Matthew Taylor

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

Image courtesy of USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect The Twins wanted Framber Valdez this offseason. It was one of the biggest free-agent pursuits of the winter, and for a minute there, it looked like Minnesota might actually land the left-handed ace. Ultimately, Valdez signed a three-year, $115-million contract with the Detroit Tigers, leaving the Twins without the big pitching addition many fans were hoping for. It was a late lunge after an unexpected pair of major leadership changes during the winter; there just wasn't enough runway to land the plane. According to Bobby Nightingale of the Minnesota Star Tribune, the Twins made a late pursuit of Valdez and put a multi-year offer on the table for the left-handed All-Star. Valdez was the last marquee free agent available, and signed on Feb. 10. Tom Pohlad later confirmed the pursuit and made it clear the Twins were willing to go well beyond their typical spending comfort zone if Zoll believed the move was right for the organization. At the time, the Twins missing out on Valdez became another piece of evidence for those who believed Pohlad had talked a bigger game than he was actually willing to play. The team had reportedly made a serious offer for one of the best starting pitchers available, but Valdez ultimately chose Detroit, and later reporting made it clear that the team was never especially close to wooing the southpaw. The more we see from Valdez this season, however, the more it looks like the Twins may dodged a bullet. There's no way around it: Valdez has been bad this season. Through 26 starts, the 32-year-old lefty has a 4.35 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. His 1.5 fWAR is hardly what the Tigers envisioned when they handed him a huge annual average value (AAV). His expected ERA sits at 4.50, suggesting his results are a fairly accurate representation of how he has pitched. Even more concerning is what has happened to his ability to miss bats. Valdez has struck out just 17.4% of opposing hitters, the lowest rate of his career and a significant drop from last season. His whiff percentage has also fallen to a career-low 19.8%, down 6.8 percentage points from last year. Those numbers are particularly concerning for the Tigers, because Valdez's success has always been built around generating weak contact while still having enough swing-and-miss ability to get out of trouble. His velocity has taken a step backward across his pitch mix, providing another potential warning sign. The Tigers have been one of the most disappointing teams in all of baseball this season, and the performance of Framber Valdez is certainly part of what has ailed the team. Perhaps most concerning is that there isn't an obvious injury explanation for the dip in stuff. Valdez has remained in Detroit's rotation and hasn't missed time because of an injury. The only games he missed came because of the six-game suspension he served after intentionally throwing a ball at Boston's Trevor Story in May. Valdez will turn 33 after the season, making it possible the Twins were looking at an aging pitcher whose best days are behind him. That doesn't mean he can't bounce back, but it makes committing more than $100 million to him considerably more frightening. The Tigers can probably survive the Valdez contract if it turns into a bad one. Detroit typically operates with a payroll that gives the organization more room to absorb a mistake of this magnitude. The Twins have very little margin for error. We've already seen what happens when Minnesota gets locked into an expensive contract that doesn't work out. Carlos Correa's deal has become a perfect example, as the Twins eventually agreed to pay him $10 million per season for three years not to play for them. Imagine making a similar decision with Valdez while he's earning roughly $38 million per season. There's also another reason the Twins may have been better off avoiding Valdez: they don't necessarily need to buy a starting rotation. Their pitching situation is actually set up fairly well for next season. Pablo López, Joe Ryan and Taj Bradley are a locked-in trio to lead the starting rotation next season. They also have Mick Abel, Zebby Matthews, Connor Prielipp and Kendrys Rojas, while newly-added Dean Kremer provides another experienced option with another year of arbitration remaining. Had Minnesota signed Valdez, one of those young pitchers would almost certainly have been pushed out of the rotation picture. Instead, the Twins have flexibility to see what their young arms can do and determine where they actually need help. There's certainly a fair argument that the Twins should have been more aggressive this offseason. Pohlad said he was willing to make a splash, and the organization ultimately didn't make the kind of major investment that would have demonstrated a dramatic change in philosophy. Valdez, however, is a different conversation. He comes with makeup concerns, which the team might have factored into its reluctance to go as far as Detroit did. He also comes with major performance red flags, and the smaller-payroll Twins were wise not to let him become a drag on their operation. What do you think? Were the Twins lucky to miss out on Framber Valdez, or would you still rather have the veteran lefty locked into the rotation despite his struggles this season? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

Image courtesy of Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Zebby Matthews 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 7 K, 1 BB (105 pitches, 70 strikes) HR: Ryan Kreidler (6) Top 3 WPA: Matthews 0.21, Bell 0.13, Kreidler 0.11 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs): After being swept by the San Diego Padres over the weekend, Minnesota saw its playoff odds cut in half, dropping from around 40% to just 20%, according to FanGraphs. (Baseball Prospectus put them even lower Monday morning—down around 12%.) With their postseason hopes hanging in the balance, the Twins traveled to West Sacramento to face an Athletics team with the worst record in the American League. The last time the Twins were swept, they responded by sweeping the Atlanta Braves. This time, they were hoping for a similar rebound. Minnesota ran into a struggling Jeffrey Springs, who came in with a 6.02 ERA. Considering the Twins' season-long struggles against left-handed pitching, there was still plenty of reason to wonder which offense would show up, but those concerns were quickly put to rest. Byron Buxton drew a walk to start a first-inning rally. Ryan Jeffers followed with a single, and Josh Bell continued his excellent month of August by ripping a double off the top of the wall in left-center. The ball missed being a home run by roughly an inch, but it still brought Buxton home to give the Twins an early 1-0 lead. The Twins added another run in the third inning when Bell grounded into a fielder's choice, bringing home Buxton. Minnesota then really began to pull away in the fourth, when Ryan Kreidler launched a solo home run, his sixth of the season and first since June 28. A massive hit for the hometown kid who had lots of friends and family at the game. Kody Clemens followed with an RBI single, extending the lead to 4-1 and chasing Springs. The Twins broke the game open in the sixth inning after loading the bases and putting pressure on the A's bullpen. Luke Keaschall came through with a two-run double down the third-base line, giving Minnesota a 6-1 lead. Bell followed with a sacrifice fly for his third RBI of the night. It was Bell's team-leading 17th RBI of August and brought him to 80 on the season, continuing what has been an impressive month at the plate for the switch hitter. Minnesota kept its foot on the gas into the late innings. In the eighth, Clemens picked up another RBI single, scoring Buxton and giving the center fielder four runs scored on the night. Buxton went 3-for-4 in what was a massive game as he had been struggling mightily since returning from the injured list two weeks ago. A couple batters later, Kaelen Culpepper added an RBI single to cap a four-hit night and push his batting average to .340 on the season, an impressive start to his young major-league career. By the time the night was over, the Twins had collected 15 hits and scored nine runs, with every batter in the starting lineup recording at least one hit. It was the kind of offensive performance that has been frustratingly elusive of late, making it even more encouraging to see Minnesota put everything together. While the offense stole the show, Zebby Matthews quietly delivered one of his best outings of the season. Matthews didn't need to be great to win, but he was, anyway, tossing seven innings and allowing just one earned run (on an infield single) and striking out seven. He generated 23 swings and misses, a season high, and followed up another solid start with a second straight strong outing. That offers some encouraging signs of consistency from a pitcher who hasn't been able to find much of it this season. Yoendrys Gómez was called upon to close out the game in a non-save opportunity, having not pitched since August 19. After getting two quick outs, however, Gómez ran into trouble. A single and a walk put two runners on. Back-to-back-to-back doubles from Jeff McNeil, Zack Gelof and Lawrence Butler suddenly turned a 9-1 game into a 9-6 contest. What looked like an opportunity to give the back end of the bullpen a much-needed night off quickly became a somewhat sticky situation. The Twins were forced to bring in Andrew Morris to record the final out, and he did just that (on one single pitch), securing the 9-6 victory. It wasn't the clean finish the Twins envisioned when they built an eight-run lead, but the important part was getting the win. After a weekend in San Diego that threatened to derail their season, the Twins got exactly the kind of offensive response they needed. Minnesota improved to 64-68 on the season and, with the Guardians also winning, remains two games behind Cleveland for the third and final American League Wild Card spot. The White Sox lost 11-2 to the Rangers, meanwhile, bringing the Twins to within 4.5 games of first place in the AL Central. Now they need to do it again. What's Next The Twins will look to take the series on Tuesday against Athletics rookie Gage Jump. Minnesota will send Taj Bradley to the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 8:40 p.m. Central. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Chart THUR FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Adams 0 17 0 34 0 51 Nance 0 0 27 0 16 43 Rogers 0 11 0 15 0 26 Morris 0 0 19 0 1 20 Gomez 0 0 0 0 20 20 Hoffman 0 0 0 17 0 17 Funderburk 0 0 0 17 0 17 Minter 0 0 8 0 0 8 View full article

Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images Byron Buxton was one of the biggest reasons for the Twins' success in the first half of the season. He earned his third career All-Star selection and entered the break leading Minnesota with a .904 OPS, 25 home runs and 3.0 fWAR. Since then, however, everything has changed. Buxton has been one of the worst players on the roster while dealing with a lingering hip injury. Now, the Twins have a decision to make about whether continuing to play him is actually helping the team. Injuries have played a major role in Buxton's season. He began dealing with intermittent right hip soreness in May, which eventually forced him to miss the All-Star Game and spend time on the injured list in July. After a brief return to the lineup on July 20, Buxton reaggravated the hip on July 28 and received an injection. He returned for the Field of Dreams game on August 13 and has been in the lineup ever since, but the results since the break have been anything but encouraging. In the 16 games Buxton has played since the All-Star break (with a two-week IL stint in the middle of that stretch), he's posted a .411 OPS with just one extra-base hit. He's also produced a team-worst -0.4 fWAR during that time. For a Twins team already struggling to consistently produce offensively, having one of its biggest stars performing at that level is a significant problem. His struggles go back even further than the IL stints. Since June 15, Buxton has a .585 OPS with just seven extra-base hits in 125 plate appearances. The difficult part is figuring out exactly what's causing the struggles. Buxton has always been a streaky hitter, so it's hardly unprecedented for him to go through an extended cold stretch. He's also been one of the more injury-prone players in baseball, which makes it difficult to determine whether a struggling Buxton is simply in one of his slumps or whether something physical is preventing him from being himself. In this case, it appears to be a combination of the two, but there are enough signs to make it clear that his hip is still bothering him. First, Buxton has not attempted a stolen base since the break, after attempting eight before the break. For a player whose speed is such an important part of his game, the complete absence of stolen base attempts is notable. He has also grounded into two double plays in his 16 games since the break. To put that in perspective, Buxton did not ground into a double play all last season. Neither statistic proves by itself that Buxton is injured, but when combined with his struggles at the plate, the eye test, and all that we know of his hip injury, it's pretty easy to connect the dots. If this were simply a slump, the Twins would be wise to wait it out. Buxton has earned that patience; everyone knows what can happen when he gets hot. He's one of those players who can flip a switch and become one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball. A hot Buxton can carry an offense for weeks, and the Twins would be foolish to take that possibility away from themselves. But this isn't a simple slump. If Buxton is playing through an injury, the Twins can't afford to assume that continuing to play him every day will eventually fix the problem. They don't know how long the hip will bother him; they could spend the rest of the season waiting for the healthy version of Buxton to return. As admirable as it is that Buxton continues to play through the injury because he wants to help his team, there comes a point where playing through it starts hurting them. The Twins' offense is struggling, and right now no player is hurting the team more than their center fielder. That is not a criticism of Buxton's effort or his desire to play. It's the reality of what's happening on the field. The Twins are trying to win games with Buxton in the lineup, but they're not getting the production they need from him, and there's little evidence that his situation is improving. What makes this decision more palatable is that the Twins have a natural replacement waiting at Triple-A. Walker Jenkins is doing everything possible to knock the door to the majors off its hinges. He's slashing .387/.457/.694 with a 1.151 OPS in 15 games in August in St. Paul. There's very little left for him to prove in Triple-A—although that has been said for the past three weeks. If the Twins had no capable replacement for Buxton in center field, continuing to play him would be much easier to defend. Instead, they have one of the best prospects in baseball playing at Triple-A and putting together one of the hottest stretches of his season. Making the swap with Buxton and handing center field to Jenkins full-time down the stretch would give Buxton an opportunity to properly recover, while giving the Twins another dynamic offensive player. The timing makes the decision even more important. The Twins are currently two games back in the American League Wild Card race, and beginning this weekend, they're scheduled to play 15 consecutive games against division opponents. This is the part of the season where every game matters, and the Twins can't afford to sit around and hope that an injured player eventually gets healthy enough to start producing again. They need to play the players who give them the best chance to win right now. Usually, that player is Buxton. The first half of this season, that player was Buxton. Unfortunately, Buxton isn't healthy right now, and the Twins aren't getting that version of him. The Twins don't need to give up on Buxton. They just need to give him time to get healthy. At the same time, they need to take advantage of the opportunity sitting in Triple-A. Walker Jenkins is ready, Buxton is not himself, and the Twins are running out of time to wait for that to change. What do you think the Twins should do with Byron Buxton? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images When Derek Falvey and the Twins mutually parted ways at the end of January, it marked the end of a nine-year run for the executive who had helped reshape the organization. Before leaving, Falvey made three free-agent signings for the Twins during the offseason: Taylor Rogers, Victor Caratini, and Josh Bell. Rogers has struggled for much of the season, albeit usually in low-leverage spots, while Caratini has had his moments. Bell, however, has turned into something much more valuable. The designated hitter has been one of the Twins' most important offensive players, and his signing is looking more and more like Falvey's parting gift to the organization. Bell's overall numbers tell a big part of the story. He currently owns a 110 OPS+, putting him on pace for his best offensive season since 2022, when he split the season between the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres. He leads the Twins with 499 plate appearances, 26 doubles and 77 RBI, providing a level of consistency in the middle of the lineup that the team has desperately needed. But Bell's impact goes beyond his overall numbers. He has been particularly outstanding when the Twins have needed him most, hitting .349 with a 1.039 OPS with runners in scoring position. In a season in which the Twins have struggled to consistently produce offense, Bell has repeatedly come through in the biggest moments. That wasn't necessarily what anyone expected when the season began. Bell got off to a brutal start, something that has become somewhat of a calling card throughout his career. Through May 31st, he was hitting just .219 with a .619 OPS, five home runs and 32 RBI through 57 games. At the time, it was fair to wonder whether the Twins had signed a veteran whose best days were behind him. Instead, Bell has completely turned his season around. Since June 1st, Bell has posted a .869 OPS with 12 home runs and 45 RBI over 66 games (entering play Friday). His best stretch has come at exactly the time the Twins have needed it most. In 16 games during August, Bell is hitting .361 with a 1.041 OPS. That performance has been massive for the Twins because the offense around him has struggled badly this month. Minnesota ranks in the bottom third of Major League Baseball in runs scored in August, making Bell's production even more important. Without him in the middle of the lineup, it is difficult to imagine how an already-struggling offense would have survived this stretch. That is particularly important considering where the Twins are in the standings. With Minnesota fighting to keep its playoff hopes alive, there isn't much room for an extended offensive slump. Games are becoming increasingly important, and when the Twins have needed a big hit with runners on base, Bell has consistently been the guy delivering it, like he did on Tuesday with a first run blast to the third deck with a runner on second base to give the Twins a big first-inning lead. Falvey signed Bell in December to a one-year, $7 million contract. For an executive who typically preferred to wait until late in the offseason, and sometimes even into spring training, before making significant free-agent additions, the timing of the deal was notable. It was clear that Bell was someone Falvey wanted from the beginning of the offseason, and he didn't wait around to see if the market would bring the price down. And for a while, that decision looked questionable. Bell's slow start made it seem as though the Twins had committed $7 million to a veteran whose best offensive years were behind him. But the Twins stuck with him, and Bell has rewarded that patience by becoming one of the most productive and important players on the roster. According to FanGraphs, Bell has already provided roughly $6 million in value to the Twins this season. That alone makes the contract look like a strong investment, but it doesn't fully capture what Bell has meant to this team. The timing of his production matters. His best baseball has come while the Twins have desperately needed offense, and his ability to drive in runs has been particularly valuable. Add in the veteran leadership he has provided in the clubhouse, and the signing has turned into a slam dunk. That makes Bell an interesting final chapter for Falvey, whose best previous most was arguably the signing of another veteran DH with stellar clubhouse vibes in Nelson Cruz. Falvey's tenure with the Twins ended before he could see the full results of the moves he made during his final offseason. Rogers hasn't provided the results the Twins hoped for, and Caratini has been a mixed bag. Bell, however, has become a legitimate success story. The player Falvey targeted from the very beginning of the offseason has turned into one of the reasons the Twins are still hanging around the playoff race in August. It may not have been the most exciting signing when it happened. It certainly didn't look like one when Bell struggled through the first two months of the season. But with the season entering its most important stretch, Josh Bell has made that $7 million investment look awfully smart. In the end, perhaps the best way to remember Falvey's final offseason with the Twins is through the player he went out and got before he left. Josh Bell was one of Derek Falvey's final moves as a member of the Twins. Now, he is one of the biggest reasons Minnesota still has a chance to make something out of this season. What do you think? How would you grade Josh Bell's signing now, and has he become the best free-agent addition of Derek Falvey's final offseason with the Twins? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article

Image courtesy of Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images The Minnesota Twins have once again found a creative solution to a roster problem. This time, the club has decided that what its 26-man roster really needs is another catcher. Almost out of nowhere, they're selecting the contract of St. Paul Saints catcher David Bañuelos and promoting him to the major leagues. The fan base has clamored for days for the promotion of top prospect Walker Jenkins, perhaps to replace little-used outfielder Alan Roden. Instead, the club has elected to add its fourth catcher, with Bañuelos joining Ryan Jeffers, Victor Caratini and Alex Jackson on the active roster. Jenkins has game-changing potential, and the team has playoff odds just south of 40%, so it seems like a good time to go for broke. However, according to Twins General Manager Jeremy Zoll, the organization ultimately decided that there was simply too much value in carrying a fourth catcher. “We looked at bringing up Walker,” Zoll said. “Obviously, he's a very talented player and he's doing everything you could possibly ask him to do in Triple-A. But then we looked at the roster and realized we only had three catchers. That just didn't feel right.” Zoll explained that the Twins' internal discussions eventually centered around a simple philosophy. “Two catchers is necessary,” Zoll said. “Three catchers is a luxury. Four catchers is where you start seeing the real value. Four catchers is like two houses and a private plane. Billionaire [stuff].” The decision to add Bañuelos also appears to be influenced by the success of the Twins' current three-catcher strategy. Alex Jackson, who was designated for assignment just four days before being recalled to the majors, has already demonstrated the effectiveness of the plan. The Twins have reportedly been thrilled with his usage, which has involved appearing in a game approximately once every seven or eight days. When asked how Bañuelos would fit into the catching rotation, Zoll suggested that fans shouldn't expect the Twins to suddenly abandon their successful formula. Bañuelos isn't particularly likely to receive playing time. But the Twins believe that is actually a feature, not a bug. “People are looking at this the wrong way,” Zoll said. “It's not about how much he plays. It's about having the option to play him.” That option, apparently, was too valuable to pass up. The decision also means Jenkins will remain in Triple-A, where the Twins believe he can continue to develop and prepare for his eventual major-league debut. If at all possible, the team would love to see him move behind the plate and take some reps at catcher. Think about it. If one catcher gets injured, the Twins still have three catchers. If two catchers get injured, the Twins still have two catchers. If three catchers get injured, the Twins still have one catcher. And if all four catchers somehow get injured, the Twins will finally be able to promote Walker Jenkins—as long as he's ready to play catcher. As for Bañuelos, the veteran catcher will now get to experience the thrill of being a major leaguer, while simultaneously wondering why exactly he has been promoted. “We're really excited about David,” Zoll said. “He's earned this opportunity, and we're excited about what he brings to the roster.” What does he bring? Zoll paused. “A fourth catcher.” Sometimes, that's all a baseball team really needs. View full article

It would be foolish to draw any sweeping conclusions from the first week of Kaelen Culpepper's major league career. The Twins called up their top prospect on August 7, and through his first eight games, we're talking about a player who has barely had enough time to get comfortable in a major league clubhouse, let alone establish what kind of big league player he is going to become. Culpepper was a first-round pick and entered the season as a top-50 prospect in baseball for a reason, but none of that guarantees that he will live up to those expectations. Eight games certainly aren't enough to know that, but they can give us our first look at some of the tools that made Culpepper such an intriguing prospect in the first place, as well as some of the adjustments he'll need to make if he's going to turn those tools into major league success. So far, there have been plenty of reasons to be encouraged. The most obvious one is that the underlying swing numbers on Culpepper are every bit as advertised. Culpepper has developed into a violent swinger as he has worked his way through the Twins' minor league system, and that violence has carried over to the majors. His Statcast numbers back it up, with Culpepper's 74 mph swing speed ranking in the upper quartile of major league hitters. While plenty of his other statistics are impossible to trust as they're based on an extremely small sample size, swing speed is one of the measurements that stabilizes relatively quickly. Bat speed also has a strong positive relationship with exit velocity and barrel rate, so seeing Culpepper come out of the gate with a swing speed in the neighborhood of hitters such as Byron Buxton, Miguel Vargas and Pete Alonso is certainly encouraging. We've also seen that swing speed translate into some legitimate impact. In just his second career at-bat, Culpepper launched a home run to left-center field after hitting the ball 100.2 mph, and a few days later doubled off Jesus Luzardo with a 103.4 mph line drive. Those are obviously just two swings, and it would be silly to extrapolate them into anything more than that. However, seeing Culpepper pair the elite swing speed with the ability to produce 100-plus mph exit velocities is exactly what you want to see from a young hitter with his profile. The power is not simply theoretical. We've already seen glimpses of it against major league pitching. The other side of the coin has been his plate discipline. Culpepper has struck out 11 times compared to just two walks through his first eight games, while his 42.5% chase rate would rank among the bottom 10 hitters in baseball if he maintained it over a full season. That's an area that will need to improve, but it's also an area where some growing pains should be expected. Plate discipline is often one of the biggest adjustments for young hitters making the jump to the majors. Major league pitchers throw harder and locate more consistently. Breaking balls that might have been strikes in Triple-A suddenly finish outside the zone, while fastballs are coming in quicker than ever before. Young hitters have to learn which pitches they can damage and, perhaps just as importantly, which pitches they need to let go. Culpepper is learning that lesson in real time, but the encouraging part is that he has already started to look more comfortable. After going 1-for-9 to begin his career, Culpepper has recorded a hit in each of his last five games. That's still an incredibly small sample, but he has looked more confident at the plate as the week has progressed, which is exactly what you'd hope to see from a young player trying to make one of the biggest adjustments of his baseball career. The defensive side has provided a similar mix of excitement and growing pains. Culpepper got an immediate introduction to the difficulty of playing shortstop in the majors during the fifth inning of his first career game, when he had two ground balls turn into singles that had sub-.200 expected batting averages, meaning they were plays that should have been outs. The first came from David Hamilton, who hit a ground ball that Culpepper wasn't able to range to quickly enough. Culpepper was forced to backhand the ball and couldn't complete the play. A few batters later, Garrett Mitchell hit another ground ball, and Culpepper took some extra time gathering himself before making his throw. The hesitation proved costly against a player with Mitchell's speed, as the throw was late and Mitchell beat it out for another single. Neither play is something the Twins should panic about, but both are good examples of what Culpepper is going to have to learn at the major league level. Shortstop is an incredibly difficult position, and the difference between Triple-A and the majors can be exposed quickly. Runners are faster, balls are hit harder and the window to make a decision and execute a throw gets smaller. Culpepper got a taste of that immediately. There have also been some clear positives defensively, particularly when it comes to his arm. That was one of the tools we knew Culpepper had coming into the season, and it has already translated to the major league level. He has recorded a max throw velocity of 86.3 mph, although he doesn't yet have enough throws to establish a reliable overall arm-strength measurement. Still, the arm is clearly legitimate, as we saw on a strong throw to get Coby Mayo at first base. That's ultimately what makes this first week so interesting. We're not learning that Kaelen Culpepper is going to be an All-Star, that he's going to be the Twins' shortstop for the next decade or that his current strikeout and chase rates are going to be permanent. What we are learning is that some of the tools that made him a first-round pick and a top-50 prospect are real. The violent swing is real. The ability to generate impressive bat speed is real. The raw power is real. The arm strength is real. At the same time, we've seen some of the areas where he still has work to do. His plate discipline needs to improve, and he needs to become more comfortable with the speed and demands of major league defense. That's perfectly normal for a young player making his debut. And, to borrow an Aaron Gleeman-ism, perhaps the most important thing we've learned about Culpepper through his first week is that he has passed the lemon test. He certainly hasn't looked like someone who doesn't belong on a major league field. Culpepper has already connected on some big hits, shown off his elite swing speed, made some impressive throws and, yes, made some mistakes. But there has been enough good mixed in with the bad to suggest that the Twins' top prospect isn't simply being thrown into the deep end and hoping he can survive. He looks like a young player who has some legitimate major league tools and is now figuring out how to put them all together. That's about as much as we could reasonably ask for after one week, and now comes the fun part: watching what he does with it. What do you think of Kaelen Culpepper's first week in the majors? Are you encouraged by what you've seen so far, or are there areas that still concern you? Let us know in the comments. View full article

Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Bailey Ober 4 1/3 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4 K, 1 BB (94 pitches, 62 strikes) HR: None Top 3 WPA: Bell 0.15, Adams 0.14, Hoffman 0.08 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs): The Minnesota Twins came into Monday night’s series opener against the Atlanta Braves with plenty of pressure on their shoulders. After being swept by the Philadelphia Phillies over the weekend, the Twins fell six games behind in the American League Central and dropped to five games below .500. They remained just one game out of the AL Wild Card, but with the season quickly running out of runway, another series sweep would have been a difficult hole to climb out of. The Twins were also looking for a bounce-back performance after blowing a five-run lead against the Phillies on Sunday. They got exactly what they needed Monday night, although it certainly did not come easy. The game itself started later than usual after the Twins and Braves called for a preemptive rain delay. The tarps eventually came off, and after waiting an hour, the two teams began the game without a drop of rain falling. The Twins were tasked with facing an old friend in Braves starter Martín Pérez, who spent the 2019 season with Minnesota. It looked like a challenging matchup on paper, especially considering the Twins entered the night ranked 22nd in baseball in OPS against left-handed pitching. They certainly didn't play like it in the first inning. Luke Keaschall got the offense started with a leadoff double, and the Twins quickly loaded the bases after Pérez walked Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers. That brought Josh Bell to the plate, and the veteran first baseman delivered with a two-run bloop double down the first base line to give Minnesota an early 2-0 advantage. The Twins weren't finished. Royce Lewis followed with an RBI single, and Kody Clemens added another RBI single to make it 4-0 before the Twins had even recorded their first out. After struggling to generate offense against left-handed pitching all season, Minnesota couldn't have asked for a better start. Bailey Ober took the mound for the Twins looking to rebound from a rough outing against Baltimore last week in which he allowed five earned runs. Ober looked sharp through the first four innings, but things began to unravel in the fifth. Austin Riley led off the inning with a single before reigning Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Ronald Acuña Jr. then delivered a two-run single to cut the Twins' lead in half. With Acuña on base and just one out, the Twins decided they had seen enough from Ober. The right-hander was pulled after just 4 1/3 innings, leaving Minnesota's bullpen with a tall task: protect a two-run lead for the final 4 2/3 innings. Considering what had happened less than 24 hours earlier, it was easy to wonder if the Twins were about to watch another big lead disappear. Instead, the bullpen saved the day. Taylor Rogers was the first man through the door, and he entered in a difficult situation. Acuña was standing on first base, there was only one out, and the heart of Atlanta's lineup was coming to the plate with the Twins clinging to a 4-2 lead. Rogers worked his way out of the jam to keep the Braves off the board, giving the Twins exactly what they needed after Ober's abbreviated outing. Travis Adams followed and provided perhaps the biggest contribution of the night. Adams has struggled considerably of late, but the Twins needed him to provide length and bridge the gap to the back end of the bullpen. He responded with two scoreless innings, striking out three without allowing a baserunner, allowing Minnesota to preserve its two-run advantage. That set the stage for the bullpen's heavy hitters. Jeff Hoffman, who has quickly become the Twins' most important bullpen piece since arriving at the trade deadline, tossed a scoreless eighth inning, aided by a massive defensive play from Kody Clemens. Then Yoendrys Gómez came in for the ninth and shut the door, albeit not without some nerves, securing a 4-2 Twins victory. After scoring four runs in the first inning, the Twins couldn't push another run across the plate despite creating several opportunities. The biggest came in the bottom of the eighth, when Minnesota loaded the bases with nobody out and had a chance to put the game away, and came away empty-handed. It didn't matter. The four runs Minnesota scored in the opening frame were enough because the bullpen refused to let Atlanta answer. After Ober's early exit, the Twins' relievers combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing Minnesota to survive a game that could have easily gone the other direction. The Twins improved to 61-65 with the victory and, thanks to losses by both the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays having the day off, moved to just a half-game back of the AL Wild Card. After the way the weekend went, the Twins desperately needed a win to start this series, and they got exactly that. What's Next The Twins will look to capture a series victory on Tuesday evening at Target Field. The Twins will be facing another old friend in Tyler Mahle, with Zebby Matthews taking the rubber for the Twins. First pitch will be at 6:40 pm (assuming no rain delay this time). Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Chart THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Morris 0 0 23 28 0 51 Adams 42 0 0 0 18 60 Hoffman 0 0 17 0 20 37 Minter 0 0 12 14 0 26 Rogers 10 0 0 16 11 37 Funderburk 0 0 16 4 0 20 Nance 16 0 0 0 0 16 Gomez 0 0 0 0 19 19 View full article

Image courtesy of Reese Strickland-Imagn Images Luke Keaschall has quickly become one of the more fascinating players on the Twins roster. There is a very clear reason to want him in the lineup, and an equally clear reason to wonder whether the team can actually afford to play him. The good news is that Keaschall has continued to show that his rookie season was not a fluke. After posting a terrific 130 OPS+ during his rookie campaign, Keaschall got off to a slow start in 2026, but he's been much better at bat as the season has progressed. Since June 1, he's posted a .826 OPS, bringing his OPS+ for the full season to 108. Through 164 games as a Twin, Keaschall has shown that he can be a productive major-league hitter. Keaschall gets on base, and when he does, his speed can immediately become a problem for opposing teams. He has the ability to create value without hitting for a ton of power; there's plenty to like about what he brings to the Twins offensively. The problem is that finding a place for that offense has become increasingly difficult, because of his defense. The issues initially surfaced at second base, where Keaschall played all of last season and began the 2026 campaign. It did not take long for the Twins to decide they were uncomfortable with him there. By the end of June, Minnesota had moved him off the position, and other than one emergency mid-game appearance in July, Keaschall has not returned to second base. At this point, it's fair to assume that chapter of his career is closed. Over the last two seasons, Keaschall has accumulated -9 Outs Above Average at second base, and the Twins clearly do not believe the position is a viable long-term home for him. When Keaschall moved to the outfield, the idea was that things would get better. His speed could become an asset, and playing in the outfield would seemingly allow him to use his athleticism without asking him to handle the responsibilities of the middle infield. That has not happened. Since moving off second base, Keaschall has bounced between center field (filling in for Byron Buxton) and right field. He's struggled defensively in both spots. Defensive metrics are far from perfect, especially when a player has limited time at a position, but when multiple metrics are telling the same story, it becomes difficult to dismiss the numbers. In just two months as an outfielder, Keaschall has posted -3 OAA and -3 DRS in center field and -2 OAA and -4 DRS in right field. Combined with his work at second base, his defensive metrics paint a pretty ugly picture. Keaschall currently ranks as the sixth-worst defender in baseball in terms of Outs Above Average this season. Again, OAA is not a perfect statistic, and there is plenty of room to debate exactly how much weight should be placed on any individual defensive metric. But the numbers also match what has been visible on the field. Keaschall has looked overmatched at every defensive position he has played for the Twins. Moving him from second base to the outfield was supposed to solve the problem, but instead, it has created the same questions in a different part of the diamond. That leaves the Twins with a very interesting problem. What do you do with a player who can clearly hit, but cannot seem to find a defensive position? The obvious answer is to put Keaschall in the outfield and live with the defense. The problem is that there may not be a natural opening for him, long-term. Byron Buxton is going to occupy one of those spots, and Walker Jenkins appears destined to occupy another once he inevitably debuts next season. That leaves one corner outfield spot for a Twins system that has plenty of options. The Twins could give that spot to Keaschall and simply accept that they're going to sacrifice defense in order to keep his bat in the lineup. There's a precedent for teams doing exactly that. Players such as CJ Abrams and Junior Caminero have significant defensive shortcomings, but their offensive production is MVP-level and their teams live with those defensive problems. If Keaschall's bat develops to anywhere near that level, the defensive concerns become much easier to overlook. The question is whether Keaschall's bat is good enough to justify doing that, or can get anywhere close to it. A 108 OPS+ is certainly useful. His OBP is exactly .400 since the start of May; that carries great value. But that's not necessarily the level of offensive production that makes a player with significant defensive deficiencies an obvious everyday player. If Keaschall is going to be a liability wherever he plays, the Twins need his offense to provide enough surplus value to make the tradeoff worthwhile. There is also another possibility: designated hitter. A DH role would allow the Twins to put Keaschall's best skill on display without worrying about where to hide his glove. With Royce Lewis establishing himself at first base, that position does not appear to offer an obvious alternative. The DH spot may ultimately be the cleanest way to get Keaschall's bat into the lineup. But that comes with its own problem. A player who is going to occupy the designated hitter spot has to really hit. There's little value in carrying a full-time DH who is merely a good (as opposed to very good, or great) hitter, especially when the Twins could use that lineup spot to rotate players through the position or to keep another regular healthy. For now, Keaschall's role is likely to stay the same, but it should be modified to tip the share of his contributions to the game from defense toward offense. Since July 1, he's batted second once and fifth once, but otherwise, he's slotted in sixth or lower in the batting order. That's the worst possible way to handle a bat-first player. If the team believes enough in what Keaschall has done at bat over the past three-plus months to keep him in the lineup, he should bat higher. Move him up three spots, and you raise the chances of him getting one extra plate appearance in a game by 33%. He also gets each of his at-bats earlier that way, so if you get a mid-game lead and want to switch to a defensive mode, you can lift Keaschall after (say) three plate appearances in six innings, rather than only getting two from him by then or needing to play him an extra frame or two in the field to get a third. This question becomes even more pertinent as we look to the future, though. Do they put him in the third outfield spot next season and simply accept the defensive shortcomings in hopes that his offense can outweigh them, withholding someone like Emmanuel Rodriguez in the meantime? Do they move him into a full-time DH role and bet on his bat taking another step forward? Or is there another solution the Twins should explore? Keaschall has proven that he can be a productive major-league hitter. Now, the Twins have to figure out how to get the most out of that production without allowing his defense to overwhelm everything else he brings to the table. What do you think the Twins should do with Luke Keaschall? Let us know in the comments. View full article

Image courtesy of © Jim Rassol-Imagn Images For weeks, Twins fans have been clamoring for the same thing: Call up Walker Jenkins. It is not hard to understand why. Jenkins, the Minnesota Twins' No. 1 prospect and a top-15 prospect in baseball, has been tearing through Triple-A since his promotion. Since July 15, Jenkins has posted a .934 OPS, continuing to show that he has very little left to prove in St. Paul. Meanwhile, the Twins could desperately use the offensive help. Since July 15, Minnesota ranks 21st in Major League Baseball in both OPS and runs scored, and this is a team fighting for a playoff spot with roughly six weeks remaining in the regular season. Despite that, the Twins have held firm with Jenkins in Triple-A. The team has made plenty of other roster moves during that time, including promoting Tristan Gray and later Kaelen Culpepper, but Jenkins has remained in St. Paul. Maybe the Twins genuinely believe he needs more time in Triple-A—that there are still aspects of his game that need to be polished before he makes his major-league debut. I don't necessarily agree with that assessment, but at least it would make sense. If the Twins don't believe Jenkins is ready, there is a baseball reason for keeping him in the minors. There is another possible explanation, however, and it has been speculated about quite a bit: MLB's Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI). MLB and the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) introduced that incentive as part of the 2022 collective bargaining agreement, in an effort to discourage teams from manipulating the service time of top prospects. Under the PPI, a team can receive an extra draft pick after the first round if a preseason top-100 prospect is promoted early enough to gain a full year of service time and subsequently wins a major award such as Rookie of the Year. The key here is rookie eligibility. A player loses rookie status if they spend 45 active days on the major-league roster or collect 130 at-bats. That has led to the theory that the Twins' plan with Jenkins could be to keep him in Triple-A until late August, call him up once he can no longer reach 130 ABs (the 45-day threshold passed on Friday), and preserve his rookie eligibility for 2027. If Jenkins then wins the Rookie of the Year award next season, the Twins could receive a compensation pick immediately after the first round of the 2028 Draft. If he were to win the MVP (or be a finalist for it) in any of 2027, 2028 or 2029, they'd get one, too. We don't know if that's the reason the Twins have held Jenkins back. There is no way to know what's happening behind closed doors unless someone with the organization says so. But considering everything surrounding this situation, it certainly feels like it could be a major factor. And if it is, I don't think it is a good enough reason. A pick immediately after the first round is certainly valuable. We're talking about a selection that could land somewhere in the mid-30s, and those picks can absolutely turn into quality major-league players. The Twins have also shown throughout their history that they can find talent in that portion of the draft. It's not as though the potential reward is meaningless. The problem is that the Twins would be making a pretty significant bet to get it. First, Jenkins actually has to win Rookie of the Year or become one of the elite players in the league almost immediately after his rookie year; that's far from a guarantee. The 2027 Rookie of the Year race could be extremely competitive, with prospects such as Kade Anderson, Franklin Arias, Leo De Vries, Ryan Sloan and others potentially entering the season with legitimate cases to win the award. We all think highly of Jenkins, and he could absolutely be the best rookie in baseball next season, but an injury or slow start could derail his chances. Another rookie could simply have a better season. If either of those things happens, the Twins have sacrificed weeks of having Jenkins on their major-league roster for a draft pick that would never materialize. That would be a pretty poor trade-off. That brings us to the bigger issue: the Twins aren't playing for 2027 right now. They're playing for 2026. With roughly six weeks remaining in the regular season, Minnesota is still in the playoff hunt. The third Wild Card is within reach, and the AL Central remains wide-open. Nobody knows where this team will be next year, but we do know where it is right now. It has a chance to make the playoffs. If the Twins believe Jenkins can help them win games right now, they should be putting him on the roster and giving themselves the best possible chance to reach October. Instead, if the PPI is indeed a factor, they're sacrificing a meaningful portion of Jenkins' first major-league season in the hopes of acquiring a draft pick more than a year from now. That feels backwards. The value of getting Jenkins onto the roster and helping the Twins make the playoffs is tangible. It could impact the organization immediately. It could change the trajectory of the 2026 season. The value of the PPI pick is entirely speculative. The Twins have to receive the pick. Then they have to select the right player with it. Then that player has to develop. There are a lot of steps between keeping Jenkins in Triple-A today and getting meaningful value from that draft pick years down the road. If Jenkins is suddenly promoted in the coming days, it will only add more fuel to the speculation that the PPI was at least part of the reason he was held back in the first place. He has amassed 122 AB (137 PA) since returning to the St. Paul lineup on July 1, so yes, there's still a chance he would end up surpassing 130 in the majors if called up today. They can avoid that risk by keeping him in the minors even another two or three games. If that was the strategy, though, the Twins have already burned multiple weeks of potential Jenkins production just to position themselves for a potential draft pick. I would have a hard time defending that decision. The Twins have a chance to make the playoffs right now. They have an offensive need right now. They have a prospect who has been performing extremely well at Triple-A. They should be thinking about what can help them win in 2026, not what might give them an extra draft pick in two years. Nobody is going to complain about the Twins receiving an extra pick after the first round if Jenkins wins Rookie of the Year next season. That would be a fantastic bonus. But the bonus should be exactly that: a bonus. It shouldn't be something that influences the construction of the 2026 roster when the team is still in contention for the postseason. What do you think? If the PPI is a significant reason the Twins have held Jenkins back, is that a defensible strategy, or should the Twins have prioritized getting their best prospect onto the Major League roster sooner? View full article

Josh Donaldson has never been shy about sharing his opinion, and the former Minnesota Twins third baseman is making waves with some rather unflattering comments about his former team and the state of Minnesota. On a recent episode of his Get It Done League podcast, Donaldson was discussing Jeff Hoffman being traded to the Twins at the deadline and his thoughts on Minnesota as a destination. Donaldson did not exactly give his former home a ringing endorsement. "He's going to get to go to Minnesota, where it's 'Minnesota Nice'... people in Minnesota... I don't think they even care about baseball that much... Playing there for two years, I thought it was mediocre at best," Donaldson said. Parker Hageman of Twins Daily shared a clip of Donaldson's comments on X, and it quickly generated plenty of engagement from Twins fans, many of whom remember Donaldson's own two-year run in Minnesota quite well. Donaldson signed with the Twins as a free agent ahead of the 2020 season and spent two seasons with the club. While he was productive when on the field, posting a .829 OPS, many fans had a sour taste in their mouths over Donaldson's time in Minnesota. Injuries limited him to just 163 games over those two years, and he missed the Twins' 2020 postseason run because of injury. Donaldson's tenure in Minnesota was also defined by his personality. He became a polarizing figure among Twins fans, with his attitude, controversial comments and perceived lack of leadership rubbing plenty of people the wrong way. After spending the 2022 and 2023 seasons in New York and Milwaukee, Donaldson retired following the 2023 season. He now hosts Get It Done League alongside former teammate and All-Star Russell Martin and veteran broadcaster Arash Madani. Now, his comments about Minnesota have given Twins fans another reason to revisit the Donaldson era. What do you make of Josh Donaldson's comments? And what is your overall opinion of Donaldson's time with the Twins? Let us know in the comments. View full rumor