stringer bell

I don't mind the idea of choosing a guy who hasn't managed in the big leagues. Guys like Suzuki, Hunter and Punto have spent many years in different clubhouses and have a pretty good idea of what works for teams over a long schedule. As noted by @ashbury, I would hope the interview process reveals what the candidate feels about the Twins organization and what steps he will take to improve the organization. I don't want to be an apologist for either Falvey or Rocco, but the decline of the Twins correlates pretty much with reduction in payroll. Big swings (Donaldson, Correa and to some degree Sonny Gray) and big contracts (López, Buxton) are gone and now the transactions are about role players and prospects. I think Falvey has made plenty of poor decisions on who to get and especially who to keep and Rocco failed to develop guys who were projected to be very good or elite. That is plenty of reason to lose your job, but the rules seemed to be changed after the 2023 season and that is on ownership.

Lewis is an easy decision to tender a contract for 2026. As noted in the above posts, there is some reason for optimism, but his performance in both the second half of 2024 and for the full season of 2025 hasn't been very good. Having a full healthy off-season could put Royce in position to being the elite player we saw in flashes in 2023 and 2024.

If Royce is the dreaded "clubhouse cancer", yes his demeanor, or more generally off-field behavior, is a reason to show him the door. I don't think that is remotely close to the actual situation. Lewis has said some things that might be true, but come off as both me-first and immature. That is unfortunate, but from what I can tell, those around the team don't view him as a bad guy at all. No team wants to go to arbitration and the Twins in the Falvey era have done a pretty good job of avoiding those hearings. It is counterproductive to diss a player publicly and then have him on a team.

Sometime in September, Glen Perkins provided some month-by-month sprint speed numbers for Lewis, in which he was above average in August and September. I can't find such a breakdown, but I believe Perkins' comment to be factual. The eye test and his twelve stolen bases in the second half of the season tell me his sprint speed is not declining as he has recovered from all of the leg injuries. According to Baseball Savant, Lewis went from the 28th percentile to the 34th percentile from 2024 to 2025, so his speed actually increased over the full 2025 season. I don't think Lewis will ever again have elite speed, but if his legs stay healthy, he can and will be an above-average runner who can steal a base.

Honestly, I won't like it, but he will probably get major league service time next year and if he stays in the organization, he might get some run as the 26th man.

Competition for Fitzgerald for a utility spot (at this point). He's younger, faster and he can play in the outfield. It looks like he can't hit as much as Mickey Gasper.

We know a number of things about the 2026 pitching staff: 1) The 13 that start the season will not be the 13 that finish it. 2) There will be injuries and at least one pitcher will be lost for the season by May 1. 3) Guys who are being counted on will not meet expectations and 4) guys that aren't even on the horizon will get their chance with the Twins. With all of the uncertainty in the Twins' pitching staff, it seems prudent to get as many good arms as possible and sort out the roles, which might take much more than spring training. A couple of starters could end up in the 'pen--I've seen it suggested for Bradley, Abel, Festa and Prielipp to name a few. I would surmise that the Twins will keep a couple of potential starters in St. Paul to start the season and wait on converting many guys until there is a better idea of who is going to be effective. On the three guys listed in the OP, Festa has injury concerns plus a noted inability to go deep into games. He might be the best candidate to move to the bullpen of guys who have been starters. I think Ohl is pretty much a one-trick pony--his change-up is pretty nasty, but he doesn't have much else. Adams may also benefit by converting to a shorter relief role. It is possible that his stuff will play up in shorter stints. The Twins need to hit on a pretty high number of question marks to have a representative bullpen and they still probably need to bring in a couple of experienced guys from outside the organization.

I’ve seen comments that the Twins have bullpen arms in the minors who have upside. Who are they? I don’t see any reliever in the Twin’s minor league system that is anywhere close to being ready to help in 2026, at least for the first half of the season. To have any chance of competing, the Twins need to fill out a bullpen and setting the floor with Topa, Sands and Funderburk would seem to be the very least they should do.

If Wallner were to hit like he did in '23-'24, I think we would all put his "bad defense" in the back of the priorities list. According to BBRef, Wallner was -6 both in DRS and Total Zone with an annual rate around -12 since he only played about half a season in the outfield due to injuries and occasionally DHing. He certainly could make up the runs "lost" with his hitting, but didn't last year. I also think he can and should be a better outfielder than he showed in 2025. He has a great throwing arm and enough speed, but the routes were poor way too often last year. Wallner had a historically unproductive 20+ homer season in 2025. I hope he's better next year, but I think his runway is much shorter after a disappointing 2025.

Agree with @jorgenswest that some risks can be taken with position players because it is so difficult to keep them on the major league roster. Even though there is a good chance they’ll break in to the majors some time this year, it is likely Rosario and Fedko can be left of the 40-man roster this winter.

The last guy who got an extra option year that I remember was Lewis Thorpe (LH Aussie pitcher) who had dealt with injuries prior to making the majors. I think it is pretty rare to get an additional option year.

Fangraphs say that Rodriguez has one option remaining. 2026 may well be a make or break year for him.

Easy choice to offer a contract. Tougher choice for his role next year. Sands’ velo was down for a large portion of the season and as mentioned he had a rough stretch late which threw his numbers off. 2026 will be a big year for him.

How many veterans are needed to guide the team through the retooling? The bullpen could have a free agent plus Topa plus Tonkin. Is that enough? On it's face, my vote would be for non-tender. Tonkin is in his mid-thirties and is not a high-leverage guy. He also has veteran status and can't be sent back and forth to St. Paul without going through the DFA hamster wheel. The money for Tonkin's salary is negligible. If having Tonkin on the staff helps the other guys in the 'pen, there is a case to keep him. I really don't see it and he's probably not going to be as good as he was in the last two years. Side note: it seems like a million years ago when I sat next to Tonkin at a minor league scrimmage in Spring Training the day after he was sent to the minors by the Twins. To his credit he made it back and logged a couple more years of service time. Good for him.

Trevor Larnach is a proven mediocrity. Yes, he might be the third or fourth best hitter against right handed pitching for the Twins both this year and next year, but if he is, the team isn't good enough to win half of their games. I don't see a lot of upside there (less than Wallner, for example). If he's only a placeholder, I think this retooling makes him (and his contract) expendable.

Fundy threw a lot more strikes, both called and swinging, which greatly helped him net more outs. Lower arm angle? Sure, I guess. It appeared to me that he had better command and deception lt appears he’ll be relied on in 2026.

I think Lee played his best defense in August, after Correa was gone and before he slumped at the end of the season. I certainly agree that the Twins need infielders, but I do believe that Brooks can be an adequate shortstop defensively and an asset if he hits as he was projected to do before he made the major leagues.

Cabrera should not be tendered (I believe Twins' posters are unanimous on this), but I wouldn't object to signing him to a minor league contract, The Twins lack major league left handers and as long as Cabrera throws 95 with his left arm, there will be some interest in him.

A realistic scenario (IMHO) is to add a major league infielder to the mix. MLB Trade Rumors will list free agents at all positions and adding a guy who is a capable shortstop, but has versatility should be the goal. Someone like Josh Rojas or Amed Rosario wouldn't break the bank, but could provide a floor that is adequate. Frankly, I don't trust Fitzgerald to be adequate and there is really no further infield depth that is shortstop capable in the Twins upper minors.

Trevor Larnach is a major league player, but he's not one that should hold a roster spot over multi-talented guys like Emmanuel Rodriguez and Walker Jenkins. I would think the Twins will either make a trade similar to the one they made for Gio Urshela or they non-tender him. I think if Trevor is allowed to be a free agent, he will sign a major league deal with someone for less than his predicted arb number.

Even with the salary relief provided by trading Correa, I doubt the Twins acquire any free agent with an eight-figure contract. The best, most likely, free agent they might go for is Rhys Hoskins. After two disappointing seasons in Milwaukee, I think he might go for a make good one year deal, maybe $5-8M (?).

Brooks Lee is an interesting case study IMHO. We know the story--baseball brat, son of a coach, first round draft choice--and we've seen less than positive results, mostly explained by less than stellar tools--slow foot speed, average arm, below average swing speed--and on the surface that might tell the story. I think there is more there for Lee. Mentally, I think he took bad at-bats and slumps with him on the field, adversely affecting his defense. Secondly, I don't think he was 100% in shape either in '24 or '25, in part due to early season injuries both years. Also, I think he has faded badly in both Septembers he has been on the Twins team. That might be physical fatigue or mental fatigue I know Lee wasn't used to struggling on the field and he wasn't used to losing and both happened a lot in the Septembers of '24 and '25. The son of a coach who has played shortstop almost exclusively shows up in the attributes that @Old Twins Hat cited--sure hands, quick release, plays the angles and accurate arm--and a stronger and trimmer Brooks Lee might get to a few more balls in a season than last year's version. He'll never be fast, but adding a tick onto his sprint speed puts him closer to average than "catcher speed". I also think that knowing he will be in the lineup at shortstop at least five days a week will help him. Playing regularly at one position might get the most out of him. I don't see a star in his profile, but I do think he could be above average, particularly if he hits as he was projected to hit when he was drafted.

The last two positions to cover in my series are Designated Hitter and Catcher. There is overlap, since Ryan Jeffers was the second-most used DH and most-used catcher in 2025. He figures to have about the same workload or perhaps more in 2026. My summary after looking at catchers and the DH position will look at my early guess/prediction for the 13 position players on Opening Day. Catcher--Ryan Jeffers is the returning primary catcher. With Christian Vázquez soon to be a free agent, there is no one else in the organization who has caught more than a handful of games in the major leagues. Jeffers has now played in over 500 games and has more than 1800 plate appearances. He is in the middle of his career and his profile is pretty much filled out. After and outstanding year in 2023, Jeffers has been a slightly better than average hitter the past two years. That plays quite well for a catcher. Defensively, Jeffers is below average pretty much across the board, but he has worked well with pitchers and not been an embarrassment. Jeffers missed a couple weeks on the Concussion IL, but otherwise has stayed healthy for the last three years. Who will back up Jeffers? Within the organization, the Twins have Mickey Gasper, a utility guy who can catch and Jhonny Pereda, who filled in when both Vázquez and Jeffers were injured. Pereda hit and threw quite well and aquitted himself well behind the plate, but he'll be 30 for the majority of the 2026 season and up until now, he's only managed a "cup of coffee" in the majors. Gasper has been a fine hitter in AAA, but hasn't been able to carry solid hitting to the highest level. He hit .158 with an OPS under .500 in just over 100 plate appearances. If the Twins decide to fill the backup catcher position from within the organization, Pereda looks like the obvious choice. The Twins acquired two catchers in trade when they sold off at the deadline, but both look like they are quite a way from the majors. It would make sense to pick up an experienced defense-first guy to back up Jeffers and also provide more depth in the minor leagues. Designated Hitter--The most frequent DH was Trevor Larnach, who in more than 500 plate appearances, put up league average numbers. Larnach also played some in the outfield and was satisfactory, although grading out below average. I have speculated that Larnach won't be a Twin in 2026 and I'll stick with that. Ryan Jeffers had the second-most at bats as a DH and was okay. It makes sense to use Jeffers as a DH, particularly against left handed pitching. In 2026, Matt Wallner could be the primary DH in 2026 with several speedier options close to ready to patrol the outfield. It remains to be seen how the new manager will handle both the catcher and DH positions. Given the in-house experience behind him, Jeffers may be called on to catch in excess of 100 games and perhaps there will be a primary DH. My early guesses for the 13 position players are as follows: Catcher--Ryan Jeffers 1B--Unknown free agent veteran, 2B--Luke Keaschall, SS--Brooks Lee, 3B--Royce Lewis Lf--Austin Martin CF--Byron Buxton RF--Alan Roden. DH--Matt Wallner Bench--Kody Clemens, (maybe) Jhonny Pereda, Ryan Fitzgerald another experienced free agent on a make good deal. I hope it comes together well, but with no bullpen and questions all over, this looks like rebuilding and not retooling.

Lee will likely have his chance, but he has to be a lot better than he was in 2025 if he wants to hold on to be the regular shortstop. One season plus of Lee has given the doubters and critics plenty to be skeptical about. I believe and expect that Brooks Lee will be a better player in 2026, but I doubt he'll be good enough to stake a claim long-term to the Twins' shortstop position.

Add Hall of Famers Henry Aaron and Carl Yastrzemski as players who converted to first base. Both of those guys moved there quite late in their careers and continued to play in the outfield on occasion.