Cory Engelhardt

I was thinking going to st Louis. They have a decent number of catchers either that have debuted or in the upper minors that might be interesting. But yeah, a younger guy would be great in this role in my opinion

Naylor or Ryan O'Hearn are both guys I would love to get at 1B. They are both solid enough on defense that it would help the infield, and both have experience hitting in the middle of a lineup. For example, if they bring in Brandon Hyde as their next manager, I could see O'Hearn being an addition that makes sense at 1B. I'd LOVE to dream on Pete Alonso, but I don't see it happening money wise.

I'd be ok with it, but I would hope they turn over all the rocks that are possible prior to going this route. For example, let's say some team really likes Bailey Ober, and we like a catcher they have who has either some mlb experience or at least some upper minors experience. This is purely a hypothetical, but I'd want to look at that TYPE of move first before going back to Vazquez. I also hope, generally, that Vazquez's infection that occured this year makes it so he is ready to be fully healthy in 2026.

I appreciate you laying it out this way. It also points to where they can focus on real/actual improvement. 1) Catcher; I think the focus can be on a strong defender. This could be via free agency, or via trade. It's possible that they have a younger catcher they are eyeing from another organization, so maybe they trade for someone that would be a good pair with Jeffers. Ideally (my opinion) if they can find a starting level catcher who can hit right handed pitching enough to get by, then we don't NEED to have Jeffers catch 100+ games. I say that too because Jeffers isn't an ideal defensive option behind the plate, but he still is good enough to catch when a lefty starts or dh occasionally, especially against lefties. I'm not at all certain that Jeffers will be extended and on the team in 2027, but having him on the team for 2026 is fine by me. 2) 1B is an option to really focus and help the infield defense AND the lineup. I do think (unless they have to cut payroll more) that there is real opportunity here to add a real 1B option instead of a Ty France option. Someone like Ryan O'Hearn would be really good here with the defense and power he provides, and wouldn't break the bank theorhetically with needing a LONG term deal. I'd love Josh Naylor, but I have to think he's getting 3 or even 4 years, and I don't know that they would give that out now. We'll see. 3) Having this lineup, as you listed, is fine and will allow Jenkins and Rodriguez and Culpepper et al to have space to earn their promotions at some point. That's exciting too. Thanks!

I don't at all see Larnach back. It's also possible that both Jeffers and Ober aren't on the team next year, so within just those three the numbers above add up to 19 million. Just throwing this out as another way to get a lower payroll without dealing Lopez or Ryan. Do have to find 2 catchers then at that point, but it's not unheard of. Hopefully the front office is free to make creative and multiple moves this offseason.

This article was awesome Jaime! Thanks! Also, reading the comments, I feel like there should be a list of comments someone can easily go to and cut/paste to be ready to add to any twins related article ever. So many complaint replies that are generic enough here that work to complain on any article. Maybe that can be the focus of a randball Stu article sometime, generic cut/paste comments that work for any twins related article ever

I also caught the reference, and also had to google what a Labubu is.

Of the ones you mentioned, if he is healthy, Festa makes the most sense to try first. I can't get there yet for any of the others, at least not as of today.

Gotta say, I like Wiggins too, but to me he has every bit of chance as ending up as a reliever as any of the pitchers you mentioned that we have too. I am pretty bullish on Zebby for next year to be honest. His fip and k rate and walk rate are all really solid this year. I think Festa can become a good reliever. Barring his shoulder health of course. I can't put him as a rotation option ongoing for a number of reasons. But IF he is healthy (seems like a big if, but the update this morning from Dan Hayes saying that he is in line for a normal offseason is positive.) Bradley, I THINK, can get there to be a solid rotation guy too. But is that back end? Top end? I don't know. Jury still out on Abel. His AAA numbers are very good this year. I want to hope that will translate. All of the others listed are too far away for me right now.

Ok, then what positions, and for what level in the minors, would you target? By that I mean, are you wanting an infielder that may be up in 2028? Or a pitcher that might be up in 2029? What would that be in your mind?

I do agree that this would be the height of his value. I also think that a LOT of the lineup didn't perform to their standards in 2025. I don't know if that means they will in 2026, but I do think it's possible.

No, I meant, why would you not want a player that can help in 2026? One that has any level of a track record? I get wanting prospects. I meant, we already HAVE prospects. I also don't know or think that Ryan will be traded.

Why?

All fair points. I can absolutely see a new manager being a thing. I also didn’t look into players that are making actual salary, but that is another option. Thanks for the replies

What about any of the players plus prospect(s) as a package? For example, let's say the Cubs offered Michael Busch plus a good prospect or two? I more meant that I don't want ONLY prospects back in a deal.

2nd'd. If they got a reliever for Nick Gordon, they'll be able to get a better one for Larnach.

I came up with an idea to look for some players who MIGHT be available IF the Twins were to look to trade Joe Ryan this offseason. I know some people think he will be traded for certain, but I'm not at that point. I mostly wanted to look for players who AREN'T just prospects. Players who have shown production in MLB already. The Twins do have a strong minor league system according to many metrics right now. For example, there is a topic out there for an offer for Ryan to Boston that is basically ONLY prospects (Tolle, Garcia and Arias) where to me, if you are trading Ryan, you NEED to get back someone who will help immediately in 2026 and beyond. Jhostynxyn Garcia may become a good player in time, but right now I have a hard time penciling him WAY above both what Jenkins and Rodriguez could be, let alone others. I wanted to look for players who have already shown major league success, as well as would be pre-arb in 2026 or in their first arbitration year in 2026. The players listed here may or may not be available for trade, but it is the type of player I would need to headline a package IF the Twins are trading Ryan. To reiterate, I would be disappointed if the Twins traded Ryan and didn't get back immediate help for 2026 that you can write in pen. I also focused solely on hitters for this list. And I primarily went with teams that I thought could make sense for a Joe Ryan trade. I did not include Seattle or the Dodgers on this list mostly because the type of offers they could give would be primarily ONLY prospect based. That's ok, but I wanted to focus on younger players who have already shown some sustained success. Again, I'm not saying I would do 1 for 1 trade for any of these listed players. I also don't know that any of them for sure would be available. And I'm really saying I don't know that the Twins would trade Joe Ryan. But IF they were to trade Joe Ryan this offseason, this is the type of player I would need to get back in a package. How good they are would also determine how many prospects would be attached with them. I used fangraphs for both the best WAR season the player has shown, and for their roster resource to show how much service time the player has accrued so far. Let me know what you think. Thanks! Boston Age Service Time Position Best OPS Best WAR B/T 2026 Salary Wilyer Abreu 26.3 1.041 OF 0.804 3.1 L/L Pre-Arb Tristan Casas 25.7 2.032 1B 0.856 1.8 L/L Arb 1 Mets Mark Vientos 25.8 1.102 1B 0.837 2.9 R/R Pre-Arb Brett Baty 25.9 1.088 3B 0.74 2.1 L/R Pre-Arb Cubs Michael Busch 27.9 1.045 1B 0.827 2.8 L/R Pre-Arb Giants Patrick Bailey 26.3 1.136 C 0.644 4.3 S/R Arb 1 Super 2 Heliot Ramos 26 1.103 OF 0.792 2.3 R/R Arb 1 Super 2 Angels Nolan Schanuel 23.6 1.045 1B 0.747 1.5 L/R Pre-Arb Zach Neto 24.6 1.17 SS 0.793 3.5 R/R Arb 1 Super 2 Orioles Jordan Westburg 26.6 1.098 3B 0.792 2.7 R/R Pre-Arb Colton Cowser 25.5 1.043 OF 0.768 3.8 L/R Pre-Arb Cardinals Ivan Herrera 25.3 1.034 C 0.845 2.7 R/R Pre-Arb Alec Burleson 26.8 2.029 1B 0.81 2.1 L/L Arb 1 Masyn Winn 23.5 1.045 SS 0.73 3.6 Pre-Arb

I don’t expect Prielipp to be anywhere but Saint Paul’s rotation to start next season.

And Cubs, and Dodgers, and Mariners.

Yes. Yes it was. And it'll be good to see him start again at Baltimore on 3/26/26.

Just throwing out an idea I had while sitting around doing nothing. Let’s say the cubs want Joe Ryan and offer a package centered around Michael Busch. MN native, would arguably fill the 1b/dh hole for years; and he has real pop. First, is that someone you would want as a headliner of a package? And 2, how much else would have to come with him?

Could you add birthdays to the player names? I know you mentioned the winner being one of the youngest in the league. Just curious how old I will feel mostly when I see the birthdays listed. :)

I'm hopeful there is a 2027, but I wouldn't bet on it being a full season by any means. Hopefully 2028 is a full season. I guess we'll see.

I can totally see this happening. Curious what teams would offer. It would certainly be more than what they got back for Berrios. Still would hurt for 2026.

I went off fangraphs, which is much higher than baseball reference. Should have looked at both.