Matthew Taylor

Image courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images The Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays are headed to the World Series, and neither team needed a top-10 payroll to get there. Milwaukee entered the 2026 season with the 19th-highest Opening Day payroll in baseball, while Tampa Bay ranked 26th. For the Minnesota Twins, it might be tempting to look at this matchup and conclude that payroll isn't as important as people think. If these smaller-market organizations can compete for a championship without spending big, why can't the Twins? A well-run organization can overcome financial limitations, but that doesn't mean payroll is unimportant. Three teams in the bottom 11 of Opening Day payrolls reached the League Championship Series this year, and Milwaukee made an especially convincing statement by sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers, whose payroll was nearly twice as large as the Brewers'. Those are impressive accomplishments, but they don't change what decades of baseball history have shown us. Teams with top-10 payrolls have won 20 of the last 28 World Series titles. MLB.com has also found that teams in the upper half of spending are roughly 1.7 times more likely to reach the playoffs; three times more likely to reach the League Championship Series; and six times more likely to reach the World Series than teams in the bottom half. Money doesn't guarantee success, but it significantly improves a team's chances of achieving it. The Brewers and Rays are exceptions to that rule. Both organizations have built impressive systems for identifying talent, developing players and replacing departing contributors. They're among the best-run organizations in baseball, and their success demonstrates how much a smart front office can accomplish despite financial limitations. Even then, imagine what they could do with more money to retain their best players and supplement their young talent. That's where the comparison becomes problematic for the Twins. Minnesota hasn't demonstrated the same ability to consistently overcome its limitations. Front-office turnover, managerial changes, coaching turnover and too many prospect flameouts have made it difficult to trust that the organization can consistently make the right decisions. The Twins need to improve their scouting, player development and roster construction, but they also need to give themselves more financial flexibility. When an organization hasn't shown it can consistently get the most out of its existing resources, the answer shouldn't be to provide even fewer resources and hope for better results. This brings us to the upcoming offseason. With labor negotiations potentially bringing a salary floor, a salary cap or other changes to baseball's economic structure, we don't know exactly what the financial landscape will look like. What we do know is that the Twins need a payroll closer to the middle of the league than the bottom. They don't necessarily need to spend like the Dodgers, but they need more flexibility to retain their best players and address roster weaknesses, without relying on every prospect and every internal decision to work out perfectly. In a 2024 interview with WCCO, Joe Pohlad pointed to the Rays as an example of why the Twins didn't need to spend big to compete. Tampa Bay has shown that an organization could win without making major investments in free agency, and the Twins believed they could follow a similar model. Now, with the Rays in the World Series alongside Milwaukee, it's easy to see how ownership could use this year's results to justify keeping payroll down. But the Rays' success doesn't mean the Twins can afford to spend less. Tampa Bay has built an organization capable of consistently overcoming its financial limitations, something Minnesota hasn't proven it can do. Tom Pohlad shouldn't mistake the success of two exceptionally well-run organizations for evidence that payroll doesn't matter. I hope the biggest takeaway from this World Series, for Tom Pohlad and the Twins' front office, isn't that payroll doesn't matter. It absolutely does. Milwaukee and Tampa Bay have earned their place on baseball's biggest stage, but their success shouldn't become another justification for Minnesota to spend less. The Twins need to make better decisions, and they need to give themselves more resources to work with. Until they prove they can consistently build and sustain a contender, spending more on the major-league roster is one of the clearest ways to improve their chances. Do you agree? Should the Twins view the Brewers and Rays as proof that a low payroll can work, or should this World Series matchup reinforce the need for Minnesota to spend more? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-Imagn Images The Minnesota Twins are heading into an offseason with no shortage of questions, but perhaps none is bigger than the one that has followed this organization for years: How much money will the team spend? That question has become almost impossible to separate from any discussion about the Twins' offseason plans. Fans look at the top of the free-agent class and immediately cross off many names, because they assume the Pohlad family won't pay for them. Every potential trade eventually comes back to salary. Every roster need comes with the question of whether ownership will actually provide the money necessary to address it. That's why Tom Pohlad's comments at Monday's end-of-season press conference were so interesting. He didn't give a specific payroll number, but he was about as direct as a Twins owner has ever been about the organization's willingness to spend. "The approach we’re going to take this offseason is strictly about what our strategy is, and I have said over and over that a $100 million payroll or anything close to that is not sufficient to be consistently competitive and in the playoffs, and so we intend to take the offseason and meaningfully invest," Pohlad said. "I know everybody in this room wants me to define what 'meaningfully' is, and I understand that that’s a subjective word. But I am confident that Jeremy Zoll, if he has conviction about a move that’s going to improve this roster and help us accomplish our goals, that this ownership group is prepared to support him with the financial resources he needs." The quote has understandably been divisive among Twins fans. Some fans heard an owner finally saying the things they have wanted to hear for years. Others heard another Pohlad making another promise and immediately thought, "I'll believe it when I see it." Honestly, I understand both reactions. If your immediate response to that quote was skepticism, there is plenty of history behind it. Tom Pohlad is not the first Pohlad to own the Twins, and that family history is a huge reason why fans have such a difficult time trusting anything the organization says about payroll. Carl Pohlad, Jim Pohlad and Joe Pohlad all had their own versions of the same ownership philosophy, at least in the eyes of many Twins fans. The organization has consistently operated with financial limitations, and fans have repeatedly watched the Twins pass on opportunities to spend at the top of the market. Joe Pohlad's comments following the 2024 season are a perfect example. When asked about payroll in an interview with WCCO, he said, "If we have a winning product, regardless of what our payroll is, I think fans will come out." He also said he wasn't going to get into payroll at that point, while promising the Twins would have a better product the following season. A year earlier, he famously talked about the organization needing to "right-size our business." Those comments fit the perception Twins fans had developed over decades. When a Pohlad talked about payroll, the conversation was either vague or focused on financial restraint. That's why I can't blame anyone for looking at Tom Pohlad's comments and refusing to believe them. He has the same last name as the people who came before him, and the Twins have spent years giving fans reasons to be skeptical. There's nothing wrong with wanting to see the money actually spent before deciding that this time is different. Talk is cheap, and the Twins have had plenty of it over the years. But I'm going to do something a little different this offseason. I'm going to believe Tom Pohlad. I'm not suddenly a Pohlad apologist. I've been as critical of the ownership group as anyone, and I'm certainly not willing to declare that Tom Pohlad has already proven he is going to run this organization differently. What I'm willing to do is give him a chance to prove that he is different, because there are some legitimate reasons to think this Pohlad might not simply be a carbon copy of the ones who came before him. The first reason is the obvious one: Tom Pohlad talks about the Twins very differently than the previous Pohlads did. That doesn't mean words are enough, because they aren't, but the difference is difficult to ignore. Compare Monday's comments to Joe Pohlad's comments following the 2024 season. Joe wouldn't even get into a payroll number. Tom Pohlad volunteered that a $100 million payroll is not enough to consistently compete and make the playoffs. Joe talked about having a better product. Tom talked about "meaningfully invest." Joe talked about the business. Tom talked about giving Zoll the financial resources necessary to make moves he has conviction in. We've also heard Tom Pohlad say that he is a "go big or go home" guy. We've heard him say that he would invest in the team at the trade deadline if the Twins were in the playoff mix. We've heard him speak much more confidently about what he believes this organization needs to do to compete. Maybe all of that will ultimately amount to nothing, but it's certainly not the same messaging Twins fans have heard from the Pohlad family for the past several decades. This is a Pohlad talking about spending with a level of confidence and specificity that we haven't heard before. The second reason I'm willing to believe him is that we've already seen Tom Pohlad follow through on one of his promises. Just as the 2026 season began, Pohlad said that if the Twins were in the playoff mix at the time of the trade deadline, he would be aggressive and invest further in the team at that time. When the deadline arrived, the Twins were indeed in the playoff mix, and Pohlad did exactly what he said he would do. The Twins didn't sit on their hands or make a token addition. They were aggressive, adding multiple players and taking on significant money (by Minnesota Twins standards) in the process. The A.J. Minter trade was the clearest example of that. The Twins took on Minter's full remaining contract, rather than trying to find a way to make the deal work while minimizing their financial commitment. Considering the uncertainty surrounding the Twins at the deadline, when it wasn't exactly clear whether they should be buying or selling, ownership could have easily used that uncertainty as a reason to stay conservative. Instead, Pohlad followed through on what he said he would do and supported one of the more aggressive trade deadlines we've seen from the Twins, both in terms of the players they acquired and the money they were willing to take on. It doesn't prove that everything Pohlad has said will come true, but it does give us one pretty important example of him saying he would invest when the opportunity presented itself, and then actually doing it. That doesn't erase decades of skepticism toward the Pohlad family, and it shouldn't. But it does give us at least one example of Tom Pohlad saying he would do something and then actually doing it. Up to this point, he really hasn't given Twins fans much evidence that he can't be trusted when he says he is willing to invest. Now he has a full offseason to show whether that continues. That's why I'm choosing optimism this time around. I'm tired of approaching every Twins offseason by looking at the biggest names in free agency and immediately convincing myself that the Twins won't sign them. I'm tired of looking at a big contract and immediately calculating why ownership won't approve it. I'm tired of telling myself not to get excited about certain players because the Pohlad family will never spend that much anyway. Maybe that pessimism will prove to be correct again, but I'm not going to start the offseason there this time. Maybe I'll be wrong. Maybe "meaningfully invest" will end up meaning something much smaller than Twins fans hope. Maybe the Twins will make a handful of modest moves and call it an investment. Maybe they'll pursue some of the biggest names in free agency and lose out to teams willing to spend more. If that happens, I'll be right there with everyone else asking why the words didn't match the actions. But I don't think Tom Pohlad should be judged entirely on what Carl, Jim or Joe Pohlad did. At some point, you have to allow the new guy to show you who he is. Tom Pohlad has talked differently. He has shown some willingness to back up those words. Now he has a full offseason and an opportunity to make his biggest statement yet. So I'm going to take him at his word. I'm going to believe that "meaningfully invest" actually means meaningful investment. I'm going to believe that a $100 million payroll really isn't enough. I'm going to believe that when Zoll has conviction about a move, ownership will back him up. Maybe I'll regret it, but for once I'm going to enjoy a Twins offseason believing that something bigger might actually be coming. What do you think? Are you willing to believe Tom Pohlad, or do you need to see the Twins actually spend before you'll buy what he's selling? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

Image courtesy of Erik Williams-Imagn Images The 2026 season didn’t end the way Twins fans had hoped, but now that the season is officially in the books, there’s still plenty to look back on and remember fondly. There were big wins, breakout performances, unexpected contributors, and, of course, plenty of home runs. Everyone loves a good home run, but there’s something especially fun about watching one absolutely disappear. The Twins had one of the better offenses in the American League this season, finishing third in runs scored. They didn’t rank quite as highly in home runs, but they still finished 12th in baseball with 187 long balls. So, as we put a bow on the 2026 season, let’s take a look back at some of the biggest blasts of the year. Here are the five (technically six) longest home runs hit by a Twins player in 2026, based on projected distance. 5. Ryan Kreidler, 438 feet April 13 vs. Boston Red Sox When the Twins claimed Ryan Kreidler off waivers over the offseason, they did so primarily for his glove, not his bat. While that assessment turned out to be mostly accurate, Kreidler still managed to hit a career-high eight home runs during the season. None traveled farther than his solo blast against the Boston Red Sox on April 13. Kreidler came to the plate in the second inning with the Twins already holding a commanding 10-0 lead. He added to it in a hurry, launching a ball 438 feet for his third home run of the season and pushing the lead to 11-0. The Twins went on to win the game 13-6. It wasn't exactly a high-leverage home run, but it showcased what Kreidler is capable of, including some things he wasn't capable of before. He swung the bat at a lightning-fast 77.6 miles per hour, and the ball jumped off it at 109 MPH, with a 29° launch angle. 5. Byron Buxton, 438 feet April 14 vs. Boston Red Sox Kreidler wasn't the only Twin to hit a 438-foot home run in 2026—or even in that series. Byron Buxton did it one day later, also against the Red Sox. Buxton had the third-highest home run total of his career this season, and none traveled farther than his third home run of the season. Facing Boston's Jack Anderson (who later became a teammate), Buxton took a 2-0 slider that was well below the strike zone and somehow turned it into a 108-MPH, 438-foot blast. It was as close to a carbon copy of Kreidler's dinger as any ball can be of another, down to the launch angle and bat speed. It was part of arguably Buxton's best game of the season. He went 4-for-5 with two home runs and scored four runs as the Twins rolled the Red Sox. Unfortunately, injuries once again derailed Buxton's season, but when he was healthy, he remained one of the most impactful players in baseball. 4. Josh Bell, 442 feet June 7 vs. Kansas City Royals Josh Bell had a knack for hitting the ball a long way in 2026, and his first appearance on this list came during a ninth-inning rally against the Kansas City Royals on June 7. The Twins entered the ninth trailing 6-1, but after a walk and a single to open the inning, Bell stepped to the plate with an opportunity to bring the Twins back into the game. He did exactly that, launching a 442-foot blast into the right-field concourse at Target Field. Suddenly, the Twins were within two runs, and what had looked like a blowout was turning into a potentially dramatic comeback. It was a missile, launched such a long distance because it wasted no time rising or falling. A 78-MPH swing produced a 112-MPH exit velocity, at a frozen-rope 25° launch angle. The Twins scored another run later in the inning, but couldn't quite finish the job and fell 6-5. 3. Royce Lewis, 444 feet June 10 vs. Detroit Tigers Royce Lewis's 2026 season was a roller coaster, with a demotion to the minors, a red-hot return to Minnesota and a difficult finish to the season. Along the way, there were plenty of reminders of why the Twins have been so excited about Lewis throughout his young career. One of those came on June 10 against the Detroit Tigers. Lewis took left-hander Framber Valdez deep in the second inning, sending a solo shot 444 feet into the left-center-field seats. It was an impressive display of power against a typically stud pitcher. Lewis's bat speed fluctuated as he worked through mechanical issues, but on this offering, he got off an 81-MPH 'A' swing and connected cleanly enough to hit it 108 MPH at a 32° launch angle. Lewis finished the year with 15 home runs, the second-highest total of his Twins career. While the season didn't go exactly as he or the Twins would have hoped, blasts like this one showed the offensive upside that remains in his bat. 2. Josh Bell, 452 feet July 1 vs. Houston Astros Bell makes another appearance near the top of the list, this time with a 452-foot blast against the Houston Astros on July 1. He hit his 11th home run of the season that night, launching a ball over the batter's eye in center field at Daikin Park. It was another example of Bell, who's just a huge guy with a great feel for hitting, really, getting just enough air under one to send it soaring. He swished the stick at 78 MPH, launched it at 26°, and got a whopping 113 MPH of exit velocity behind it. Bell would finish the season with 21 home runs, fourth-most on the Twins in 2026. Three of those home runs ended up among the five longest blasts of the season. Wait, three? But that means... 1. Josh Bell, 460 feet September 4 vs. Chicago White Sox And finally, we have the longest home run hit by a Twin in 2026, and fittingly, it's another one from Bell. He launched a ball 460 feet into the right-center-field concourse, giving the Twins their longest home run of the season by a considerable margin. MLB's Statcast data measured the blast at 114 MPH off the bat. He swung the bat a little slower than on his other ferocious blasts (76 MPH), but connected more cleanly, and putting just a little more air under it (30°) let it carry farther than any of his other shots this year. And there you have it. Bell accounted for three of the five longest blasts, while Lewis, Buxton and Kreidler each contributed impressive ones of their own. The season may be over, but these are some of the moments that are fun to look back on. Which of these home runs was your favorite? View full article

Image courtesy of John Jones, Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images The 2026 Minnesota Twins were not supposed to be contenders. Heading into the season, expectations were low, and few people expected them to spend most of the year hanging around the American League playoff picture. Yet that is exactly what happened. The Twins were surprisingly in the playoff mix for roughly 80% of the season, were buyers at the trade deadline and even occupied a playoff spot midway through August. They were not mathematically eliminated until the middle of September. A big reason they remained relevant for so long was the weakness of the American League, but that should not take away from the fact that they had an opportunity in front of them. The Twins were playing meaningful baseball deep into the season, and the playoff spot was there for the taking. Unfortunately, the Twins could not take advantage of it. Despite becoming buyers at the trade deadline, Minnesota went on to become one of the worst teams in baseball over the final stretch of the season. The frustrating part is that this was not a roster that was completely incapable of competing. The Twins will likely finish the season with the second-most runs scored in the American League. Their starting rotation, despite its flaws, was not among the worst in baseball. The starters will finish 18th in MLB in fWAR and 14th in xERA. The defense was certainly a problem, but when looking at what ultimately kept the Twins from taking advantage of such a wide-open playing field, the bullpen stands out. The Twins bullpen was one of the worst in baseball for much of the season and will finish 26th in MLB in ERA. It also had the second-highest walk rate in baseball. Those numbers actually include the improvements Minnesota made at the trade deadline by acquiring A.J. Minter and Jeff Hoffman, meaning the full-season numbers make the bullpen look better than it was for much of the first half. Before the deadline, the Twins had the second-worst bullpen ERA in baseball. It took the front office most of the season to figure out what it wanted its bullpen to look like, from acquiring Yoendrys Gomez early in the season to turning Andrew Morris into a one-inning reliever in May and eventually adding Hoffman and Minter at the deadline. By the end, the Twins had finally put together some legitimate pieces, but all of that work still resulted in a bullpen that ranked near the bottom of the league in ERA, and well below average in metrics like FIP, WAR and WPA. That makes it difficult not to think about two star relievers who could have been in that bullpen all along. At last year's trade deadline, the Twins traded away their three best relievers in Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax and Louis Varland. Jax has since transitioned into a starting role, so his situation is a little different. Duran and Varland, however, continued in the roles they had with Minnesota and turned in two of the best relief seasons in baseball. Duran was spectacular for the Phillies, posting Win Probability Added. He became exactly the type of high-leverage weapon Philadelphia hoped it was acquiring when it traded for him. Varland was even better. After showing flashes with the Twins, primarily in the bullpen, Varland took his career to another level after settling into a full-time relief role with Toronto. He posted a 1.29 ERA, trailing only Mason Miller for the best mark among MLB relievers. He was worth 3.1 fWAR and posted a 3.57 WPA, making him one of the most valuable relievers in baseball. Put the two seasons together and Duran and Varland were worth nearly six fWAR in 2026. That is an especially significant number when looking at the Twins' bullpen because Minnesota spent a large portion of the season relying on replacement-level players to fill innings. This bullpen needed significant help, while those two departed relievers combined to provide nearly six fWAR for other teams. Simply replacing some of the innings Minnesota gave to replacement-level relievers with Duran and Varland would have dramatically changed the quality of the bullpen. There is also a much bigger domino effect to consider. If Duran and Varland had been in Minnesota from the beginning of the season, the Twins certainly would not have blown as many games early in the year. A better bullpen would have meant a better record, which would have meant higher playoff odds at the trade deadline. Higher playoff odds could have led the front office to be more aggressive in July, potentially resulting in an even stronger roster for the final two months of the season. Instead of spending much of the year trying to figure out the bullpen, Minnesota could have spent those resources addressing other weaknesses. There is no way to know exactly how those alternate decisions would have played out, but the point is that the impact of keeping Duran and Varland would not have been limited to the innings they personally pitched. The other side of the equation is what the Twins actually received for the two relievers. Mick Abel, acquired in the Duran trade, barely had an opportunity to contribute before an injury ended his season. Alan Roden and Kendry Rojas, acquired in the Varland trade, also did not make a meaningful impact on the Twins' 2026 season. That does not mean those players cannot become important pieces for Minnesota in the future, and it would obviously be unfair to evaluate prospects solely on what they did in the first year after the trade. But it does make the opportunity cost of the trades much easier to see. The Twins gave up two relievers who became two of the best in baseball, and the players they received did not help them win games during a season in which the team was surprisingly close to the playoffs. That is the important distinction here. Trading Duran and Varland was much easier to justify if the Twins were convinced they were heading into a lost season and needed to prioritize the future. Both players were relatively inexpensive, had multiple years of team control remaining and had significant trade value. If the Twins had spent 2026 buried in the standings, nobody would be looking at these trades and wondering how many games they cost the team. Trading established relievers for promising prospects makes sense when a team is rebuilding. But the Twins insisted they were not rebuilding, and the 2026 season more or less proved that out. They were in the playoff race. They were buyers at the trade deadline. They were sitting in a playoff spot in August. They remained alive until September, despite having one of the worst bullpens in baseball. That is what makes the decision so much harder to swallow in hindsight. There is obviously no way to say that Duran and Varland would have guaranteed a playoff spot. Baseball does not work that cleanly, and there are too many variables involved to simply add their WAR to the Twins' win total and declare an alternate result. But it is difficult to look at the season the Twins just had and argue that those two players would not have made a significant difference. The offense was good enough. The starting pitching was good enough to keep the team competitive. The American League was vulnerable all season. The Twins remained in contention despite their bullpen being one of the biggest weaknesses on the roster. Maybe the Twins still would have fallen short with Duran and Varland. Maybe other weaknesses would have caught up with them. But considering how long they remained in the playoff race with a terrible bullpen, it is difficult not to wonder what would have happened if two of the best relievers in baseball had still been wearing Minnesota uniforms. So, what do you think? If the Twins had kept Jhoan Duran and Louis Varland instead of trading them last season, would Minnesota have made the playoffs in 2026? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

Image courtesy of Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Zebby Matthews 5 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 9 K HR: Brooks Lee (24), Emmanuel Rodríguez (2) Bottom 3 WPA: Matthews -0.27, Ryan Jeffers -0.06, Luke Keaschall -0.05 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs): The Twins aren't playing for much these days. With just two series remaining in the 2026 season, the standings have largely stopped mattering. The Twins came into San Francisco having split a four-gamer in Anaheim over the weekend, but whether they win or lose these final games isn't particularly important. What does matter is what they can learn. Monday night's 5-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants provided plenty of features of interest, from another uneven outing for Zebby Matthews to the major-league debut of Aaron Sabato and an encouraging moment from one of the organization's most important young players, Emmanuel Rodríguez. The Twins are already looking toward 2027, and these final games give the organization an opportunity to evaluate players who could play important roles next season. Zebby Matthews's Uncertain Future There may not be a player on the Twins roster with a wider gap between his ceiling and his floor than Matthews. At his best, he's looked like a frontline starting pitcher. At his worst, he's looked like a pitcher who should eventually find himself in the bullpen. The Twins already have Joe Ryan, Pablo López and Taj Bradley locked into their rotation for 2027, leaving two spots that figure to be contested by Connor Prielipp, Mick Abel, Matthews and Dean Kremer. Matthews does not appear particularly likely to end up in the bullpen at this point, but a strong finish to the season could have helped his case for one of those final rotation spots. His start Monday did not do much to strengthen that case. Matthews allowed eight hits and five earned runs over five innings against a Giants lineup that looked more like a Triple-A corps than a major-league one. The damage started immediately in the first inning when Matthews allowed three consecutive hits, including a two-run single from Giants third baseman Brett Harris. San Francisco added two more runs in the second, on a two-run single from Minnesota native Drew Gilbert. Gilbert struck again in the fifth inning with his 11th home run of the season. There were some positives for Matthews. He generated 15 swings and misses and struck out nine batters, showing the stuff that has made the Twins believe there's still a significant ceiling here. The problem is that the quality of the Giants lineup makes those numbers a little more difficult to evaluate. Against this particular opponent, the five earned runs were ultimately more concerning than the strikeout and whiff totals were encouraging. Matthews may get one more opportunity to pitch before the season ends, but he currently sits with a 4.90 ERA over just over 130 innings. What the Twins decide to do with him this offseason could be one of the more fascinating pitching decisions of the winter. There's still a version of Matthews who looks like a major-league starter, but Monday was another reminder that getting that version consistently remains the challenge. Aaron Sabato Finally Gets His Chance The other major storyline entering the game was the long-awaited major-league debut of Aaron Sabato. The Twins selected Sabato with the 27th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, and six years later, the first baseman finally made it to the majors at age 27. His path to the majors was winding. Sabato had to work his way out of the prospect bust conversation just to put himself in position to receive this opportunity. He posted a .877 OPS with 29 home runs in Triple-A this season, earning his call-up and finally getting the opportunity that had seemed increasingly unlikely throughout his minor-league career. His first night in the majors certainly did not go the way he dreamed it would. Sabato went 0-for-3 and saw just eight pitches. In his first plate appearance, he struck out swinging at an 84-mph sweeper. In his second, he flew out to center field on the first pitch he saw. His final at-bat came with runners on first and second, but he grounded into an inning-ending double play. That's obviously not the debut Sabato would have drawn up. But the important part is that he's here. After six years in the organization, Sabato finally has his name in the major-league record books, and he will have more opportunities to get that first career hit. For a player who had to work extremely hard to even get this opportunity, one 0-for-3 night does little to change the larger story. The Twins wanted to see what Sabato could do against major league pitching, and now they have the chance to find out. Emmanuel Rodríguez Keeps Getting Valuable Reps Brooks Lee provided some of the Twins' offense Monday, launching his 24th home run of the season as his power surge continues. But the biggest offensive highlight came from Rodríguez in the eighth inning. The rookie launched his second home run of the season, sending a ball into the deepest part of center field for an impressive reminder of the talent the Twins have invested heavily in. These games may be meaningless from a standings perspective, but they are anything but meaningless for Rodríguez. The Twins are going to need plenty from him next season. Getting him regular opportunities against major-league pitching, allowing him to make adjustments, and giving him the chance to experience success is an important part of his development. A home run like Monday's is exactly the sort of moment the Twins want to see as they evaluate what Rodríguez can become in 2027. The same can be said for many of the young players getting opportunities during these final games. The Twins aren't trying to salvage their 2026 season. They're trying to learn as much as possible before they have to start making decisions about the next one. The Twins ultimately fell to the Giants 5-2 and dropped to 73-84 on the season with five games remaining. What's Next The Twins will continue their series in San Francisco on Tuesday at 8:45 p.m. Taj Bradley will take the mound for Minnesota and face Giants righty Anthony Molina. Postgame Interviews Coming soon... Bullpen Usage Chart THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Rogers 0 0 26 0 25 51 Gomez 18 0 24 0 0 42 Adams 0 10 0 0 20 30 Morris 13 0 15 0 0 28 Hoffman 5 0 19 0 0 24 Nance 0 23 0 0 0 23 Minter 14 0 8 0 0 22 Funderburk 1 0 2 0 0 3 View full article

Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-Imagn Images The Twins have to find better answers in the bullpen next season than they found this year, and that process starts now. There are some names that feel like they're written in pen for next year, including Yoendrys Gómez, Andrew Morris and Jeff Hoffman. Others appear likely to move on, including Taylor Rogers and A.J. Minter. Then there's a large group in between, where it's difficult to know exactly what the Twins will do. Two of those pitchers are right-handed reliever Cole Sands and left-handed reliever Kody Funderburk. Both have pitched well enough in the past to make a legitimate case for returning in 2027. At the same time, neither has established himself as a pitcher the Twins can confidently pencil into their bullpen for an entire season. That makes their situations precarious, because Funderburk will enter the 2027 season without any remaining minor-league options, while Sands is due to pass a second time through the arbitration process. Sands has spent five seasons with the Twins and owns a 4.42 career ERA. His 2024 season was by far his most encouraging, as he posted a 2.63 FIP while striking out 29% of opposing batters. That season gave the Twins reason to believe Sands could develop into a legitimate back-end bullpen weapon. Instead, Sands struggled in 2025, and his 2026 season was derailed by injuries. He threw just 12 innings this season, making it difficult to know exactly what the Twins will have when he reports to Spring Training next year on the other side of elbow surgery. There's still plenty to like. Sands's 2024 season wasn't a fluke, in the sense that he showed real swing-and-miss ability. Presumably, there's still a version of Sands who could regain that form and become a very useful reliever. But there are also legitimate reasons for concern. Sands will turn 30 next season, and his four-seam fastball velocity has dropped nearly three miles per hour from its peak in 2024. After two consecutive seasons that have raised questions about his performance and health, the Twins can't simply assume that the 2024 version of Sands is going to return. Funderburk has a somewhat different story, but the overall dilemma is similar. He has a 4.13 career ERA across four seasons with the Twins, and after struggling badly in 2024 with a 6.49 ERA, he's put together back-to-back seasons with an ERA below 4.00. This season has also been his most productive from an innings standpoint, and he has continued to show that he can be an effective option against left-handed hitters. But there are still questions surrounding Funderburk. Even with a career-high workload this season, he's only going to finish around 50 innings. Injuries and subpar control have prevented him from putting together a full season in the majors, and much of his best work has come in lower-leverage situations. He's never been given consistent responsibility in the biggest spots against the best hitters. Like Sands, Funderburk will turn 30 next season. The Twins have two pitchers who have shown enough to make you want to keep them, but not enough to make them sure things. Sands has the higher ceiling, particularly if he can get healthy and regain some of his velocity. Funderburk has the more recent track record of success, putting together his best two seasons in the past two years. Neither has established himself as a stable, high-leverage piece of a major-league bullpen. Normally, that wouldn't necessarily be a huge problem. A team can carry a pitcher like Funderburk or Sands and see how things go. If the pitcher struggles, the team can send him to Triple-A, let him work through whatever is wrong, and bring him back when he is ready. That's where the options issue changes the equation. Funderburk can't simply be sent to the minors in 2027. If the Twins decide they no longer want him on the major-league roster, they would have to designate them for assignment and expose him to waivers before they could send him to Triple-A. That means the Twins have to be more certain about Funderburk than they otherwise would—and it's hard to see how they could feel that confidence, given the way his season has unfolded. His is a particularly interesting case, because the Twins have used his minor-league options repeatedly throughout his career. He's spent parts of each of the past four seasons in Triple-A, and that flexibility has allowed the organization to move him back and forth depending on his performance and the needs of the roster. If he struggled in 2027, that would no longer be an option. Sands presents a different problem, but an equally salient one. He's making $1.1 million this season, after becoming arbitration-eligible for the first time last winter. Though he pitched for St. Paul on a rehab assignment, he was never actually optioned there this season, so he still has one more year of optionability, but at a certain point, that's just a technicality. The Twins would have to pay him at least $1.3 million to retain him without first non-tendering him and making him a free agent. That's a modest amount, but when a team pays even that much to a player, they expect to be able to keep them in the majors as long as they're healthy. It's no guarantee that, if the Twins are on the fence about Sands as a staple of their roster next year, they'll still be willing to pay him like a full-fledged big-leaguer. They might also have some concerns about doing so with a player whose health outlook has gotten so iffy. Heading into the offseason, the question isn't simply whether Sands and Funderburk are good enough to pitch in the majors. It's whether they're good enough to justify taking up a bullpen spot without the flexibility to send them down if things go wrong. Technically, they'll have that flexibility with Sands, but would they feel it? Will the slightly greater roster flexibility and the aforementioned high-leverage upside give Sands the edge, even though Funderburk will be $500,000 or so cheaper next season and is two years further from free agency than Sands is? The Twins can't afford to have an entire bullpen filled with question marks. If Gómez, Morris and Hoffman are part of the plan, and if (when?) the Twins add other relievers during the offseason, there are only so many spots available. Using two of those spots on Sands and Funderburk would mean committing one-quarter of an eight-man bullpen to pitchers who have never established themselves as dependable major-league relievers for an entire season, without the easily attainable upside or the roster flexibility teams prefer for that spot. There's a legitimate argument for keeping Sands because his 2024 season showed the possibility of having a legitimate back-end bullpen weapon. There is also a legitimate argument for keeping Funderburk. He gives the Twins a left-handed option who has shown he can get lefties out, and there is at least a chance that his recent success could lead to further improvement. The problem is that keeping both requires the Twins to make a pretty significant bet on two pitchers who still have a lot to prove. They might need to roll their dice in other directions. If you were calling the shots in the Twins' front office, what would you do with Cole Sands and Kody Funderburk? What do you think the Twins will do? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn- IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect The Twins announced Friday that they were placing Trevor Larnach on the injured list with left wrist soreness, effectively bringing an end to his 2026 season with just nine games remaining on the schedule. Barring something unexpected, it also appears likely to bring an end to Larnach's time with the Twins. Larnach will have another year of arbitration remaining this offseason, but after his salary climbs from $4.475 million in 2026 to what could be somewhere in the $6.5 million to $7 million range, it is difficult to see Minnesota making that commitment to a player who has spent much of his career as a platoon outfielder. But before we close the book on Larnach's time in Minnesota, it is worth looking back at the decision the Twins made last January to bring him back in the first place. At the time, there was plenty of uncertainty surrounding whether Larnach was a player worth bringing back via arbitration. He had been a solid, but not spectacular, player for the Twins, entering the offseason with a career 102 OPS+ and coming off a 2025 season in which he posted a 101 OPS+. There was little reason to expect a major offensive breakout, and the Twins had limited money to spend after another offseason in which payroll flexibility was going to be at a premium. That made the Twins' decision to offer Larnach arbitration and bring him back for $4.475 million a surprising one. There were two obvious questions surrounding the decision. Did the Twins really need another left-handed outfielder on their roster, and was Larnach worth using a meaningful chunk of their limited payroll? Regarding the roster, Minnesota already had a number of left-handed outfielders on the 40-man, including Hendry Mendez, James Outman, Alan Roden, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Matt Wallner. Walker Jenkins was not yet on the 40-man roster but was clearly part of the Twins' near-term plans as well. The organization had plenty of players who could potentially fill the role Larnach had occupied, and several of them were younger and considerably cheaper. That made Trevor Larnach something of a luxury. If one of those players could provide similar production, the Twins could save the money, give a younger player an opportunity and use the roster spot somewhere else. For a team that didn't have much payroll flexibility, that seemed like a pretty reasonable argument. Then there was the money. Larnach's $4.475 million salary represented a meaningful investment for a Twins team that had very little to spend. Even if the Twins believed Larnach could be a useful player, there was a legitimate question about whether that money could be better spent somewhere else. Minnesota needed help in multiple areas of the roster, and spending nearly $5 million on a player who had never produced more than a 116 OPS+ in a season was hardly an obvious decision. The 2026 season, however, showed that neither of those concerns ended up being much of a problem. Start with the roster. Larnach ended up being by far the best left-handed outfielder on the Twins' roster. James Outman was designated for assignment early in the season. Alan Roden looked overmatched time and time again, posting a season-long OPS+ of 84 as of the time of this writing. Matt Wallner was sent to Triple-A early in the season because of his struggles. Emmanuel Rodriguez struggled with injuries, while Walker Jenkins showed why relying on young players to immediately establish themselves at the major league level can be risky. The supposed glut of left-handed outfielders never materialized into a player who forced the Twins to regret keeping Larnach around. Instead, Larnach was the one who established himself as the most reliable option of the group. The financial side of the decision also looks different with the benefit of hindsight. The Twins didn't actually have another $4.475 million to spend if they had let Larnach walk, because they still would have needed to pay the league minimum to whoever replaced him on the roster. That means the real amount available to redirect elsewhere was roughly $3.7 million. Could the Twins have used that money on another player? Sure. But realistically, what were they going to get for it? Another bullpen arm was probably the most obvious possibility, particularly considering how much the Twins struggled with pitching throughout the season. But Taylor Rogers signed with Minnesota for just $2 million. For another $1.5 million on top of that, they weren't suddenly going to be shopping for an impactful reliever. And then there was what Larnach actually did on the field. Larnach put together the best offensive season of his career. He posted a 121 OPS+, five points better than his previous career high of 116 in 2024 and finished with a career-best 2.2 fWAR. His home run rate was lower than in previous seasons, but he made up for some of that lost power by cutting down on his strikeouts while posting career highs in batting average and on-base percentage. Larnach sacrificed some power in favor of better plate discipline and getting on base more often. For a Twins team that struggled with pitching all season, Minnesota needed to rely on its bats to win them ball games, and Larnach certainly did his part. According to FanGraphs, his 2.2 fWAR was worth approximately $17.9 million in value this season, while his 0.49 Win Probability Added ranked fourth on the Twins. There were certainly some negatives. Larnach struggled defensively, posting career lows with -8 Defensive Runs Saved and -5 Outs Above Average. His offensive production also fell off considerably in the second half, with his .830 first-half OPS dropping to .703 in the second half. The wrist injury that ultimately ended his season may have contributed to those struggles, but regardless the drop-off happened. Still, Larnach was equally as productive in the first half as he was disappointing in the second. Whatever the reasons for his late-season decline, the season as a whole represented the best offensive performance of his career, and the Twins got it for $4.475 million. The Twins had questioned whether they needed Larnach when they already had so many left-handed outfielders. Those players never surpassed him. They questioned whether they could better use his salary elsewhere. There were no real alternatives for Larnach's salary number. And they questioned whether Larnach could take his offensive game to another level, which he certainly did. That doesn't necessarily mean the Twins should bring him back again. Larnach will have another year of arbitration remaining next season, and his salary will likely jump into the $6.5 million to $7 million range. I don't expect the Twins to make that commitment. At that price, the calculus is different, particularly given his defensive limitations and the questions raised by his second half. Additionally, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Walker Jenkins have made the Majors and will be in the plans on Opening Day Next season. Last January, bringing Trevor Larnach back looked like a questionable use of limited payroll and a roster spot that could have gone to one of the organization's younger left-handed outfielders. After watching the season play out, it looks like the Twins made the right decision. For this season, bringing Trevor Larnach back was worth it. What do you think? Was bringing Trevor Larnach back for the 2026 season the right decision for the Twins? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article