Cody Pirkl

Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-Imagn Images As bits of news leaked about teams checking in on Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton being willing to waive his no-trade clause, the belief grew that the Twins were headed for a full-on rebuild. The development in the ownership situation has changed things, as Derek Falvey now says they intend to keep their star players and add to the roster. A sigh of relief would be a fair reaction to this news, but is it really worth celebrating? The Twins have been in a state of stasis for almost three calendar years, declining to invest in moderate-cost or multi-year free agents while keeping much of the roster core almost precisely the same. The results speak for themselves: the team missed the playoffs in both seasons since payroll was slashed heading into 2024. The team is at a crossroads: the current roster clearly isn’t good enough, and ownership hasn’t been willing to invest enough to change things. The news that the Twins were looking to build around their star players brought instant excitement. Their current estimated payroll of around $95 million has inspired little hope for next season, and further payroll shedding would put the final nail in the coffin of fan morale. To hear them frame their plans in this manner was a refreshing development. Unfortunately, it sounds like more corporate speak that Twins fans have grown so accustomed to. “Building around” the stars on the current roster likely means a payroll that won’t approach the $135 million the team allocated at the beginning of 2025, and $110 million is a plausible result, according to Dan Hayes of The Athletic. This number would place the Twins firmly in the bottom third of the league in spending and represent a decline in payroll for a third consecutive season. Such a low number would leave the team scouring the bargain bin for one-year deals once again, a tactic that has had mixed results for this regime, to put it kindly. The Twins could use impact players at multiple positions, but will likely once again have to settle for low-wattage deals with uninspiring names and hope to hit on a few of them. A $110 million payroll would represent a notable decline from the payroll of the 2025 roster, which lost 92 games. Within this number is $10 million being paid to Houston, who took Carlos Correa off their hands at the deadline. It would leave the bullpen without names such as Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Louis Varland, while also giving the team little chance to find adequate replacements. This raises the question: Is attempting to compete with a $110 million payroll actually better for the team than entering a full-blown rebuild? Fan morale may have received a shot in the arm when Falvey announced their desire to build around their star players, but this is sure to dissipate throughout another quiet offseason. It stands to fall back into apathy if the team gets off to another slow start with much of the same core. There’s no telling how badly morale declines if 2026 includes another deadline sell-off where the Twins wind up parting with the star players they claim to be “building around” anyway. That's assuming they’re healthy and performing well at the time. Twins Daily users voted on this subject over the past few days, and basically split the vote, with 138 in favor of a rebuild, and 140 against a rebuild: It would be difficult to frame a $110 million payroll as anything more than a disingenuous “attempt” to try to compete by Twins' leadership, but it’s not difficult to envision them trying to do so. They can repeat this talking point, hoping fans weigh their additions against their current 2026 payroll of around $95 million rather than comparing it to previous seasons, in which it is almost certain to decline for the third consecutive year. If things go off the rails for a second consecutive year, they can sell off their rentals and consider doing the same with names such as Byron Buxton and Pablo Lopez to lower their bottom-line costs for the 2026 season, just as they did in 2025. Unfortunately, this is a very real possibility. The Twins appear unlikely to emerge from their three-year hibernation when it comes to significant roster moves. Keeping their star players, such as Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan, at least gives them a chance to compete in 2026 if things go perfectly and if much of the roster that has failed them for two straight years finally comes around. That chance may be enough. It does raise the question, though: Is reducing payroll even further and taking half measures to compete for the third straight season really better than entering a full-blown rebuild? View full article

Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images The Twins have had no shortage of left-handed hitting corner outfielders for years, but as they’ve continued to amass this style of player, their depth has turned into a logjam. With much of the roster in need of significant upgrades, it’s time to either look to deal from this depth chart or (at the very least) stop targeting left-handed corner outfielders with their limited resources. The Twins did not fully prioritize prospects during their historic trade-deadline selloff in 2025. Instead, they chose to focus on players who were at or near MLB-ready status. They seemed especially keen on starting pitching and left-handed-hitting outfielders. In terms of pitchers, there’s no such thing as too much depth. On the position player side, however, it made less sense. Despite having both current and future depth in the corner outfield, they acquired James Outman, Alan Roden, and Hendry Mendez, all left-handed-hitting outfielders who will likely spend most of their time in the corners. We will likely see all of them in 2026, as they filter into the majors and share playing time with fellow members of the brotherhood Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach, Kody Clemens, Emmanuel Rodriguez, and Walker Jenkins. Despite the playing time being difficult to project, the Twins tendered a contract to Trevor Larnach this winter, though whether he remains on the roster heading into 2026 remains to be seen. A strange detail that has surfaced is that the Twins' hangup on trading Joe Ryan at the deadline to the Red Sox was reportedly Boston’s refusal to include an MLB-level outfielder in the deal. We can now assume this means either Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu—both of whom are left-handed-hitting corner outfielders whom Boston is currently open to dealing. It seems as though the Twins cannot help themselves when it comes to this type of player. Despite significant questions across the roster, they appear hyper-focused on maintaining (and even adding to) the corner outfield endlessly. Acquiring an established, borderline All-Star-level player would undoubtedly be an upgrade over the current group, but why spend limited resources on doing so? The current logjam includes plenty of players of all ages, with interesting skills that could translate into strong production. Wallner has shown everyday player upside in the past. They just targeted Roden, and clearly viewed him as a regular in left field. There will be no shortage of names who can at least rotate in and out, not to mention the top prospects set to debut at some point in 2026. Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez are in Triple-A St. Paul, and despite injury concerns in their past, they're likely a couple of good months away from kicking down the door to the majors. Though it’s always a risk to go into a season leaning on the production of players who have yet to debut, you still want the at-bats available to them when they’re ready. If Jenkins and Rodriguez are ready midseason, the Twins can likely find creative ways to get them in the lineup. Continuing to add MLB-level players to that depth chart would make things increasingly difficult. When it comes down to it, it’s a question of asset management. Of course, it’s difficult to say we don’t want to see the Twins add a good player at any position. Still, if they’re going to spend the kind of capital it would take for such a deal, why do it at arguably the deepest position in the organization? They could go into the season with the current group of left-handed corner outfielders with reasonably high expectations, even if two or three get injured throughout the year. Is that really the part of a 92-loss roster the front office should be hell bent on upgrading? Nor is this just about proactively adding to that group. Minnesota was (wrongly, it now seems) steadfast in their expectations when shopping Max Kepler in trades over the final few years of his tenure with the team. They surprised everyone by tendering a contract to Larnach. They believe this player type has a certain baseline value—a high offensive floor, especially because they take up the larger side of a theoretical platoon; middling but non-zero athleticism; and a chance to find power—that has led them to cleave too tightly to some of them in recent years. Regardless of the Twins' short and long-term plans, they should be content with their group of left-handed corner outfielders. They’ve drafted, signed, traded for, and developed a long list of names in this group. If they’re confident in their abilities, they should have more than enough options to cycle into this role for years to come. They have talent and upside across all ages, which is more than they can say for several other positions at the MLB level and in the organization as a whole. They should, indeed, be moving players like this out, rather than bringing any more in. It’s time for the Twins to stop throwing their limited assets at left-handed corner outfielders and take a look at the rest of the roster. Do you agree? View full article

Image courtesy of © Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images The Twins front office has expressed a desire to add to the current roster, but their ability to do so is likely to be limited by the impending partial sale of the team. Even when this is resolved, we've learned that getting a straight answer on anything from this regime is not going to happen. Regarding the team’s intentions to contend in 2026, fans will have to draw their own conclusions based on how the offseason goes. There are several spots on the roster to watch to gauge whether the Twins are trying to contend in 2026, but three stand out. First Base The Twins have been shuffling first basemen for the last few years, opting to fill the spot with cheap veterans who have had varying degrees of success. In 2025, it was one of the team’s weaker positions. Opening Day starter Ty France eventually lost his job to career journeyman Kody Clemens, who had some nice moments but wasn’t the kind of player a contending team wants to have in the lineup every day. First base is at the bottom of the defensive spectrum. Having a good defensive first baseman is nice, but offensive production is an absolute must. The 29-year-old Clemens is the incumbent, coming off a .715 OPS, which was below league average overall and well below average among first basemen. The Twins also have no legitimate prospects on their way to take the position over midseason. It’ll be worth watching whether they see value in upgrading the position, either in free agency or via trade. The team is in desperate need of a boost offensively, and adding a first baseman with more upside is one of the most cost-effective upgrades they can make. If they roll with what they have headed into 2026, it’s worth questioning how serious they are. The Bullpen The once-elite Twins bullpen is now one of the worst in baseball, following a shocking sell-off at the trade deadline. Falvey and company downplayed the effect of these moves, explaining that they had built the previous bullpen internally. While that's true, he failed to mention that assembling the previous group took years of trial and error. Pretending that the current group (along with a few waiver claims and minor-league signings) will be competitive in 2026 is unrealistic. This regime has shown that they don’t value relievers highly enough to spend much on them in free agency. They’ve rarely invested in them, and it’s gone quite poorly on the rare occasions when they have. Unfortunately, they’ve left themselves no choice but to do it this winter, if they’re serious about competing in 2026. The Twins could have a top-five rotation in 2026, yet they may miss the playoffs with their current bullpen. They need to hit on two or three legitimate arms to turn to at the back end of games, or the rest of the roster won’t matter. If they choose to stand pat, they likely aren’t especially worried about winning games in 2026. López and Ryan The most obvious tell for the Twins' intentions in 2026 will be what they do with Joe Ryan and Pablo López. Derek Falvey has expressed his desire to keep both players, but payroll may leave him no choice but to sell them off for parts. Regardless of what they bring back, trading one or both of them would be waving the white flag. The rotation is the lone bright spot of the Twins' roster. We can dream of a world where Taj Bradley, Mick Abel and others take a big step and fill the void left by trading away high-end starters, but that would be refusing to admit what’s right in front of us. López and Ryan each have multiple years of team control at prices below their market value. Teams looking to compete don’t trade these types of players when they’re in the situation the Twins are in. They do it to lower their payroll and try to sell the cheaper prospects they get in return, as a reason for the fanbase to have hope. If either López or Ryan is traded, the Twins are telling us 2026 doesn’t matter. The path to competing without one of these two at the front of the rotation becomes far too narrow. The team would be left with question marks across all departments, and it’s been years since this front office has given confidence that they can find answers. Local writers will undoubtedly continue to push for answers regarding the Twins' intentions for 2026, but there’s very little chance they will get them at any point this offseason. Actions speak louder than words, anyway, and watching their moves this offseason will give us all the answers we need. Will the Twins make a legitimate effort to improve in 2026, or will their stated goals of adding to the roster be undermined by the actions they take? View full article

Image courtesy of © Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images With the cutoff for Rule 5 protection on Tuesday night, plenty of teams had to designate players for assignment to make room for prospects on their 40-man roster. As a result, a handful of new players are now available to either claim off waivers or sign with a team when they inevitably become free agents. With the Twins on the lookout for roster upgrades, a few names may make some sense. Jason Foley Foley was a legitimate high-end reliever for the Tigers in 2023 and 2024, combining for 129 innings pitched with an ERA under 3.00. Previously an undrafted free agent, he beat the odds to become a durable and effective relief option for several seasons. A shoulder injury cost him all of 2025, and he's now in search of a new team at 30 years old. At his best, Foley is a power sinkerballer, comfortably sitting in the high 90s on his heater to pair with a dominant slider. Foley has high-leverage experience, which would be a welcome addition to an inexperienced Twins bullpen. Health is the big question mark, as his medicals are surely the reason the Tigers chose not to hold onto him. If Foley can take the mound in 2026, the Twins should be very interested. Nathaniel Lowe This was the worst season of Lowe's career, and it may drop him into the Twins' price range. He posted a .798 OPS from 2022-2024 before a miserable stint with Washington at the beginning of last season. After landing with the Red Sox for the stretch run, he posted a .790 OPS in 34 games. Lowe has been a starting-caliber first baseman for the better part of four years, and may be just what the Twins need at first base. Though left-handed (like the incumbent Kody Clemens), Lowe owns an above-average slash line in his career against southpaws, in addition to crushing righties. He doesn't need to be platooned and posts more respectable walk and strikeout rates than Clemens. His pricey arbitration number was likely the driving factor in the decision to cut him, which means he's likely to hit the open market and have plenty of interest at a lower price tag. If the Twins can make it happen, bringing Lowe in on a prove-it one-year deal makes a lot of sense. Dauri Moreta It was surprising to see the Pirates part with an interesting arm like Moreta, but another team could benefit by giving him a roster spot. The burly righthander is now out of options, so Pittsburgh decided to part ways rather than gamble on his dominant stuff without the ability to shuttle him to the minors. He posted a 31.8% strikeout rate while limiting homers in 2023, before missing 2024 after Tommy John surgery. He flashed that dominance in his return in 2025, and the hope is that he's at 100%, being another year removed from injury. Moreta throws a unique slider that typically draws a whiff rate of around 40%. Pairing it with a mid-90s fastball, he should continue to rack up strikeouts. Moreta looked like a rising star before his injury and still has three years of team control. He's just 29 years old. His raw stuff could immediately drop him into a high-leverage role in 2026, and he could become a premier reliever if everything clicks. Are there any other players in similar circumstances whom you would like to see the Twins claim? Let us know below! View full article

Image courtesy of Katie Stratman-Imagn Images Assuming the Twins have their eyes set on competing in 2026, they're probably four or five relievers away from having a shot. It's a peculiar place for this regime to be, as their budget is likely limited and they've rarely invested in bullpen arms. The front office will be looking for affordable upside. Though they may not be shopping at the top of the free agent pile, plenty of names stand out as potential targets. Jordan Romano Romano is two seasons removed from being an effective reliever, but he's shown enough to earn another bounce-back opportunity in 2026. There's no sugarcoating his 6+ ERA in just under 60 innings pitched since 2023, but the Twins may be able to squint and see a path to Romano returning to his dominant ways. Romano's slider remains a dominant offering, and the pitch helped him maintain respectable strikeout and whiff rates. His fastball has been the problem: he's lost a tick of velocity, and his heater has been crushed. Being a two-pitch pitcher, Romano will either have to get that velocity back at age 33 or make a fundamental change in how he throws his fastball. The Twins could help him with this, and the two parties can match up on a mutually beneficial bounce-back deal. If it pays off, Romano may earn himself another contract, and the Twins can get a high-end reliever at a bargain price. Taylor Rogers A Taylor Rogers reunion makes too much sense. The Twins could use an experienced left-handed reliever, and Rogers could benefit from a return to his roots. Rogers has been solid since leaving Minnesota, but has lost some of the dominance we were accustomed to. He's lost two miles per hour in fastball velocity, which may cap his ceiling. The reliance on his sinker to combat this loss of velocity has led to fewer swings and misses, but Rogers has continued to get outs and avoid the longball. He’s thrown 226 innings since the Twins dealt him in 2022, posting a 3.61 ERA and supporting peripherals. At the right price, anything resembling those numbers would provide a massive boost. While the Twins need high-end relief help, Rogers doesn't necessarily need to fill that need in 2026. Adding him to fill the primary left-handed relief role would be valuable and likely affordable. He's still a plenty effective relief arm, and his experience and leadership may bring plenty of intangible value to a Twins bullpen that will likely require all the help they can get. Ryne Stanek The ship may have sailed on the 34-year-old Stanek making a much-needed adjustment to his pitch mix, but the Twins could give it a shot for minimal risk. His fastball still averaged 98.5 mph in 2025, but he appeared to have leaned on it too much, and that, paired with an ugly walk rate, led to an ERA over 5 with the Mets last season. Stanek has a dominant slider and an effective splitter in his repertoire, and it's worth wondering whether these secondary pitches should be his bread and butter, despite the velocity of his fastball. His pitch mix lends itself well to being able to retire hitters on both sides of the plate, and his raw stuff could be worth gambling on even after years of failing to break out fully. At the very least, it's easy to see a path to a secondary setup man role, which he's filled at times throughout his career. The names may not be exciting, but the Twins will likely have to shop in this tier of free agency to fill the many needs in their bullpen. Are there any under-the-radar relievers you'd like to see them target in free agency? Let us know below! View full article

Image courtesy of © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images The current Twins regime has had nearly a decade to show us how they prefer to operate, which types of players they value, and how they build their rosters, etc. After missing the playoffs for the fourth time in five years, massive changes are needed to turn things around. In hiring former bench coach Derek Shelton to replace Rocco Baldelli, it’s hard to have faith that those massive changes are coming. The Minnesota Twins organization has become increasingly comfortable with the status quo in recent years, regardless of results. While spending was cut back, that doesn’t justify the lack of creativity shown during the team’s recent downturn. Despite mixed results and popularity, this team was not afraid of big moves, such as trading Luis Arraez for Pablo Lopez or shipping out then-closer Taylor Rogers the day before Opening Day. In stark contrast, we found ourselves wondering at times why the team was unwilling to shake up its bench in 2025, as multiple players went weeks without a start and position players were rostered solely to pitch mop-up innings. This is why it was notable when Baldelli was fired despite being extended through 2026 earlier in the season. Though it’s hard to lay a majority of the blame at the manager’s feet, extended failures like the Twins have endured require a shake-up. The idea of a new manager brought hope of a new voice. While they may not fix the problems with development and player performance in this organization, perhaps a manager with a different perspective and style could be part of the solution. Among the list of candidates made public for the Twins managerial job, Shelton stood out as the most comfortable choice they could have made. A former bench coach for the organization, Shelton is close friends with Baldelli and even received many of the same criticisms as the former Twins’ skipper during his time in Pittsburgh. Shelton has a reputation as a player’s manager who was able to mostly keep the clubhouse under control while the Pirates were uncompetitive both on the field and in the payroll department for five-plus years. The fear is that the Twins may have tipped their hand in this hiring. Other candidates, such as Ryan Flaherty and James Rowson, come with plenty of unknowns in how they would operate as first-time managers. What’s known about Shelton is that he will likely manage very similarly to Baldelli and just showed he can soldier through a 5+ year stretch in which an organization did not attempt to spend or compete. Perhaps familiarity with the organization was the main selling point in hiring Shelton. Still, it’s at least worth wondering whether the organization’s plans for the next few years played a part in hiring someone with experience in such uninspiring circumstances. Change was needed at the end of 2025, but transitioning from Baldelli to Shelton could make one question whether the front office actually believed change was needed, or whether that change was made just for the sake of it. This offseason was always going to be worth watching closely. Not just to observe whether the payroll teardown would continue, but to see whether the remaining leadership is willing to change how they operate and take the risks required to turn this organization around in a hurry. In their first significant move of the offseason, it’s hard not to be disappointed. Do you agree? Join the best Twins discussion online and let us know in the comments below. View full article

Image courtesy of © Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Matt Wallner may have been the least of the Twins' issues in 2025, but the step back he took offensively didn’t help the floundering lineup. The offense needs a complete overhaul, with very few players locked into the plans moving forward. What do the decision-makers do with Matt Wallner? Wallner’s struggles in 2025 were frustrating to watch. After a strong season-plus to begin his career, showing that he’s more than an all-or-nothing slugger, he regressed to being more of a three-true-outcomes player last season. Despite a career-low strikeout rate, he hit .202 while slugging 22 homers. Though he still walked nearly 12% of the time, the contact he made was not very valuable, unless the ball was going over the fence. After two strong seasons of performing in the clutch, Wallner’s Win Probability Added went negative in 2025. He took a step back in his performance against fastballs. His hard-hit and barrel rates declined. After posting strong batting averages on balls in play throughout his professional career, his .228 mark in 2025 was well below average. A flatter swing led to both more ground balls and more high fly balls and pop-ups. The Twins clearly lost faith in him, as he was moved down in the lineup, and he never put together any consistent stretch at the plate. With the lineup in need of a complete overhaul, it’s hard to say what the Twins will do to try to turn things around in 2026. Trevor Larnach is an obvious candidate to be shipped out, because of his lack of development and higher price tag. The team also acquired James Outman and Alan Roden as fellow left-handed-hitting, MLB-ready outfielders. They acquired left-handed hitting corner outfielder Henry Mendez, who will be on the 40-man roster in 2026. Emmanuel Rodriguez and Walker Jenkins will begin the season in Triple-A St. Paul. The team’s logjam of this player type opens the door for several potential moves. A case can be made to trade Wallner. Defense has never been a strong suit for him, but especially with the number of outfielders on the way, he likely won’t be long for everyday playing time. He may be a long-term DH in the Twins’ eyes, and if another team views him as a usable outfielder, he may have enough value for the Twins to work out a deal. The team is also likely considering the possibility that Wallner has been found out by opposing teams. He was repeatedly overpowered at the plate in 2025, and if the Twins don’t think this is fixable, they may learn from past mistakes and decide to trade him before his value bottoms out, as it has for so many others in the organization in the last year. That being said, Wallner’s “down year” still included a .776 OPS, good for 14% above league average. The way he got there may have been unsightly, but for a team so devoid of offensive standouts, it seems counterproductive to trade away one of their few above-average hitters. Regarding his defense, they are also lacking a regular DH, meaning Wallner could fill this role regularly while still getting some time in the outfield. If he returns to his pre-2025 production, Wallner would be one of the best designated hitters in the American League. He’s also still making the league minimum (or some amount close to it) in 2026. It’s hard to see Wallner as an “off-limits” player this offseason, and if this front office can get what they consider good value in trade for just about any player, they’ve shown they’ll pull the trigger. While this process sounds good in theory, it’s worth questioning whether this regime can be trusted in evaluating talent at this point. For a Twins offense that largely sank the team in 2025, one could argue that they would be wiser to target another player in a situation like Wallner’s, rather than trade one away. After an .877 OPS in 2023 and .894 in 2024, his big step backward still left him as an above-average hitter. He’s not without red flags or question marks, but some of his struggles in 2025 were complete aberrations in the context of his track record. If he can return to form in 2026, he would be one of the best hitters in a lineup that desperately needs him. The team should be acquiring and holding onto offensive upside, not trading it away. This Twins front office has a history of being unpredictable, making it a real possibility this winter to trade away yet another productive local Minnesotan. The Twins may be right to consider doing so, but with the team’s lack of recent success both on the field and in evaluating their own roster, it’s hard to have faith in that decision if they decide to ship Wallner out this winter. What should the Twins do with Matt Wallner after a down season? Can they keep him and use him as a DH? Should they look to deal him before his declining stock hits zero? Let us know below! View full article

Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images The Twins likely didn’t have plans of contending next season in mind when they shipped out the majority of their bullpen at the 2025 trade deadline. As a result, it’s hard to envision them allocating much money to bringing in replacements for 2026. Instead, they should turn these innings over to younger pieces with chances to break out and (at least) become usable relief arms. They have a few prime options who should be given this opportunity from the start of 2026. Cody Laweryson It’s fair to argue that Laweryson should have been given a shot to face MLB hitters earlier in 2025. While far from a high-end pitching prospect, he allowed just a single run in 7 2/3 innings in his first cup of big-league coffee. A former 14th-round pick by the Twins in 2019, it’s worth seeing whether the strong numbers he put up in a small sample at the end of 2025 can carry over to 2026. He’ll be cheaper than anyone they can find externally, and could become a great story from the late rounds of the draft. Laweryson.mp4 Laweryson lacks the velocity and raw stuff to take over as a high-leverage relief arm. Still, his command and ability to limit homers make him a strong candidate to at least fill out a middle relief role. With a wide-open depth chart, his brief success to end 2025 should be more than enough to earn him a look right away in 2026. Travis Adams Adams was added to the 40-man roster last offseason to serve as rotation depth. While he did wind up being used in that role eventually, he didn’t impress in it, and the Twins' rotation depth headed into 2026 makes him unlikely to serve in that capacity again. Adams made the transition to the bullpen in September, and it didn’t go well, but perhaps a full offseason of preparing for relief work can make a difference. Adams has a strong repertoire to transition into relief work. Unlike Laweryson, Adams can run his fastball into the mid- to high 90s. He also has a six-pitch mix that could easily be trimmed down to feature his changeup and slider, which were his best swing-and-miss offerings. Adams will have to perform much better than he did in 2025 to stick in any role, but it’s fair to wonder whether he has the upside to help fill the massive void left by the trade deadline. David Festa A former 13th-round pick, Festa developed into a legitimate starting pitching prospect before his stock came crashing down in 2025. Poor performance was eventually revealed to be injury-related, as repeated shoulder injuries held him down for much of the year. He struggled to maintain his stuff and consistency for multiple innings at a time. While injury may be the cause, it’s also worth questioning whether Festa’s significant boost in velocity since he was drafted can be maintained in a traditional starting pitching role. When it comes to stuff, Festa is near the top of the Twins organization at his best. His high-end velocity and pair of off-speed pitches make him a candidate to become a legitimately dominant back-end relief pitcher. Between his injury, the Twins’ need for bullpen help, and their starting pitching depth, a move to a relief role would make a lot of sense. It’s unlikely we see this transition from day one, as the team always likes to maintain rotation depth, but they shouldn’t be too slow to try Festa in a new role if 2026 doesn’t get out to an encouraging start for him. He’s more than capable of being one of the better relief pitchers on the roster by season’s end. Are there any other organizational relievers that should be given a chance to help rebuild the bullpen in 2026? Or some starting pitchers who the team should try in a relief role? Let us know below! View full article

Image courtesy of © Eric Hartline-Imagn Images After the Twins sold at the deadline, all that was left to hope for was that some of the remaining players would make the best of the opportunity that had opened up and earn their way into the 2026 plans. While not everyone made good on this, a few players certainly look like they’ve earned themselves roles on next year's roster. Kody Clemens Clemens looked like a flash in the pan when he followed up his explosive first month in a Twins uniform with a .625 OPS in June. Being a well-traveled 29-year-old, there was always a chance that his performance was simply one good month and that he would return to the version of Kody Clemens that could never quite carve out a regular role on an MLB roster. Finishing as a comfortably above league-average hitter in two of the last three months of the season while playing regularly may have changed that in the Twins’ eyes. Clemens may not be a part of the long-term future, but he should fit quite well on the 2026 Twins roster. The organization lacks interesting options for first base, where Clemens filled in for much of the second half. He will also be plenty cheap for a roster that is likely to shed more payroll than add to it this offseason. Clemens can be an ideal stopgap at first base and second base in addition to filling in at both corner outfield spots. It may not be a massive development for the future, but Clemens at least gives the team one less roster spot to worry about. Austin Martin Making up one half of the trade return from dealing Jose Berrios to the Blue Jays, Martin looks to have finally made good on the Twins' acquisition of him in 2021. Martin has dealt with swing changes, injuries, and overall inconsistency in his Twins tenure. He’s no longer considered a serious option in the infield mix and remains extremely raw in center field. After receiving regular opportunities down the stretch, he settled into left field, where he showed positive defensive metrics and was one of the Twins’ better overall hitters in the final months of the season. Martin still lacks power, but his right-handed bat makes him a shoo-in for the Twins’ 2026 roster. Left-handed hitters dominate the outfield, and the team has lacked a quality option to spell them for several years. His speed and athleticism also complement the overall roster, making him a strong bench option at the very least. He may not be the player who was once selected fifth overall in the MLB draft, but Martin may finally be emerging as a valuable MLB player. Simeon Woods Richardson SWR has been a solid back-end starting pitcher for multiple seasons, although he’s lacked consistency at times, and the upside has seemed capped because of his repertoire. The end of his season has to have raised some eyebrows, as after returning from a stomach illness, Woods Richardson did enough to leave us questioning whether he just needed a little extra time to take that next step. Allowing two runs and striking out 23 in his last 17 innings, Woods Richardson looked like he had finally built back up after his illness. He ramped up the usage of his new splitter, which became arguably his best pitch after adding it to his mix partway through the season. After inconsistent usage throughout the year, SWR began to rely on this new offering, and it looks like the key to taking another step forward. With so many arms added at the deadline, Woods Richardson’s job looked to be a bit more in question heading into 2026. His flashes of brilliance to end the season, which coincided with a notable change in pitch mix, should earn him an Opening Day rotation spot for 2026. Were there any other players who made the most of a bad situation down the stretch? Was there anyone you wished would have done a better job of taking advantage of their opportunity? Let us know below! View full article

Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images Editor's Note: This is the second piece in a three-part series to close out this week, examining the Twins' corner outfield situation looking toward 2026 with a particular emphasis on the slugging Wallner. In this installment, Cody Pirkl makes a case for Wallner to be treated more as an indispensable piece of the team's core. Doubt has followed Matt Wallner since his debut in 2022. During that season, his swing-and-miss rates in St. Paul made him a questionable candidate to carry his dominance over to the major leagues. Both the fan base and the Twins themselves have maintained a fair amount of skepticism all these years. While Wallner is far from a perfect player, he deserves much more credit than he’s given. Wallner’s path has been winding to this point, with periods of complete helplessness at the plate that have resulted in demotions when the swing-and-miss has gotten out of control. It’s a profile Twins fans are sick of watching, after several seasons slipped away as the lineup swung for the fences and missed. Even the Twins have shied away from this player profile, after targeting it so heavily in years past. Although we have yet to see a significant payoff, the organization has increasingly emphasized athleticism and speed (at least rhetorically), and the team's strikeout rate has declined year over year as they’ve targeted fewer “all-or-nothing” hitters. Wallner is the only player with this approach left on the roster. The years of doubt in Wallner’s abilities appear to have peaked in 2025, as the team (and the lineup, in particular) has crossed into complete disaster territory. Wallner’s down year has been at least part of the problem with the Twins’ offense, but adding context shows that lumping his struggles this season with the rest of the team is unfair. Wallner’s slash line of .215/.323/.507 invokes Twins’ fans' primal urge to point and yell “Miguel Sanó!” It’s hard to argue that Wallner’s 2025 season doesn’t bear a resemblance. In Wallner’s worst season, however, hiss slash line is still over 25% better than that of an average hitter. In comparison to the rest of the Twins’ lineup, it becomes even more ridiculous to complain about. Wallner’s .830 OPS trails only Byron Buxton among starters on the team, as does his tally of 20 home runs. His unsightly batting average is a result of a batting average on balls in play that is below average for the first time in his professional career. We now know that BABIP is not purely a luck-based metric (see Max Kepler), and that Wallner’s consistently elite exit velocities should lead to a bounceback in this department, with all things being equal. Meanwhile, he’s still walked over 10% of the time this season and has a sub-30% strikeout rate for the first time in his MLB career. This year looks like the low end of the spectrum of outcomes you can expect to see from a player with this profile, and Wallner is still one of the Twins’ better hitters. Fans being frustrated with this profile is to be expected, but the Twins themselves appear to have shifted their view on Wallner. More often, he has hit at the bottom of the lineup, with players who are having genuinely poor offensive seasons, such as Royce Lewis and Edouard Julien. This move down the lineup has made Wallner’s strengths much less impactful, as many of his homers have come with the bases empty, and he often has nobody to hit him in when he takes his walks. Meanwhile, Trevor Larnach has consistently batted as high as second in the order, despite a below-average offensive season, and Kody Clemens has continued to slot into the heart of the order despite his production being in the tank for months now. The Twins are clearly signaling a lack of faith in Wallner, and it could make things interesting heading into 2026 as they look to shake up this disappointing core. For more on the contrast between Larnach and Wallner, specifically, see the first article in this series, from Eric Blonigen. Since the season Wallner was promoted, the Twins have had their doubts about him. In 2022, they kept him in St. Paul for far too long as Jake Cave and Mark Contreras roamed the outfield deep into a lost season. There were rumors of them considering trading him away as recently as the 2024 trade deadline. All he’s done is post an .853 OPS in almost 900 plate appearances in his career. It’s an odd dynamic, as you’d think an organization that has done such a poor job of drafting and developing offensive players would be quick to celebrate Wallner, who is arguably the best offensive player they’ve drafted in this regime’s history. He has his flaws, but for him to seemingly be grouped with some of the lineup's worst performers down the stretch seems a bit extreme. Wallner has had a down season in 2025, but it’s easy to see that his standards are much different than the rest of the lineup. Not only are fans down on his performance, but it appears the Twins are, as well. The numbers speak for themselves, however. View full article

Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images With so many impact players shipped out at the trade deadline, opportunity has emerged for a handful of players to stake their claim headed into 2026. Their performance for the remainder of the season may not only determine their role next year, but whether they’re on the roster at all. There’s also a group of players who, while they haven’t quite reached that point, they’re approaching it very quickly. For this group, their performance this season and early in 2026 will be significant for their future with the Minnesota Twins organization. OF Alan Roden As unfair as it is, it’s hard to be anything but disappointed in Roden, who was half of the return from Toronto in the Louis Varland trade. He posted a .463 OPS in 40 plate appearances with the Twins before being shut down with a thumb injury. He also struggled mightily with the Blue Jays earlier this season. Roden may be the opening day left fielder regardless, as it’s easy to see a scenario in which Trevor Larnach’s arbitration of around $5m is seen as untenable. Roden is a plus defender and easily edges Larnach in that department but lacks even fleeting glimpses of offensive upside so far in his career. Acquiring another left-handed hitting outfielder was always questionable, given the team’s already existing logjam in that department. Roden was given a head start down the stretch and will have nothing to show for it. He’ll have to hit immediately in 2026, or any number of upcoming corner outfield bats from either side of the plate could get their shot. There is no shortage of candidates to take at-bats away from him if he struggles next season, including Emmanuel Rodriguez, Gabriel Gonzalez, Kyler Fedko, Austin Martin, and potentially even Walker Jenkins eventually. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson Unfortunately, an IL trip due to illness interrupted Woods Richardson's bounce-back from early-season struggles. While not quite up to the standard he set as a rookie, SWR has performed more than adequately to continue to fill the back end of the rotation. He should still return this season to continue building on his new splitter, which has helped him turn things around. He’s posted a serviceable 4.40 ERA since he began throwing the new pitch on May 14. Unfortunately for Woods Richardson, the Twins added a wave of competition at the deadline. Mick Abel and Taj Bradley blow him away in the raw stuff department, and we’ll likely see them before the end of the season (or, weekend) in the big-league rotation. Kendry Rojas has struggled in his debut with St. Paul but will likely be up sometime next season. Woods Richardson has to pitch well down the stretch, or his role could be in jeopardy. Even if the Twins trade away a starter or two this offseason to save some money, they have a glut of rotation depth with plenty of upside. The Twins could look to either trade him or move him to the bullpen shortly if he doesn’t fully cement himself as part of the 2026 rotation. 3B Royce Lewis The vibes don’t seem great with Lewis, who once looked like one of the core pieces cemented in the Twins lineup. It’s been over a year since we’ve seen consistent production from the Twins third baseman, and his occasional eyebrow-raising quotes pointing to unhappiness with the team are beginning to add up. At this point, it’s safe to assume that Royce’s frustrations with the team are reciprocated. His .632 OPS since August 1 of 2024 is a huge reason the Twins offense has been so lackluster, and he’s been slid down the lineup recently as he’s failed to show any signs of consistency. We’re approaching the point where we have to ask whether Lewis is the player we thought he was. The Twins will likely be asking this very question soon as well. Lewis will have the remainder of 2025 and the beginning of 2026 to turn it around, but the decisions become difficult as players like Kaelen Culpepper approach MLB readiness. An offense can’t be competitive with a third baseman performing the way Lewis has for the last year, and the repeated headline-worthy quotes are likely getting tiresome on the business end. After once holding a near-untouchable status, Lewis may soon find himself on the verge of being squeezed out of the depth chart. View full article

Image courtesy of © Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images (Travis Adams), © Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images (Pierson Ohl) The mass exodus of the Twins' relief corps has left the team with a decimated bullpen for both the short and long term. We’ve already seen them begin to scour the waiver wire for interesting arms, and several spots have been filled by veteran options who are unlikely to develop into much beyond this season. Two recently promoted arms are currently filling bulk roles but could be prime candidates to take the next step toward being valuable relievers. Travis Adams We saw Travis Adams spin a fantastic start on Tuesday against Detroit, going five innings and allowing two runs while striking out seven. While worth celebrating, Adams is a tier below many of the current and up-and-coming starting pitchers in the organization in terms of prospect pedigree. Nothing is saying he can’t develop as a traditional starting pitcher if he continues to be successful, but his path to grabbing a rotation spot in the future is narrow. We’re unlikely to see Adams make many more starts this season, and even his role as a bulk reliever may be unnecessary as several arms are promoted and hopefully return from injury. His six-pitch mix is surely what made him a candidate for this role. Still, as the demand for a neutral innings filler declines, it may be an excellent opportunity for him to trim his repertoire down and focus on retiring hitters in shorter stints. Adams’ bread and butter is his four-seam fastball and slider. Both offerings have whiff rates above 30% even in his stretched-out role. He throws a sinker, cutter, and curveball, all of which have been pummeled in the small sample of his debut. He’s gotten unlucky with his changeup, but this pitch looks solid as well with a 25% whiff rate and is his go-to pitch for retiring opposing hitters. Out of the bullpen, he would only need a fastball, slider, and changeup to navigate shorter stretches of opposing lineups, and any uptick in stuff in these short bursts could make a huge difference. Cutting down on the repertoire and letting the stuff play up is a recipe for bullpen success that has played out plenty of times, and Travis Adams is a prime candidate to make this transition. Pierson Ohl Like Adams, Ohl has been used as a bulk pitcher this season, and it’s helped him reclaim some of the shine that he lost in 2024. Ohl once looked like an intriguing find in the 14th round when he reached Double-A in 2023 and posted an ERA in the low 3s. 2024 saw a significant step back in stuff across the board, however. In 2025, shortening his role allowed him to ascend to the big-league level, where he’s flashed his elite changeup in his brief debut so far. Unlike Adams, Ohl doesn’t have much to trim off his repertoire. He’s turned to his fastball and changeup over 80% of the time. He currently looks like a one-pitch pitcher, making him the likeliest candidate to see his innings reduced as the rotation fills back out. The changeup is legitimately dominant, potentially to the point where he could be an effective one-inning reliever in the MLB right now. The question is whether he can take a step beyond that level. Ohl’s fastball has averaged a shade over 92 mph so far while getting absolutely shelled. Perhaps shorter stints can boost the velocity to the point where that pitch is at least usable. Ohl has also flashed a cutter less than 10% of the time with excellent results. If he can have some time to play with the pitch mix and find another offering to pair with a legitimately elite changeup, it’s easy to see how he could be highly effective out of the bullpen. Despite the Twins’ previously elite bullpen being homegrown, such situations aren’t put together overnight. It’s often a winding path to the status of “elite reliever” or even “effective reliever”, and there’s no telling who will develop next for the Twins. Adams and Ohl should be given the opportunity down the stretch this season, and both have the kinds of indicators to look for in pitchers who successfully make this transition. Do you agree that Austin Adams and Pierson Ohl have what it takes to be part of the next effective Twins bullpen? Are there other arms we should be keeping an eye on? Let us know below! View full article