench option. Right-handed hitting outfielders have become increasingly difficult to find in recent years, and finding a productive one has been even tougher. For much of recorded baseball history, right-handed hitters took a healthy majority of at-bats compared to left-handed hitters. In 2026, that split was essentially 50/50. Meanwhile, right-handed-hitting outfielders specifically had their weakest offensive season since 1974, posting around league-average production overall. The problem is that Austin Martin fell well within this group of historically bad right-handed-hitting outfielders in 2026. After Matt Wallner was demoted to St. Paul on May 14 and being given an everyday job, Martin slashed .173/.276/.254 for the rest of the season. His overall production on the year was only slightly below league average, and his defense graded out positively, but the way he finished at the plate was impossible to overlook. In a perfect world, the Twins have Byron Buxton playing nearly every day in center field, Luke Keaschall playing every day in a corner spot, and the left-handed hitting duo of Emmanuel Rodriguez and Walker Jenkins playing regularly against right-handed pitching. This leaves a small but important role for a right-handed hitter, who will need to be trusted to perform against left-handed pitching while still providing passable defense. Martin’s competition in 2027 is fairly modest, at least right now. Gabriel Gonzalez is a former top 100-ish prospect himself, though he is not well thought of defensively and struggled at the plate in 2026 even at the Triple-A level. Ben Ross tore up Double-A and Triple-A offensively and offers the speed and athleticism of Austin Martin, as well as the ability to play in the infield if needed. The Twins didn’t feel obligated to give him much playing time down the stretch, making it worth wondering how much they believe in him, even as a bench bat. Ryan Kriedler may have been the team’s best defensive shortstop and backup center fielder last year, but the bat will always be a major weak spot in a lineup if he gets anything close to everyday playing time. The other risk is the Twins simply going out and buying a more trustworthy right-handed hitting outfielder if they don’t want to gamble on this group. The options are admittedly thin in free agency, and those who are worthy candidates such as Randy Arozarena and Seiya Suzuki will likely be cost-prohibitive. It’s also worth noting that most of the current internal candidates have minor league options remaining, including Austin Martin himself. Perhaps the Twins could consider trading Martin if their faith in his development has run out. With the historic lack of quality right-handed outfielders in baseball, perhaps a team would at least give up something to acquire him and try to get him on track themselves, though the return would be far from noteworthy. The bigger benefit would be clearing a 40-man spot if the Twins are truly ready to move on so they can give that opportunity to someone else. The hope was that, heading into 2027, Austin Martin would at least have a leg up on the internal candidates for an opening day roster spot. After how his 2026 season ended, it’s difficult to make that argument. Now 27 years old, Austin Martin has left many questions about his ability to produce in the MLB unanswered. He’s approaching a crossroads where the team would be justified in moving on to younger, more promising candidates to sink or swim in this role. Austin Martin’s role for the 2027 season ranges from regular playing time on the opening day roster to not being with the organization at all. Should the team give him one last chance? Should they utilize his remaining minor league option to make him earn his way back? Should they cut ties altogether? Let us know below! View full article

Image courtesy of Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images We do not need to revisit the trade that brought Kendry Rojas over at the 2025 trade deadline, but it’s fair to say it hasn’t worked out the way the Twins had hoped it would thus far. The young left-hander made his MLB debut in 2026 but was unable to make a notable impact on the pitching-starved roster. There are many questions left for Rojas to answer, but 2027 should provide a lot more clarity. Rojas came over to Minnesota with plenty of red flags already raised regarding his ability to stick as a starting pitcher. One of the main concerns was his ability to remain on the field, which is now a growing concern after another injury-riddled campaign in 2026. After barely surpassing 130 combined innings in 2024 and 2025, Rojas failed to build on those modest workloads in 2026. He missed the beginning of the season with a hamstring strain, missed almost a month midseason due to triceps problems, and then suffered an oblique strain at the end of August. He finished the season with just under 70 total innings across all levels. His 84 innings pitched in 2023 in A ball remain his career high. Rojas has also had spells of wildness in his minor league career, which escalated to a concerning level in 2026. The walks he allowed in the minor leagues weren’t terribly high, but the 16.9% walk rate he posted at the big-league level was a major reason Rojas couldn’t stick with the big-league club last season. Too often, he racked up pitch counts through inefficiency and walked a tightrope with so many free baserunners. Such extreme walk issues are completely untenable in any big-league role, but being a starter with so many free passes is out of the question. The first hurdle for Rojas to clear in 2027, of course, is his availability. If he can’t take a notable step up in workload, his path to a long-term rotation spot starts to narrow as we look to 2028 and beyond. At some point he has to take a step toward a starting pitcher's workload if that's his long-term role. If he can’t get the walks under control, performance becomes a concern, as despite his ERA and related indicators looking solid last season, it’s hard to expect that to continue with so many free base runners and such poor efficiency. Regardless of whether he’s in the middle to back end of the rotation or serving as a high-leverage bullpen arm, the Twins need Rojas to become a contributor to their big-league pitching staff. The return on the 2025 trade deadline sell-off does not look good thus far, and Rojas developing and staying healthy would make it look a lot better. More importantly, the Twins are lacking pitching depth throughout their system. They need some young arms to step up, and Rojas is at the top of the list after their choice to invest as much as they did in him. 2027 is a very important year for Kendry Rojas. He has the raw stuff and arm talent to be an impactful piece of the Twins’ pitching staff for years to come, but it’s time for him to show he’s up to the task. Can he do it? View full article

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images Despite hanging around in a historically bad AL Central for a good chunk of the season, much of 2026 felt as though the biggest goal was taking steps toward determining the next core of the Minnesota Twins' roster. While we saw steps toward this goal, it felt like we missed out on seeing the full potential of several players who could be a part of the next competitive Twins’ team. There are three players in particular we wish we’d seen more of in 2026. Mick Abel After surprisingly winning an opening-day roster spot, Mick Abel flashed his dominant stuff for a brief period before being shut down by an elbow injury for the remainder of the season. His last start on April 14 was seven shutout innings with 10 Ks against Boston. The Twins hoped Abel could be a future rotation piece, with his performance the biggest question mark. Now, health will be a factor moving forward as well. The good news is that Abel is on track to be fully healthy for the start of 2027, and he should have every opportunity to open the season in the rotation. If he can reach his ceiling of a playoff-caliber starting pitcher, the Twins' rotation would be the strength of the team next season. It would also make the Jhoan Durán trade look much better, considering former top prospect Eduardo Tait, with whom Abel was acquired, has had a very disappointing tenure so far in the Twins’ organization. Alan Roden It’s hard to say what Alan Roden’s role will be with the Twins moving forward, or even whether he’ll remain with the team through the offseason at all. After he was acquired at the 2025 trade deadline, the team seemed to believe in his on-base ability and defense in the corner outfield, but injuries may have disrupted their plans for him, and his left-handedness at the plate makes him an odd fit for the roster. Though he posted fewer than 100 plate appearances at the MLB level this season, his production was encouraging, and his skillset should be useful to the Twins if they can fit him on the roster. Alan Roden is barely more of a known commodity than much younger players like Emmanuel Rodriguez and Walker Jenkins. He has fewer than 250 MLB plate appearances as a soon-to-be 27-year-old, and he’ll be competing with several top prospects for playing time who play the same position and also hit left-handed. He has a history of playing first base, a position the team doesn’t have any immediate answers at. Still, his offensive profile doesn’t fit that of your typical corner infielder, and it’s unclear whether his bat can meet the higher standards of a position at the bottom of the defensive spectrum. It would be nice to have more data on Roden at the MLB level at this point in his career. Emmanuel Rodriguez We likely would have seen Rodriguez much earlier this season, but injuries once again prevented him from playing anything close to a full season. He has yet to appear in even 100 games in a single season and was healthy for just 71 between the minor and major leagues in 2026. His swing-and-miss profile is still a red flag at the MLB level, but his plate discipline and ability to impact the baseball showed up in his brief 13-game debut. Rodriguez is out of options in 2027, meaning he is essentially a lock to make the opening day roster. There’s no denying his talent, but consistency will be the big question in 2027, both in his ability to stay on the field and in making enough contact at the plate. It would be great to have a better idea of what to expect from Rodriguez next season, as giving him more time in St. Paul will not be an option. Instead, the Twins will have to count on Rodriguez to keep himself afloat, with little data to support their hopes. It would be nice if the Twins missing the playoffs yet again in 2026 came with more clarity on some of their potential future contributors. While we did see some positive developments and questions about the future answered, there were certainly a handful of players we’d have liked more answers on. Are there any other players you’d have liked to see more from in 2026? Let us know below! View full article

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images The Twins approached the 2026 season with a mess of a bullpen, and one of the big storylines in spring training was how they planned to reinforce the group internally as the season unfolded. It made sense, at the time, that Connor Prielipp (who maxed out at 82 innings in 2025 after an injury-riddled career and had elite raw stuff) would be a top candidate to move to the bullpen. That switch never happened. Some 162 games later, Prielipp has the Twins feeling thankful that they stuck with him in the starting rotation. Health was a major factor coming into 2026. The Twins took him in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft (when he was coming off Tommy John surgery), and Prielipp was only able to post 30 innings between 2023 and 2024 due to elbow issues. His 82 innings in 2025 were encouraging, but nowhere near enough to make him feel reliable as a full-season starter. Prielipp finished 2026 with just under 145 innings pitched between Triple-A and the major leagues. His innings were managed carefully at times, and the Twins did sometimes give him extra days' rest and skip the occasional start. Still, he was available for an injury-ravaged MLB rotation all the way to the end of the season. Regardless of performance, Prielipp staying healthy is one of the most positive developments of the Twins’ 2026 season. Speaking of performance, there was plenty of reason to be excited for Prielipp’s future in the rotation. His 4.87 ERA may not be the most exciting, but his peripherals suggest room for regression to an ERA in the high 3s. If he can get a bit luckier stranding runners on base and improve a bit against hitters the third time through the order, his baseline numbers could improve significantly. Prielipp flashed his raw stuff plenty often in his debut season. His 23.9% strikeout rate was perfectly acceptable, driven by his slider and curveball, both of which posted whiff rates above 30%. The curveball, in particular, is something to watch in 2027, as he began increasing its usage to the point that it was his secondary weapon in September, and was absolutely dominant. Perhaps the most encouraging thing to tie Prielipp’s 2026 season together was how he finished. He looked to have hit his ceiling in August, as he blew past his career-high innings and posted an ERA over 7.00. Instead of shutting him down, the Twins sent him back out in September, and he posted a 2.36 ERA. He had a slight drop in fastball velocity, but was still averaging a strong 95.5 MPH on the heater at the end of the season. Connor Prielipp's 2026 season was a major win for the organization. His draft selection was always a gamble, and looked like a potential loss after his first few years. Now, he looks like a lock for the 2027 starting rotation, a major development for an organization lacking pitching depth and ravaged by pitching injuries. He has the stuff to be one of the best arms the Twins have developed in some time. After another disappointing Twins season, it’s important to note the positive developments the team came away with. Prielipp is at the very top of that list. View full article

Image courtesy of Matt Marton-Imagn Images The Twins are on pace to miss the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons. They’re following their recent trend of playing particularly ugly baseball down the stretch, so it’s time to start considering some changes. After sticking with their current core for so long, it may be time to start dismantling it. A few players stand out as names the Twins should part ways with this offseason. Trevor Larnach With one last trip through arbitration on the docket, paying Larnach what he’ll be awarded in the process makes no sense for the Twins at this point. While he’s rewarded their decision to tender him a contract last offseason with a .768 OPS, he’s been a major reason the offense has taken a step back in the second half. His .594 in August did a number on the lineup, and renews concerns he seemed to have assuaged a couple months ago. It’s also time to give younger players with greater upside more playing time. Emmanuel Rodriguez, Walker Jenkins, and even Alan Roden deserve opportunities in 2027 and beyond. Larnach has no defensive value, requires platooning, and has let the Twins down once again down the stretch in 2026. It’s time for them to see what’s behind Door No. 2. Bailey Ober It’s difficult to watch what’s happened to Ober over the last few years. Still a smart and crafty pitcher, his stuff appears to be bordering on untenable at the big-league level, which is why it’s time for the Twins to move on. While he’s still able to get outs at a decent clip, Ober’s fastball has averaged just over 88 MPH this season, and when he doesn’t have pinpoint command, it’s a difficult watch. Due for his last trip through arbitration this offseason, Ober will likely make at least $7-8 million in 2027 if the Twins tender him a contract. It’s a fair price to pay for his overall body of work, but his upside is completely gone, and it feels like there’s a risk the Twins could come to regret that decision very early in the 2027 season. It may be a case where the Twins are wise to cut bait too early, rather than too late. Royce Lewis Lewis was in a tenuous spot earlier this season after being demoted to Triple-A. A blistering return to the lineup in June changed things, but he’s been pretty quiet since then. He’s a below-league-average hitter on the season and is slashing just .235/.293/.410 since the beginning of 2024, which is 5% below the league-average hitter in that timeframe. Now a utility man mostly playing first base, the bar to clear offensively is much higher; Lewis has fallen to the bottom of the defensive spectrum. He doesn’t hit left-handed pitching at an exceptional rate; doesn’t get on base very well; and his speed and athleticism appear long gone. His free-swinging ways still lead to the occasional hot streak, but the Twins may be best served finding a new home for Lewis this winter. The Twins made changes in the front office and in the manager's chair heading into the season, but kept much of the same core on the field. After another disappointing finish, it’s time to make some changes in the player department. It’s time to move on from a few pieces that have been at the core of their roster for the last few years and turn things over to a new group. View full article

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images 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? View full article

Are the players we got back in that trade barred from ever being mentioned again? I think the fact that they got Roden back in that trade plays at least a small factor in them not simply allowing Jenkins to pass him over for playing time.

"You didn't talk about today's roster until the comments" The very first paragraph I mention how they can't or don't want to make room on the roster for Jenkins. I then discuss how the decisions they've made over the last year have led to their inflexibility and lack of opportinity for players like Roden in the currently constructed roster. I just wrote this yesterday, and the words are right above the comment section in case I forget, so not really sure what you're trying to accomplish by claiming that. If you disagree that the Twins have a logjam affecting the roster and keeping players from getting opportunities they need, that's fine. I don't think that's the common opinion though, and you're not going to make any meaningful argument opening your disagreement by calling it "pointless trash"

My point on the LHHs they target goes beyond the MLB roster. I agree that they should target talent, but it's gotten to a point where LHH talent should situationally be worth less to them, as it should've been for some time. We saw how this works out with Roden. I have no doubt they were targeting talent when they acquired him. It was easy to question how he was ever going to find playing time though, and that's exactly how it's played out. They targeted a 25 year old, and he'll probably be 27 before they can potentially find regular playing time for him if he's on the roster at all in 2027. They could've called Jenkins up a long time ago, but they invested in Roden, who has been behind Wallner, Larnach, and Outman at various points throughout the season. So they had to get a look at Roden or risk getting nothing from him a year after trading for him. They aren't setting themselves up to successfully choose the best players for the future because they aren't building a top of the system that affords LHHs enough opportunity. Hendry Mendez started the season at Double-A despite him dominating there last season because there wasn't room in St. Paul for him. Just another example.

I thought that writing about a team having too many LHHs and being in the bottom 1/3 of the league against LHPs and being on no hitter watch whenever they face LHPs was relevant. Especially when everyone is clamoring for Walker Jenkins. My bad! You say the roster has been mostly sorted as the season has gone one. Go look at yesterday's lineup against a LHP and say that they've rounded into form. I don't get it. Also, I don't know why you read this as the whole piece coming down to complaining about the Varland trade. I mention the three LHHs they acquired at the deadline as well as other moves for LHHs they made after that were problems. Seems like a pretty disingenuous way to minimize an entire article in my opinion. If I wanted to write about how terrible that trade looks, I'd just do it, and it would probably be longer than this one!

I don't understand this takeaway at all. The Twins aren't "turning the platoon advantage on it's head". You say that like they've made some kind of unprecedented breakthrough. They're better against RHP because they can't fill out a lineup with capable RHHs against LHP. They haven't been able to all year because of how they built the roster. Their best hitters are RH so they play everyday. All of their switch hitters are worse against LHP. Most LHHs are much worst against LHP and they've chosen to overinvest in LHHs or switch hitters who are better left-handed.

Bell, Lee, and Caratini are all terrible RHHs, despite the fact that they can stand on that side of the battery's box.

So are you arguing that the rate at which they've targeted LHHs has been successful and that they should keep doing what they have been then?

Image courtesy of Denis Poroy-Imagn Images The Twins should be in the news with several other teams who are calling up top prospects for the playoff push. Instead, the Twins don’t have room—or at least, don’t want to make room—on the MLB roster for Walker Jenkins. Intentionally or not, the front office has spent over a year setting itself up for this exact scenario. The Twins' hoarding of left-handed hitting outfielders is not a new development. The team seems to be constantly searching for more players of this type. As a result, the big-league roster is poorly built, lacking right-handed hitting complements as the team tries to stuff as many left-handed hitters onto the active roster as they can. It's also led to a lack of opportunity for deserving players. Last season’s trade deadline made plenty of negative headlines, but an underrated decision worth criticism was the team’s decision to target three more left-handed-hitting outfielders as they conducted their fire sale. There was zero reason to add in this way, as the major and minor leagues were already oversaturated with these types of players. The team then chose to tender a contract to Trevor Larnach in the offseason and carry James Outman on the Opening Day roster, ensuring they were 10+ deep in that department. The first problem, in a day-to-day sense, is an obvious one: The roster is not equipped to hit left-handed pitching. Not only do they lack internal options to platoon, but they also didn’t target players in the offseason to address this problem. Josh Bell and Victor Caratini are switch-hitters who have historically been better from the left side. This roster-building choice is a big reason the Twins are in the bottom third of the league against southpaws, even with their season-long OPS in those matchups being inflated by uncharacteristic success in the first few weeks of the season. At the individual player level, targeting so many left-handed hitters has created a mess that the front office has to clean up this offseason. After Alan Roden made up half of the Louis Varland trade return, the team optioned him to Triple-A at 26 years old. Why? Because parting with James Outman, who hasn’t posted a .600 OPS since 2023, was out of the question. They couldn’t afford to let a left-handed hitting outfielder get away without seeing him perform as a below-replacement-level player for a third season in a row. Now that Roden is finally on the MLB roster, the way they’ve built it has left him with almost no opportunity. Starting two games per week or so, the Twins don’t even have consistent at-bats for him against right-handed pitching a year after acquiring him in his physical prime. As he struggles to capitalize on his few chances to perform, the team is weighing whether it’s time to swap him out for another left-handed hitter. It’s difficult to imagine calling up someone like Jenkins without completely pulling the plug on Roden, so he can play every day. The Twins are struggling to make this decision, and it’s understandable. A much-maligned trade to acquire Roden has only looked worse and worse over the last year. Demoting him may be the end of his time with the Twins, and they’re not going to recoup anything close to the value they invested in him. Trading away Varland and giving up on half of the return after just over 100 plate appearances would be a terrible look for the Twins’ decision-makers. Meanwhile in Triple-A, Jenkins continues to mash. A halfway functional roster would have made room for him some time ago, but not the Minnesota Twins. Emmanuel Rodriguez is another problem the Twins have to solve. After missing part of the season yet again, he’s healthy and performing, and is out of minor league options next season. This means he’ll have to make the Opening Day roster without taking a single at-bat at the MLB level. It will be yet another left-handed hitting outfielder for the Twins to split playing time between. Also worth noting, Matt Wallner would have likely earned one last shot on a normal MLB roster after posting a .928 OPS in St. Paul with 20+ homers and a reduced strikeout rate. Instead, there is quite literally no path for him back to the MLB roster this season. Hendry Mendez is another left-handed outfielder acquired at the trade deadline. He’s talented enough to carve out an MLB role for himself someday, but if he remains with the Twins, it may require four or five injuries for him to even have a chance. The Twins’ obsession with left-handed hitters has come back to bite them in a major way in 2026, and this is just the beginning. Their choices have limited the offense's ceiling all season and are now limiting their ability to call up top prospects to provide a jolt to the roster when they need it most. They won’t be able to stash four or five left-handed hitters in Triple-A in 2027, and the MLB roster will already be full with them even if they can somehow restrain themselves from acquiring even more over the offseason. For the betterment of the roster, and in the best interest of their individual players, the Twins need to figure out how to get their left-handed hitting logjam under control. Do you agree? View full article

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Trading Joe Ryan was certainly on the table last offseason after the trade deadline sell-off. The team chose to stay the course and aim for contention in 2026. It's worked; Ryan has been an anchor for the Twins so far as they’ve hung around in the wild card picture. But when the organization doubled down on setting their sights on the postseason, the annual questions about Ryan’s ability to help in the second half became impossible to ignore. The Twins have been put in a difficult spot. Ryan’s season took a complete 180 in his last three starts, allowing 16 earned runs in 15 ⅓ innings before heading to the injured list with a glute strain. This ostensibly minor injury could explain Ryan’s downturn, but the context of his historical struggles in the second half of the season is concerning. As the team continues to hang around in the playoff picture, they’re now without their ace, and even if his IL stay is short-lived, it’s fair to wonder what version of Ryan shows up whenever he is activated. The Twins had enough concerns in the rotation without Ryan’s notorious second-half splits showing up again. The team’s acquisition of Dean Kremer as rotation depth is now a necessity. Even with the innings Kremer will add to the rotation, it’s difficult to imagine the team making the postseason without Ryan returning to form. Ryan’s sample size of struggling in the second half has grown to such a point that it’s as much a part of his story as the back-to-back All-Star appearances. The team was fortunate to be in a reasonable spot to buy at the deadline, as Ryan allowing six homers to Cleveland on July 20th would have raised some eyebrows from potentially acquiring teams. That may be irrelevant now, but if Ryan either spends an extended amount of time on the IL or returns as a shell of his first-half self again, skepticism will only grow stronger. The Twins may very well have Ryan penciled into their 2027 plans, and there is a strong argument that they should. If that’s the case, they may need to give special consideration to making sure they have the starting pitching depth and talent to make it through the second half. Injuries in the pitching staff can happen anytime, but Ryan’s drop-offs late in the season are becoming something worth planning for. Even if he's in their plans, the Twins may be open to listening on calls regarding Ryan in the offseason in case another team wants to blow them away. It seems far less likely for that to happen than it has in past years. As the second-half struggles rear their ugly head again, teams are certain to question whether Ryan can be counted on during the most important stretch of the season. The Twins had previously asked for two top-100 prospects in return for Ryan, with some teams reportedly ready to meet that demand. It’s worth questioning whether the Twins would get anything close to that return at this point. The Twins are in a bad spot now as a contending team in need of their ace. They also likely don’t have nearly as much flexibility this offseason if they are open to trading him. Joe Ryan has been a massive addition to the rotation the last several years, but his pattern of second-half struggles threatens to put a real damper on the tail end of his Twins career. How should they move forward? What would you advise? Let us know in the comments. View full article