stringer bell

Lee, at his best, is okay at shortstop because of the skills that aren't measured in mph (throwing, running). He looked really uncomfortable at second base and he, more than most, seemed to take bad at-bats and snags to the field with him (IMHO). Perhaps he'll become a much better player. I hope he comes to ST leaner, more focused and with a chip on his shoulder. If Culpepper is the real deal at short, Lee could be the three (or four) position unassigned regular that you have described. More like a Marwin Gonzalez than Willi Castro.

Baldelli didn't get enough players to develop. Maybe it was the front office choosing the wrong players, maybe it was his coaches, but I think Rocco has to shoulder some of the blame for too many guys coming up who were thought to be at least regulars, if not stars, who weren't good enough to play every day. Sloppy and listless play happened too often and probably that's on the manager as well. I agree that he wasn't the biggest reason why the Twins have regressed, but he didn't push the right buttons to get the most out of his players.

Congratulations to Mr. Buxton. He stayed relatively healthy and was very productive. In the big picture, it doesn't matter much, but I hope he also is selected as a Silver Slugger.

After listening to the Gleeman and the Geek free podcast, I thought there must be something more positive to discuss, so I decided to post my view of who will be playing for the 2026 Twins and what is good or bad about their personnel. My opinions may only be worth $.02, but they can serve as a conversation starter. Of course everything can change with a trade or (gulp) a free agent signing. Here is what I see for the infield: First base--Certainly the weakest position in terms of internal talent. The default starter is Kody Clemens. Clemens sort of broke through as a 29-year-old. He got almost 400 plate appearances and compiled 1.0 WAR with career highs in basically every counting statistic. Kody hit .213 with a .715 OPS, including `19 homers and 52 RBI. Those aren't numbers for a regular position player, much less a first baseman. Clemens looks like a lock to be on the Twins Opening Day roster however, at least as a utility guy. He played a lot of first base after Ty France was traded, but also started a lot of games at second and in the corner outfield spots. The options behind Clemens aren't encouraging. Edouard Julien got some playing time at first in August and September and for the season compiled a .220 average with a .633 OPS and looked as shaky at first base as he has at second base. Julien hit lefty, as does Clemens, and it seems doubtful that both will or should be on the same roster. Somebody needs to be added to the mix. Second base--Better news here. In 49 games, Luke Keaschall looked every bit a solid big league player. He hit .302, with four homers and 28 RBI and an .827 OPS. Keaschall also stole 14 bases in what amounts to a third of a full season. Projecting his numbers over a full season would be a really good offensive profile. His defense left something to be desired, but much of that can be written off due to rust from two injuries which also slowed his rehab for throwing. Keaschall turned 23 during the season and the future is bright for him. Options behind Keaschall are Clemens and Julien, with utility man Ryan Fitzgerald also on the current 40-man roster. If he is healthy, Keaschall being the regular second baseman is one of the surest bets for the 2026 Twins. Shortstop--Another unsettled and weak position. Brooks Lee is the incumbent and he is a former first round draft choice. Until the trade deadline, Lee played all over the infield with mixed results, both in the field and at the plate. He was the regular after Carlos Correa was traded. The results in August and September weren't very reassuring. For the season, Lee hit .238 with a .656 OPS and negative grades in the field. There is belief that he will get better based basically on his pedigree. There is fear that he won't amount to much more than a replacement player based on his tools. Lee is a slow runner with less than average power and a less than average throwing arm. Behind Lee is Fitzgerald on the 40-man roster. Minor league player of the year Kaelen Culpepper may be the long-term answer at short for the Twins and he should make his debut for the Twins sometime during the 2026 season. A good defensive SS, even if not a strong hitter, should be another offseason priority for the front office. Third base--Royce Lewis suffered two disabling injuries in 2025, but managed to play in over 100 games and get more than 400 plate appearances. That is, I guess, good news. The bad news is that he didn't hit like a superstar or even a major league regular. His .237 batting average and .671 OPS were poor by any measure and very disappointing compared to expectations based on his partial seasons in 2023 and 2024. Lewis admitted that he came back too soon after his March injury and his miserable hitting stats out of the gate hurt his overall performance significantly. On the bright side, the last month or so Lewis got his legs under himself and was a much better defender and he showed speed that he hadn't featured since he was a rookie. Lewis is the Twins third baseman in 2026 if healthy, with Fitzgerald, Lee and Clemens as backups or injury replacements. The Twins aren't likely to spend much money or contend in 2026, but I predict they'll get improved performance out of Lewis and Lee. I don't know if Lee will hold shortstop all season, but I'm betting he'll come to spring training stronger and more athletic than in the past two years. I think he'll hit quite a bit better with maturity and experience. He isn't going to become another Bobby Witt Jr. however and his ceiling would seem to be a midrange regular, no better than that. With health and a normal offseason, I think Lewis will be a much better player in '26. Adding the base running speed and plus defense he displayed late in 2025 will make him a much better player in 2026, if he can stay as healthy as he did in the second half of 2025. Expecting a .300 batting average and >.800 OPS out of Keaschall for a full season out of Keaschall is asking a lot. I do think he'll continue to show he belongs as a major league regular and that he'll keep swiping bags and play better defense. I expect someone to supplant Clemens, but that he'll get quite a bit of playing time in 2026. Expecting any more than similar production from Clemens in 2026 is wishful thinking, but he can be a pretty good bench options. Injuries are almost certain to figure into the season and infield depth is very thin. Adding two major league players would seem to be the minimum the team should do in order to have a representative infield in 2026.

There are several different situations in play. The Twins can DFA players at any time to take them off the 40-man roster but that usually comes after those that can declare free agency. The non-tender deadline is in November (it was 11/22 in 2024) that is when players eligible for arbitration are either offered a contract or non-tendered, making them free agents. Players with expired contracts and more than six years of major league service can declare free agency a couple days after the completion of the World Series.

Four former Twins are minor league free agents—Scott Blewitt, Noah Davis, Brooks Kriske and Darren McCaughan.

If 2024-2025 Brooks Lee is the Twins shortstop, they won’t be very good. 24-year-olds get better more often than not, so I do expect a better version of Brooks Lee in 2026. How much better? I’m not really sure. There will be a new manager and maybe he can unlock the likes of Lee, Wallner and Lewis so that there are.six or seven guys who are season long regulars.

Didn't they let the scouts go after the trade deadline? Or actually, they might have been employed until the end of the season.

This is precisely the problem with the Twins. Who would you play every day and hit #1-5? Ask 10 more posters and you'll probably get 10 more answers. Aside from Buxton, no one has taken the step to be an established regular, much less a star. I think that is on Rocco and is the best reason to show him the door.

They were lovable losers. Underdogs in every game. Calvin took apart the Met Stadium teams and went with a bunch of rookies and “never will be” players (as opposed to has-beens). Out of the ashes came the cornerstones of the two World Series winners. I remember the ‘82 Twins fondly despite their 100-loss season.

Ron Washington is out as Angels manager. Maybe it’s the (baseball) end of the line for Wash, who was a member of the terrible 1982 Twins (60-102). Best wishes and good health.

Kody Clemens season with the Twins includes a hot month of May and the rest of the season where he performed pretty close to his career norms. I don't think his good month should be ignored, nor should we fans expect him to hit like he did in May for a sustained period of time. In Clemens' first season where he got fairly regular playing time, he hit 19 homers and had a .715 OPS. He played more than acceptable defense at four positions and provided more than his share of clutch hits. IMHO, if he was to replicate his 2025 in 2026, he would deserve a roster spot and hold it for the entire season. I'd hesitate to make him Option A at first base, but he does represent a backup plan.

Only 11 teams had team batting averages of .250 or above and only five were above .253. More than 50 players in MLB had more than 502 plate appearances and hit less than .250, including Mr. 60 home runs Cal Raleigh. If you were talking 20-30 years ago, you might have a case, but getting a high batting average is difficult these days. Today's .270 hitter was a .300 hitter in earlier eras.

I don't think the role of minor league managers is necessarily to win the most games. They are there to try to develop the talent they have. One could argue that if they had a worse record than the Twins that Toby didn't do a very good job of developing talent. I don't think that bringing in a guy who has never managed or played in the major leagues is the way to go. Tingler does have major league experience as a manager if they want to stay in the organization.

Correa had a .785 OPS for the Astros. Better than his '25 Twins numbers for sure, but not up to his career numbers.

I think Baldelli is a pretty good baseball man, but as many have said here, since he has been at the helm he hasn't had enough players make the next step in their development. Since the 100-win team in 2019, there haven't been enough guys that should have been written in the lineup probably in the same place in the batting order. I'm neutral on criticisms of strategy, but I know that more talent means that managers can take gambles to try to cut off one run or play for a big inning or steal bases. I also don't believe the talent has fit together well for the last several years. I actually thought Rocco did a decent job handling his bullpen and was able to maximize availability without overuse. The next manager will have a lot of deficiencies to address and depending on what happens to the few who are making significant money, the team might be in a total rebuild. I'll pull for the next manager to be successful, and by successful that means making it to postseason and having a chance to win in October. He'll need better help than Baldelli received from the front office since 2020.

Yes.

Since the trade deadline, I've been thinking that trading Buck would be the right thing for both the player and the team. If the Twins aren't going to contend until after an indeterminate work stoppage, it might be in Buxton's interest to get to a team that has a chance and the Twins could both save salary and get a haul of players who could help the team after a lockout. People aren't coming to watch the team with Buxton so it probably wouldn't hurt attendance much. As an avid fan, I'd be sick to my stomach for a few days, but I know I'll come back.

Michael A Taylor retired. I wonder if he is interested in coaching. He was a fine defensive OF and good base runner. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/09/michael-a-taylor-announces-retirement.html

José De León had his contract purchased by the Red Sox. The Rose Hose have clinched a wild card, but could move ahead of the second AL Central team to the #5 seed. I suppose it is one day and done for him, but still surprising that a playoff team would make that transaction. De León appeared in 12 games for the ‘23 Twins before having TJ surgery. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/09/red-sox-select-jose-de-leon.html

It’s a meaningless game played on the road. We can invent milestones for him to surpass, but it’s probably just as well to get one last look at someone like Outman. Given Buxton’s injury history, I’m just glad he can go into the offseason healthy.

I really don’t think 30-25 is a thing.

I would hope Baldelli asked Buxton whether he wanted to play or not.

Just need three scores in 11:17.

I'm probably starting this thread a day early, but it's a lot easier going from the bottom of the roster and removing players to project who will be fighting for roster spots in March in Fort Myers. I hope there will be a robust discussion of who stays and who is shown the door. Here is the current 40-man roster plus 60-day IL: Pitchers--Abel, Adams, Bradley, Cabrera, Festa, Funderburk, Hatch, Laweryson, López, Matthews, Misiewicz, Ober, Ohl, Raya, Ryan, Sands, Tonkin, Topa, Woods Richardson. Catchers--Gasper, Jeffers, Pereda, Vázquez. Infielders--Clemens, Fitzgerald, Julien, Keaschall, Lee, Lewis, Miranda. Outfielders--Buxton, Keirsey Jr., Larnach, Martin, McCusker, Outman, Roden, Rodriguez, Wallner. Here are the players I predict the Twins will cut loose: Cabrera (FA), Hatch (DFA), Misiewicz (non-tender), Tonkin (non-tender), Topa (declined option-FA), Gasper (DFA), Vázquez (FA), Fitzgerald (DFA), Miranda (non-tender), Keirsey Jr. (DFA), Larnach (non-tender), McCusker (DFA), Outman (DFA). That is about as many as the Twins traded away at the deadline and would turn over well more than half of the roster. Add in a couple trades and it will be a new team for whoever is managing the Twins in 2026. Some comments: Edouard Julien makes the cut IMHO because he has hit pretty well in September and he looks like a possible option to partially fill the first base hole. Gasper, Keirsey Jr. and McCusker were all promoted as old rookies and haven't shown they can hit major league pitching, Topa and Tonkin are older with pretty long injury histories and little upside. Larnach will get more expensive and has put up .1 WAR in a healthy full season. The Twins twins, Outman and Fitzgerald, are intriguing offensively only because of home runs. Outman is a strikeout machine and I doubt Fitzgerald can sustain anything close to a 8% home run rate. Fitzgerald is the toughest call, but he turns 32 before the All-Star break. If the Twins do perform radical surgery on the roster, it would be the biggest turnover in my memory, rivaled only by Calvin's selloff in 1982.