Nick Nelson

Image courtesy of Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Earlier this week, I provided an overview of the grim state of affairs for the Twins lineup. In short, nearly every hitter ended the season in a downward trend, leaving it difficult to feel a sense of optimism regarding an offense that was well below average in 2025 and gave away one of its better bats (faint praise) in Carlos Correa. They have some work to do in the bullpen, obviously, but if the relief corps won't matter much if the Twins can't build leads. There's probably not a lot of help on the way for a lineup that ranked 23rd in runs scored, and rising prospects likely won't be quite ready for a full-fledged impact, so Minnesota's improvement is going to hinge on a handful of former top prospects and top draft picks to lead the charge. In this new series, we'll examine what a rebound season would look like for five of these hitters, including the ingredients needed to make it happen. We begin today with a player whose outlook might be as closely tied to that of the team in 2026 as anyone. Stuck in the Mud After a Hot Start in MLB When he first arrived in the big leagues, Brooks Lee looked like the real deal. He'd been demolishing Triple-A last summer before his MLB promotion in early July, and wasted no time piling up hits as a Twin, with 11 in his first six games. In 185 games and 695 plate appearances since, he has slashed .227/.275/.348 with a negative-0.3 fWAR. Here's the list of Twins hitters who have been less valuable over that span, according to FanGraphs: Manuel Margot, James Outman, Carson McCusker, Mickey Gasper, DaShawn Keirsey Jr., Edouard Julien, Jose Miranda. Production-wise, Lee exists at the level of washouts and fringe major-league players. He's had some bursts of power-hitting along with a BABIP-driven hot streak this past June, but his flashes have persistently been canceled out by prolonged droughts. Turning 25 this offseason and now with considerable MLB experience under his belt, Lee is past the point of growing pains. He's firmly beyond prospect status and establishing himself as a pretty low-caliber big-leaguer. But he's still relatively young, and those occasional glimpses of power, along with his long track record of making adjustments and hitting for average, do give some cause for optimism. A Track Record Worth Believing In When the Twins drafted him eighth overall back in 2022, Lee was regarded as one of the best collegiate hitters in the country. He went to the minors and raked at every level, pushing his way to the majors in about two years' time. Across 195 minor-league games, he hit .289/.360/.476, and he showed big pop at Triple-A. Tapping into that power with more consistency holds the key to Lee's ability to break through. Hitting 16 home runs as a 24-year-old in the majors is impressive, all else aside. Just not enough on its own, as those homers came along with only 15 doubles, one triple and a .236 batting average in 527 plate appearances. A quick glance at his Statcast sliders lays bare the central issue: too much weak contact. Lee's sub-90 MPH exit velo is near the bottom quartile of the league, and his bat speed ranks among the worst. He has shown the ability to crush the ball on occasion, which makes him relatively hard to give up on, but too often Lee's swings produce soft liners and easy grounders. Muscle Up and Dial In, Kid Here are some things I think we can safely say about Brooks Lee: he's never going to be a swift runner or selective hitter. His best position is probably third base although he can hold his own at short. There are a lot of limitations in place so it's vital that Lee fully maximize his strengths, and build an offensive identity around them. Those strengths, namely: bat-to-ball skills and a swing that is theoretically geared for power. The idea of Lee being a .370 OBP guy has more or less gone out the window, but it's not hard to see him hitting like .275/.330/.475 with the right advancements. For a capable shortstop or good defensive third baseman, that will absolutely play. From my view, reaching this level at the plate will require Lee to do two things: Add some strength in the offseason. He simply needs to swing the bat harder and make louder contact on a consistent basis. Lee certainly has the build for it, so it's really about finding whatever ways he can — be it swing mechanics or strength training — to increase his swing velocity over the winter. Unlock just a little more plate discipline. Often, the soft contact from Lee wasn't a result of poor swings so much as poor swing decisions — chasing a pitcher's pitch that offers little hope of a favorable result. Overcoming this mental aspect will be as important as anything he does physically. I've given up on Lee, who had a 31% chase rate and 6% walk rate this year, ever being a patient hitter. But a tiny bit more patience could go a long way toward getting Lee into more hitters' counts with more chances to unleash the A-swing. Right now, based on his complete lack of progression as a major-league player, it feels hard to have confidence in Lee's outlook. And that is disturbing because the reality is that the Twins are all but committed to him as their starting shortstop for the foreseeable future. However, we shouldn't lose sight of who Lee has been on the baseball field, and what he could still become, even after an introduction to the majors that has perhaps redefined his ceiling and player type. No matter which direction they go this offseason, Lee is going to be pivotal to the plan going forward. View full article

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images The end of a season, even a very bad one, offers a chance to dream. The offseason is a stage to strengthen the roster, along with individual skills; beyond it lies spring training and a fresh slate. The trouble for Twins fans is that there isn't much to dream on heading into 2026. Almost without exception, every hitter that is currently written into the team's plans next year is experiencing a downward trendline in terms of performance or skills. An inventory of where each player stands coming out of September shows just how lacking the 40-man roster is with offensive players on the rise. I'll start with the three players who bucked this trend by coming out of the season with some semblance of momentum, adding a note of caveat for each: Luke Keaschall: Awesome MLB debut between the injuries, which have plagued him. Tough to nitpick a great rookie year but he did post a .685 OPS in September while flashing iffy defense. At the very least, enthusiasm has been tempered around his future as a cornerstone. Byron Buxton: Fantastic career year that is reaffirming for his ability to produce at the plate, but he turns 32 in December and his skills are declining in center. Buxton's probably the only hitter on the Twins with any substantial trade value, sans Keaschall, but has a no-trade clause. Austin Martin: Made hay after the trade deadline, batting .282 with a .374 OBP. But even in this productive run, Martin's limitations were evident as he slugged .365 and played left field almost exclusively. He showcased the tools to be a solid role player, which is a step forward, but far from a game-changer. Okay. Now let's turn our attention to the rest of the Twins' 40-man roster, in alphabetical order: Kody Clemens: Cooled off immensely after a stunning midseason surge as (essentially) a waiver claim. Slashed .201/.262/.354 in his last 55 games, rarely showing much outside of an isolated 3-HR outburst in September. Ryan Fitzgerald: Quad-A player who finished the season 1-for-19 and batted .196 overall, though he did pop a few homers while showing a decent plate approach. Could be a usable bench guy. Mickey Gasper: It would've been a cool story if Gasper could have taken advantage of the wide-open opportunity to solidify his standing as a big-leaguer in the second half. He did not, slashing .136/.212/.237 in 67 plate appearances after the deadline. Edouard Julien: Similarly, it would've been great to see Julien step up and reassert himself post-deadline. In 104 plate appearances, he posted a .660 OPS with one home run, with his untrusted glove relegating him to 1B/DH duty. Ryan Jeffers: Went from 21 homers in 2024 to nine in 2025 (including just two after the All-Star break), sacrificing a bunch of power for unspectacular gains in average and OBP. His defensive value is in rapid decline as he approaches 30, so the drop-off in power is alarming. Battled concussion issues late in the season. DaShawn Keirsey Jr.: Zero hits or walks as a major-leaguer after July 28th. (Albeit only two MLB starts.) Clearly not a factor. Ryan Kreidler: Hey, a newcomer! Perhaps a chance to deviate from the pattern of plummeting performance! Oh, what's that? He spent almost all of last year in Triple-A? He slashed .182/.333/.288 in his last 20 games there? He was waived by the 91-loss Pirates? I see. Trevor Larnach: He looked to be carving out a spot as a lineup fixture with a 116 OPS+ in 2024, but regressed significantly to 99 in 2025 and hit just one homer after August 11th. Fielding value value fell through the floor, to the point he was almost exclusively used as DH in the second half. Non-tender candidate. Brooks Lee: Not so much trending downward as continuing to stagnate with replacement-level MLB production. Lacking speed, power or discipline, Lee has shown no real standout skills in a Twins uniform. He batted .195 with a .531 OPS in September. Perfect example of a player the team is essentially tethered to because he's too young/cheap to give up on but has no trade value. Royce Lewis: Similar deal here, although they surely could trade Lewis and get something for him, if motivated to do so. The market will hardly be hopping after a dismal campaign that ended without much positive motion — Lewis posted a .678 OPS and 25-to-1 K/BB ratio in September, albeit while looking more spry in field and on the bases. Carson McCusker: Did nothing in the majors, and even his minor-league success came to look like a mirage after he cooled off big-time in Triple-A. José Miranda: The ultimate stock drop. Miranda was on the Opening Day roster this year (remember that??) but by season's end found himself hopelessly mired in Triple-A, where he was overwhelmed. In August and September he batted .175 with two home runs for the Saints. James Outman: Two hits in his last 32 at-bats of the season, but at least they were both homers! That pretty much sums up Outman — an all-or-nothing hitter who lives up to his name with a .147 average and .558 OPS in his time with the Twins. Jhonny Pereda: Probably not a big-league player, and unlikely to stick around. Did hit a little bit in 30 at-bats though. Alan Roden: The most immediate return from the front office's deadline sell-off could have hardly made a worse first impression, hitting .158 with a .463 OPS in his first 12 games as a Twin before suffering a season-ending thumb injury. Turning 26 in December, he has yet to demonstrate he can hit in the majors at all. Emmanuel Rodriguez: Mentioned because he's on the 40-man roster, although he has yet to debut in the majors. One of the team's top prospects, although 2025 wasn't a real upward season for Rodriguez either — he battled injuries again and saw his power tamped down at Triple-A. Matt Wallner: Wallner's season was one of the most discouraging developments for the Twins offense all-around in 2025. His OPS+ fell by almost 40 points from the previous season as pitchers leaned into his weaknesses and often left him without answers. He batted .157 with a .600 OPS in his final 20 games, ending the year with another oblique injury. You take stock of all these Twins hitters and it's really hard to feel any kind of grounded positivity regarding the team's outlook. I mean, it's fairly common for talented players to turn around negative trends and bounce back from poor seasons. I'd bet on at least a couple of the above guys doing so. But in order to substantially improve on offense, Minnesota needs a TON of these wayward bats to round into form, and quickly. It feels like a stretch of the imagination at the moment, especially with their manager and hitting instruction group in total limbo. At the same time, there's really not much choice but to stay committed to these players who've earned little on merit, because as a byproduct of their uninspiring performances, the Twins' current offensive assortment is almost bereft of trade value that would lend logic to a shakeup. When it comes to improving the offense, much like a majority of their hitters, the Twins are stuck in place. View full article

Image courtesy of Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images Comparing the Twins team that won a playoff series in 2023 to the last one that did, 21 years earlier in 2002, exposes a sharp contrast. That 2002 group of players had come up together, honing their fundamentals and mastering the elements of "small ball" under Tom Kelly's tutelage to earn a distinct reputation, which only intensified when Ron Gardenhire took over. Those Twins gained advantages on the margins, played superior defense, and ran the bases aggressively. (Maybe over-aggressively, with the worst success rate in baseball.) Back then, and in the decade or so that followed, "The Twins Way" was a grounding set of principles. Now it's little more than a street sign outside of Target Field. The 2023 Twins were a hodgepodge of outside additions and graduated prospects from different waves, led by an expensive free-agent mercenary in Carlos Correa. Under Rocco Baldelli, this team aimed to win with strikeouts on the mound and home runs at the plate; defense and baserunning were far from specializations. Rocco's boys weren't laying down a lot of sac bunts. Another stark difference between these two division-winning clubs: payroll. In 2002, they ranked 26th out of 30 teams at $41 million. No one on that mean was making any serious money. In 2023 the Twins set a franchise record with a $153 million payroll, ranking 17th in the majors. Reading between the lines, and in some cases just taking their words at face value, it becomes clear that Twins leadership is longing for a return to the good old days of "The Twins Way" — or at least an evolution of it — on multiple levels. Getting Back to Fundamentals At the end of the season, Derek Falvey cast his vision for the next iteration of the Minnesota Twins: “We’re going to be a really good base running team, we’re going to be on the details, we’re going to be leaning into the fundamentals,” he said. “It would be surprising if any manager candidate said that they didn’t care about those things.” With all the nostalgia for a different era packed in those words, you might wonder if the Twins thought about dialing up Gardenhire and inquiring about reunion. Or if not Gardy, maybe his favorite student. Sure enough, the Twins have reportedly interviewed Nick Punto for the managerial vacancy, alongside a few other candidates. For those who are too young to remember his heyday, Punto featured (arguably too prominently) on the late Metrodome teams, serving as the embodiment of grit and hustle. He was a switch-hitting utilityman who happily handled fast-changing assignments, put the ball in play but hit for zero power, and routinely slid headfirst into first base. MLB's Cut4 once honored him with the "Unnecessary Hustle Award." White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen coined the term "piranha" to describe his ilk. Under Falvey's leadership, the Twins have gravitated very far from that profile in terms of their identity. But as you look ahead to 2026, you can already see some piranha-esque players written into the plans: Luke Keaschall, Alan Roden and Austin Martin to name a few. You wonder if Minnesota's ultimate managerial choice or offseason player pickups will continue to trend in this direction. I kind of think so. Because here's the thing: these scrappy hustle type players tend to command a lot less money than the established big sluggers. A New Norm for Twins Spending? Whether or not you choose to believe them, the Pohlads have been clear and unflinching in their assertion that their financial state of affairs had become entirely unsustainable. Meeting the demands of a payroll in the $140 million range with reduced revenue streams was pushing them deep into debt, which they brought in minority investors to alleviate. Despite the appearance from the outside that the Twin Cities market should be able to support roughly middle-of-the-pack spending, the Pohlads insist that is not the case. Comments about "right-sizing" the payroll, and Tom Pohlad telling the Star Tribune recently that his family has "repeatedly chosen to invest beyond what the Twins’ revenues can support in an effort to field a competitive team," all point to one thing: a new norm for Twins payroll, or more accurately, a return to the old norm. No, I don't expect the Twins to go back to a $40 million payroll. But in 2002, when the overall benchmark was much lower, that figure represented 60% of the MLB average. Today the same percentage would equate to about a $100 million payroll — a renewed baseline I suspect they'll fall short of in an all-out rebuild year in 2026. In fairness, it's definitely possible to win under such constraints, with the right baseball leadership. The Twins in 2002 were proof enough. The Rays have been doing it for many years. More relevantly: the Cleveland Guardians had a $100 million payroll this year and rallied to reach the postseason while the Twins floundered and underperformed. Cleveland has been a model of low-budget success, fueled by player development and savvy acquisitions. They aren't high-priced or high-powered, but they win on aggressiveness, cohesion and fundamentals. Despite coming from that organization, Falvey has led Minnesota far astray from such characteristics. Everything I'm seeing now leads me to believe he's now looking to lead them back. For better or worse. View full article

Image courtesy of Alex Knight, Flickr In the wake of Rocco Baldelli’s dismissal, sources tell Twins Daily that the Minnesota Twins are leaning toward a futuristic hire: Robo-Skipper 5000, a fully automated dugout management system that promises to align perfectly with the franchise’s prioritization of innovation and cost efficiency. The mechanical manager, developed in-house by a partnership between Baseball Ops and Target Field’s IT Department, has been programmed to follow every organizational directive without hesitation or critical thought — an improvement over Baldelli, who occasionally tried to win games on instinct while too often expressing independent thought. “Robo-Skipper 5000 represents a bold step forward in our mission to integrate efficiency, alignment, and plausible deniability,” said President of Baseball and Business Operations Derek Falvey, who will retain final override authority via a Bluetooth-connected tablet. “Our fans can rest assured: every decision will be backed by data, or at least by our interpretation of it.” Features of Robo-Skipper 5000 Automated Pitching Hooks: Pre-set to remove all starters after four innings regardless of score, pitch count, or general human decency. Platoon Optimization: Lineups generated exclusively by left-right splits, with no regard for “hot streaks,” “track records,” or “talent.” Injury-Aware Algorithms: Capable of identifying new ways for players to be listed as “day-to-day.” PR Compliance Module: Built-in response generator for media scrums, designed to repeat “We’re focused on long-term sustainability” up to 10,000 times without error. Loyalty Chip: Hardwired to ensure unwavering obedience to Falvey and ownership. The Baldelli Connection Critics long accused Baldelli of managing robotically, relying on spreadsheets and matchups instead of gut feel. Now, it appears the Twins have decided to cut out the middleman. Robo-Skipper 5000 comes preloaded with the entire Statcast database and no sentimental attachment to the notion of “riding the hot hand.” “It’s really the natural progression,” one team insider said. “Rocco gave us five years of simulating a robot. Now we get the real thing.” Comments from Ownership While the expected move has raised eyebrows elsewhere in MLB, Twins leadership remains steadfast. "We needed to right-size the level of human intervention in our baseball engine," noted ownership figurehead Joe Pohlad. Robo-Skipper 5000 is actually programmed to do the jobs of the pitching and hitting coaches, as well as vendors and janitors, enabling the Twins to cut their organizational headcount by up to 90 percent. "This solution is going to be tremendous for our operational efficiencies and meeting our goal of championship-caliber revenue," said Pohlad. What’s Next? The Twins are expected to introduce Robo-Skipper 5000 in a press conference later this month, pending a successful firmware update. If hired, he would become the first fully automated manager in Major League history, though sources indicate the Athletics are working on a knockoff prototype assembled from surplus soda machines. For now, Falvey and Pohlad appear thrilled. “This is the future of Twins baseball,” Falvey said, with a slight twinge of apprehension. “It sure is," said Pohlad as he furtively flipped over a document featuring planned schematics for the organization's next development project, Robo-POBO 6000. View full article

If they trade Pablo I feel very confident it's not so they can spend that money elsewhere. How would you spend $20M that would be more valuable than a #1 starter in his prime anyway?

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images Will the Twins trade Joe Ryan this offseason? It's a big question, but I don't think it's the pivotal question. In my mind, the calculus for trading Ryan is reasonable, even if the Twins are going to make an effort to contend next year. This is a pretty straightforward sell-high opportunity, with the right-hander coming off a career year and All-Star appearance at age 29. If the Twins trade Ryan, who's due less than $6 million next year according to MLBTR projections, it won't be about money. And while Ryan is a hell of a pitcher who would hurt to lose, I do think the team and rotation could theoretically survive his subtraction and still hold their own next year. I don't believe either of those things are true of Pablo López. If he gets traded, it's about the money, and it's a sure sign that the Twins are headed to a very dark place next year. It would obviously be a huge stretch to say that Minnesota collapsed this past season simply because López got hurt, but you can't deny how uncanny the timing was. On June 3rd, when López injured his shoulder on the much-maligned pitching mound at Sutter Health Park, the Twins were six games above .500, on their way to a 20th win in their last 27 games. Over their next 27 games following the injury they would go 8-19, erasing all progress from their electric month of May, and by the time López returned in September the Twins were 16 games below .500, mired deeply in irrelevance. Would the Twins have made the playoffs if López didn't get hurt? No. But I do think the huge drop-off in performance and vibes was reflective in some ways of his absence. López is not only a great pitcher — he posted a 2.74 ERA in the 14 starts he was able to make — but also a natural leader and integral figure in the clubhouse. If Byron Buxton is the heart of this Twins team, López is the brain, and I'm not sure they can survive without either in 2026, let alone both. It was notable that, in a late-season interview on YouTube, Twins announcer Cory Provus opined specifically that moving López trade — not Ryan — could be the breaking point that compels Buxton to reconsider his no-trade stance. "If the Twins trade Pablo," Provus said, "then the likelihood of Buxton coming back, I think, drops considerably. That’s on my mind a lot." Even drawing back from the on-field and clubhouse implications of a López trade, let's just take an honest look at the motivations that would drive such a move. López is not a sell-high candidate in the same vein as Ryan. I don't doubt he would generate significant demand and a solid return, but López just missed half a season due to multiple injuries and he's going to make twice as much as Ryan over his two remaining years under contract. Will these factors scare away big-market contenders looking to make a splash? Hardly, but the recent injuries and price tag are bound to temper the bidding for López relative to Ryan. In my mind, if López gets dealt, it's merely about finances, because currently he's on track to earn about a corner of the team's payroll in 2026. So that's where my attention is focused heading into this offseason: Pablo López, the pivot point of the Twins' short-term future. If he gets traded, it's a grim omen on its own, not even accounting for the dominoes it's bound to trigger. Please don't trade Pablo. PLEASE don't trade Byron. Stripped down as it is, this team needs likable characters and a fighting chance. View full article

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Matt Krohn, Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Twins leadership has hinted, not so subtly, that fans can expect a non-competitive rebuild season in 2026. The big question is how far they plan to lean into this. The baseline scenario is that the Twins mostly stand pat, holding onto what they've got and maybe spending modestly to try and fill some gaps. That is, I would argue, the best fans can expect. It's not what I'm expecting. Based on everything I've seen and heard, in combination with my general lack of faith in ownership's mettle (regardless of "new investors"), I believe the Twins are going to full-on tank next year. They'll dump more of their more even moderately expensive prime-aged players who have value — for the players' sakes as much as theirs — and they'll run out a very low payroll in 2026 under the messaging of a youth-driven rebuild. "Come see the kids play at Target Field!" How might this actually play out in practice? To convey an image of what the most extreme version of a conclusive teardown this offseason might look like, I theorized a few trade destinations for players who would be likely to depart. I'm not gonna get into guessing at what the returns might look like — that's a matter for another day, or for the commenters to muse on — but I wanted to put a little more specificity by identifying some logical trade partners. Here's a rundown of some moves I could envision, followed by an overview of what would remain. Trade Joe Ryan to the Red Sox and Pablo Lopez to the Mets. Minnesota and Boston were in (potentially deep) talks over Ryan trade at the deadline. The Red Sox could use a starter like him added to their rotation, which was underscored in a playoff exit against the Yankees. I have little doubt these discussions will pick up again in the offseason so it's just a matter of getting across the finish line. Lopez to the Mets is a bit more of a creative and unfounded guess but makes a lot of sense in my mind. New York just experienced a dramatic midseason collapse, and you just know owner Steve Cohen is looking to make an ambitious statement this winter. Lopez would give them the durable, veteran, front-end starter they need, and they won't blink at adding his salary. Trade Byron Buxton to the Braves. This pains me to write. It's true that Buxton has declared his intention to remain in a Twins uniform for life, but sometimes people reconsider things. If the front office is up-front with Buxton about what the next two years have in store, it's entirely possible Buxton changes his tune, knowing that Minnesota's next contending window won't likely overlap with his ability to contribute at a high level. In the same vein as Carlos Correa and Houston, the idea of Buxton accepting a trade only to one team — his hometown Braves — feels plausible. So does the idea of Atlanta pursuing Buxton's All-Star impact coming off a disappointing season, though they'd have to figure a few things out in the outfield. Trade Royce Lewis to the Angels. Another boring "trade to hometown" concept that also has merits. I have a hard time envisioning a Lewis trade that makes much sense for the Twins, given how low his stock is at the moment, but maybe a downtrodden Angels team gambles on the change-of-scenery effect and pays a reasonable premium for the upside and three remaining years of service. They did watch Lewis launch a pair of homers in their ballpark near the end of the season. It's not really a matter of money, because Lewis's projected salary ($3 million according to MLBTR) isn't substantial. But, fair or not, it's just hard to see any kind of true "reset" taking place on this team with Lewis still a part of it. And he hasn't been talking like a guy who's in lockstep with team leadership in quite a while. Trade Ryan Jeffers to the Rays. Tampa is known to be looking for catching help coming off a season where they ranked third-to-last in fWAR at the position. Jeffers is slated to make around $6.6 million in his final season before free agency, which is probably not enough to make even the low-budget Rays balk, but perhaps too much for a tanking Twins team — especially if they feel they can extract some real value before he becomes a free agent. The Twins have traded with the Rays plenty of times before, including most recently at the deadline when they dealt Griffin Jax for Taj Bradley. Where Does This Leave Us? Okay, so in this most extreme vision for wiping the slate clean, the Twins part with roughly $50 million in salary, and basically every veteran player from the previous wave. I left out Bailey Ober, only because the value proposition of trading him is so unfavorable, but he could conceivably be shipped out too. I also left out Trevor Larnach, for similar reasons, and just to keep some small semblance of continuity on the offense. Below I took a spin at concocting a 2026 roster in this aftermath. Spoiler alert: the payroll amounts to under $50 million, with a large portion of it going toward Carlos Correa in Houston. A few decisions I made to lend some realism: Had them re-sign Christian Vazquez for $3 million as a veteran stopgap as they figure out their post-Jeffers future at catcher. Also had the Twins reunite with Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a middling free agent, to fill in at shortstop with Lee shifting over to third in Lewis's stead. The idea here is that Kiner-Falefa is competently keeping the seat warm until Kaelen Culpepper arrives. On that note, the upside of this generally grim scenario is that the Twins will be unimpeded in pushing their top prospects into the spotlight. In fact, to generate some shred of enthusiasm, they may feel compelled to do so. For that reason, I've got Walker Jenkins on the Opening Day roster, playing center field as Buxton's successor. I mean, yikes. I will say up-front that what I have laid out above is undoubtedly exaggerated. Though I do consider myself pretty pessimistic about the team's intentions at this point, I'm not expecting a sub-$50 million payroll. First of all, they're not going to trade ALL of those guys. (But if they trade even one I wonder why they wouldn't just trade most.) Moreover, they are going to get back talent in these trades. Significant talent in some cases. Probably major-league talent and maybe a few guys already making over the minimum. And yeah, the front office will make a few procedural signings beyond the ones I included, maybe spending a few mil on some relievers, but be assured: they're not throwing any serious money at free agency. The bottom line here is that what's presented above is unfortunately not out of the question. If the Twins are serious about clearing the books and starting over as ownership reconfigures and a lockout looms, the exodus that is yet to come could be staggering for what fans remain. Brace yourselves. View full article

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images In a season-ending interview with the Star Tribune, Joe Pohlad telegraphed ownership's intentions for the offseason and the 2026 Twins more clearly than ever before. "The goal is to win a World Series," he said. "That doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with some pain in the short term.” Pohlad is obviously not referencing next season when he talks about attempting to win a World Series. Instead, he's referencing some vague future state where the Twins are a legitimate championship contender, something they've been unable to accomplish in the entirety of his adult life. And he's dangling that vague future state as the payoff that will justify the short-term (more accurately: indefinite) pain that fans have only begun to experience. “At some point you gotta look at yourself and be like, ‘You know what? We’ve gotta try something different.’ And not everybody’s going to like it," Pohlad shared. "You’ve gotta own it. Fans are going to be upset. They’re going to say what they’re going to say. And you gotta keep moving forward, and trust that you’re making the right decision.” For starters, "you've gotta own it" is a hilarious statement from an ownership figurehead who has scarcely made himself available for comment while his franchise has devolved into a disastrous state. So is "we've got to try something different" as he continues to stick with the baseball leader who architected this abject failure. But in his usual tone-deaf and cryptic terms, he's said enough. I'm glad Joe Pohlad trusts that he's making the right decisions, while giving fans no reason whatsoever to share that trust. He's asking us not to believe our eyes. As reporter Reid Forgrave wrote in the Star Tribune article, "it's worth noting: 2023’s excitement was based on a team that won a wild-card series, not a World Series. That resurgent team only had the 11th-best record in baseball — a fringe playoff team, not a bona fide contender." This was intended, I guess, to sort of reflect ownership's higher aspirations, but instead it underscores how short they've repeatedly fallen. That "fringe playoff team" was the pinnacle of their success in the Target Field era. It was the culmination of six years of team-building under Derek Falvey, who now gets to start over after firing the manager he hand-picked. The Twins have one 90-win season in the last 15 years, despite playing in one of baseball's softest divisions. They've lagged competitively with payrolls that, to the faint credit of the Pohlads, have been pretty reasonable by the standards of a mid-market MLB franchise. (In fact, they've invested enough to put themselves heavily in debt, forcing outrageous actions like a massive payroll cut coming off a playoff breakthrough, if you take their word for it. (I don't take their word for it.)) Now we're being told it's time to pull back those investments. More right-sizing. “Baseball is all about finding that right balance between patience and striking when the moment is right,” Pohlad said, in the aftermath of squandering a historic moment. You don't have to read between the lines much to see what that means for next year. Patience. Pain. Okay, fine, that's how it goes, if you believe in the model of a rebuild — predicated on low-cost rosters full of young developing players, taking their licks and filtering out on the way to constructing a quality team. It's worked before. The Twins do at least appear to have a worthy long-term centerpiece in Walker Jenkins. You just have to wonder what this "short-term pain" means for the people involved who don't have the luxury of patience. Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan are in the primes of their careers, two years from free agency. Why would they want to play for a team that keeps trending downward offensively and defensively, and is openly not trying to contend? The same question, unfortunately, goes for Byron Buxton, with some rumblings that he could be compelled to waive his no-trade clause after all. The idea of this team's lack of commitment to winning becoming so intense that it shatters Buxton's loyal resolve ... it's grim. That turn of events would somehow take the state of affairs with this franchise to an all-new level of shame. As someone who counts Buxton as probably their favorite player of all time, I'd find it pretty tough to care much about the 2026 team. I know I'm not alone. But I guess it's just the "short-term pain" that we all have to deal with as a trade-off for putting our faith in the people who got in this situation to begin with. If Buxton and Lopez and Ryan all exit this offseason, at least we can take comfort in the knowledge that Joe Pohlad wants to win a World Series someday. View full article

Image courtesy of Eric Hartline-Imagn Images The Weekly Nutshell: The Twins surpassed the 90-loss mark on the season's final road trip, marking their first time reaching this milestone of failure in the Derek Falvey or Rocco Baldelli eras. It was a second straight season stained by devastating levels of disappointment, with a capable roster repeatedly shrinking in key moments and ultimately collapsing in embarrassing fashion. This time around, the front office got out front of things by selling off half the roster at the deadline, leaving the team's future outlook in a state of complete limbo. Reviewing a second half in which the remnants of the roster posted one of the worst records in baseball, with sub-par performances almost across the board, it's been hard to find much in the way of silver linings to grasp onto. But the Twins did close things out by winning four of their last seven games, and did so behind some really outstanding work from a starting pitching corps that they hope will lead them back to relevance. We'll certainly take that morsel of positivity heading into an offseason that is likely to leave most fans wanting. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 9/22 through Sun, 9/28 *** Record Last Week: 3-3 (Overall: 70-92) Run Differential Last Week: +7 (Overall: -95) Standing: 4th Place in AL Central (17.5 GB) Game 157 | MIN 4, TEX 1: Zebby Rebounds as Twins Run Wild in Victory Matthews: 7 IP, 0 R, 6 K, 0 BB Game 158 | TEX 4, MIN 2: Offense and Bullpen Struggle, Let Down Bradley Adams: 0.2 IP, 3 ER, L Game 159 | MIN 4, TEX 0: Ober Finishes Strong, Buxton Homers Twice Ober: 6 IP, 0 R, 5 K Game 160 | PHI 3, MIN 1: Nola Flirts with Perfection, Vázquez Plays Spoiler Twins hitters: 4 H, 0 BB, 11 K Game 161 | MIN 5, PHI 0: Abel Shines in Return as Twin Shut Out Phillies Abel: 6 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 9 K Game 162 | PHI 2, MIN 1: SWR Finishes Strong, Lineup Can't Come Through Woods Richardson: 6 IP, 0 R, 9 K IF YOU'D RATHER LISTEN TO THE WEEK IN REVIEW THAN READ IT, YOU CAN GET IT IN AUDIO FORM! FIND THE LATEST EPISODE ON OUR PODCAST PAGE, AS WELL AS ON APPLE AND SPOTIFY. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNELS SO YOU DON'T MISS OUT! NEWS & NOTES The Twins suddenly morphed into the most aggressive baserunning team in the league during the final month, leading all of MLB in steals. And while this certainly made for more entertaining viewing, it didn't equate to more winning, and there is an inherent risk that came to light in the final week. Breakout rookie Luke Keaschall suffered a left thumb sprain while sliding into second against the Rangers on Tuesday, and it sounds like he'll need surgery, following in the footsteps of Alan Roden who experienced a similar ordeal. Keaschall will have an offseason to heal up and should hopefully be good to go next spring. But he's another example of a promising young Twins player whose ascent has been besieged by injuries and setbacks. His last season ended in Tommy John surgery and he missed half of this one with a broken forearm. Hopefully the highly talented 23-year-old can bounce back and overcome all the early wear and tear, but as we've seen, that's not a given. In other news, the Twins got back both of their injured catchers for the final road trip – Christian Vázquez (infection) was activated on Monday and Ryan Jeffers (concussion) the following day. The unwavering availability of these two ultra-durable backstops at the game's most punishing position, up until their respective injuries late this season, has been one of the cooler Twins side stories, so it's good to see them both make it back to the active roster before the finish line. Finally: Lefty reliever Anthony Misiewicz was activated following a two-month absence for the season's final game on Sunday. Pierson Ohl was optioned in a corresponding move. My read is that the Twins wanted to do the veteran journeyman Misiewicz a favor by giving him one chance to show he's healthy and capable after dealing with a shoulder injury. (He was first out of the bullpen on Sunday.) Ohl had an up-and-down MLB debut in the Twins bullpen, but finished brilliantly with eight shutout innings over his final six appearances. He will likely have a prominent role in the rebuilt Minnesota bullpen next year. HIGHLIGHTS It was not a strong second half overall for the Minnesota Twins rotation — one of the biggest gut punches for fans in the wake of a deadline teardown that was primarily focused on strengthening this unit for the long haul. But Twins starters did have a very strong final week, and that gives us some tangible hope to hang onto as we navigate into the offseason. Zebby Matthews opened the week with a gem in Texas, holding the Rangers to one run on four hits over seven-plus innings with six strikeouts and no walks. This was a major turnaround for Matthews coming off perhaps the worst start of his career at home against the Yankees (3 IP, 11 ER). He finishes the season with a 5.56 ERA but a more encouraging 3.79 FIP in 79 ⅓ innings. Matthews has much to prove, including that his shoulder can hold up, but he's definitely shown he has what it takes to be a rotation building block. Taj Bradley made a good case for that in his final start as well. Like Matthews, Bradley has been plagued by inconsistency as a big-leaguer. But like Matthews, his final start of 2025 showcased the reasons to believe in his long-term viability as a mid-rotation starter or better. On Wednesday, Bradley cruised through six innings of one-run ball with nine strikeouts and one walk. The secondary stuff was on point in this one. Bradley's final results as a Twin weren't good (6.61 ERA) but he completed five or more innings in five of six starts. Seems like a good floor-setting debut. On Saturday night, Mick Abel made his first MLB start in over a month, taking the mound against a Phillies team that drafted and developed him. Abel rose to the occasion against his former organization, shaking off a season's worth of rookie struggles to demonstrate his potential. Locked in from the very start, he held Philadelphia scoreless on three hits, all singles, in six efficient innings. Abel struck out nine with one walk on just 73 pitches, peppering the strike zone and inducing 13 whiffs with a fastball that touched 99 MPH. Simeon Woods Richardon rounded out a great week for the rotation, and a great second half for himself, with another brilliant performance in Philly: 6 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 9 K. Since the start of July, Woods Richardson has worked around a stomach issue that knocked him out of action to post a 3.40 ERA in 11 outings, including 2.33 in five September starts, which included some of the most dominant swing-and-miss efforts of his career With Pablo López sidelined, the two remaining veteran fixtures in the rotation also both finished on high notes: Joe Ryan tossed five innings of one-run ball on Friday night, and one day earlier, Bailey Ober fired six shutout frames. It was a rocky second half but a fantastic season for Ryan. Ober's overall grade for 2025 is much lower, but he quietly had a semi-resurgent stretch upon returning from Triple-A, leading the pitching staff in fWAR in August and September while allowing nine homers in 10 starts. There are big question marks going forward surrounding Ober, Ryan and López. Does Ober still have frontline ability within him? Will one or both of Ryan and López be traded? Optimism is at odds with reality in each of these instances. But in theory, the Twins could be equipped to survive the subtractions of former veteran mainstays. It all depends on how well and how quickly this next wave of starters pans out. That's why these positive signs, as well as Connor Prielipp being named Twins minor-leaguer of the year to cap off a comeback campaign that ended in Triple-A, are so very invigorating to see. On the hitting side, Byron Buxton put the finishing touches on a career year with four more homers in five games, pushing his season total to 35. Healthy at last, Buxton slashed .264/.327/.551, stole 24 bases without getting caught, and posted 5.0 fWAR in 542 plate appearances. Two years after making zero starts in center field, he made 118, and could be in line for a Silver Slugger. Buxton has already earned $1 million incentives for playing time and will trigger another $3 million bonus with a top-10 MVP finish, which seems likely. What a year for a guy who is finally getting his due, both financially and reputationally. (Harrison Bader recently called Buxton the best position player he's ever played with.) Austin Martin closed out his season on a fitting note, dashing around the bases and scoring from first on a double with the go-ahead run in Sunday's finale. For the week, he tallied three hits, three walks and a steal in four games. This wasn't an extraordinary sample for him, but Martin's performance in general since arriving after the deadline selloff absolutely deserves commending. He was outside of the team's plans coming out of spring training, and six months later, was batting leadoff as the starting left fielder on the final day of the season. This despite missing half the season with hamstring injuries! Martin could easily find himself back in the same place next Opening Day, leading off and starting in left, after slashing .282/.374/.365 in 181 plate appearances with the Twins. Even more important than the offensive output, I think, is the huge improvement Martin has shown defensively. Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune notes that Martin has gone from being worth negative-6 runs defensively in 2024 to plus-five in 2025, per the Defensive Runs Saved metric. Some other bats that flashed in the final week, and where things might go from here with these players: Vázquez seemed very happy to be back from a prolonged absence, putting up his best week of the year with ease. He went 5-for-12 with two walks and no strikeouts, homering to break up Aaron Nola's perfect game on Friday night. He even stole a base! Vázquez is heading to free agency and facing a lukewarm market after posting a 61 OPS+ in three years as a Twin. I could pretty easily see him being brought back to help develop an emerging young staff on a non-contender. Unlike Martin, Edouard Julien didn't take advantage of his opportunity to show he belongs in August and September, posting a meager .660 OPS with only one home run, but he at least provided a splash of production on his way out, notching six hits including a pair of doubles in the last week. I'm not sure it'll be enough to save him, with the Twins likely to move on during the offseason. Somewhat ironically, Ryan Fitzgerald probably has much better odds than Julien of being in the team's plans in 2026. He wasn't even invited to big-league camp back in February, but Fitzgerald has made the most of his unexpected first opportunity in the majors, showing a solid plate approach and popping four home runs in 53 plate appearances. Fitzgerald has appeared all around the infield in his short time with the Twins, including shortstop, and that's a profile the team will need to have around. LOWLIGHTS Depth on the left side of the infield, like Fitzgerald is able to provide, will be especially crucial as far as 2026 planning goes, because the de facto starters at both shortstop and third base are awfully difficult to have faith in. Brooks Lee closed out his season by going 3-for-22 with a trio of singles and one walk. He scored a run and drove in none. It's the same old story for Lee, who experienced a modest and brief hot streak in the middle of the month, then promptly reverted into an out-making machine. He ends the year with a .655 OPS, sixth-lowest out of 145 players with 500-plus PA. While he appeared capable in his first prolonged exposure at shortstop, defensive metrics don't rate him very favorably. Royce Lewis also has not been able to sustain any type of momentum in a season that leaves his career at a crossroads. Like Ryan, Lewis has been openly musing about his future in Minnesota as this lost season winds down, but in Lewis' case it seems more like wishful thinking. Yeah, he might be keen on getting a fresh start elsewhere — that's a pretty fair read on his quotes — but, what would be the Twins' incentive to trade him? Lewis hasn't done much of anything to prop up his value this year. His .671 OPS is a continuation of last year's sharp drop-off. He hit 13 homers, but when he ran into one it almost felt by accident. The improvement we've seen lately on defense and on the base paths is starkly overshadowed by his persistently dysfunctional bat. Lewis went 4-for-23 in the final week — no RBIs, no runs scored — to finish with a dreadful .237/.283/.388 slash line. He drew one walk in 98 September plate appearances. That stat itself really says it all: a combination of bad swing decisions and opposing pitchers who are completely unafraid to come into the zone. It's been a long time since we've seen the best version of Royce, but he's still only 26 and baseball is a rollercoaster of a sport. Players get lost and they find themselves. Serious injuries often take years to fully clear up. I have a hard time conjuring a scenario where a trade brings back enough value to accept giving up on Royce's ability resurfacing within the next year or two. When you talk about "shaking up the core" of the Twins or whatever, in a way that actually improves their outlook, the moves that make most sense are trying to find a trade partner for Lewis or Lee. They currently look like impediments to building a successful lineup. But for that reason, neither is a valuable trading commodity, and the Twins are probably better off standing pat and hoping — with blind faith, some might argue at this point — that they can turn it around and turn into worthy regulars. Honestly, that is by no means out of the question, because these are talented players: former top prospects and first-round picks who, at least in Lewis' case, have already shined on the biggest stage. But what we've seen all year from them, right up through the finish line, has been anything but reassuring. It's been confidence-shattering. TRENDING STORYLINE The big question that now looms in the wake of this dismal season: Who have we seen for the last time in a Minnesota Twins uniform? Departing free agents and fringy minor-league castaways are more or less givens. (Though as mentioned, I'm not sold we've seen the last of Vázquez.) As the Twins openly transition into a low-effort rebuild, with Joe Pohlad hinting at more short-term pain in store on top of what fans have already been subjected to, you wonder how players like Ryan, López, Ober, Trevor Larnach and Jeffers fit into the plan. Anyone making over the minimum will likely be scrutinized. You even wonder if Buxton's disenchantment might override his fierce loyalty. Cory Provus speculated in an interview last week that this might've been Buck's last season finale in Minnesota. Everyone's gotta have limits. Rocco Baldelli's job status is the hottest topic in the immediate aftermath of another lifeless second half for the Twins. He's under contract for 2026 but managers rarely make it through the kind of catastrophic underdeliveries we've seen over the past two years, and to me, it's kind of hard to argue that one should. A new manager wouldn't be a solution to this franchise's many woes, but would at least represent a substantive step in a different direction. Morale among Twins fandom is incredibly low. That's no secret. There is a world where the upcoming offseason proves energizing and inspiring, fueled by exciting newcomers in the ownership group, the coaching staff, even on the roster. But again, optimism is at odds with reality. Everything that's been said and done by Twins leadership signals toward a low-budget rebuild, potentially spanning multiple years, with the promise of sparse crowds and meaningless games at Target Field in the interim. But that's not set in stone. A new season brings a fresh slate and the front office will have the opportunity to reshape the organizational makeup, in a way that incumbent leadership rarely receives. What can Falvey and Co. do with it, if indeed they're staying in place? We'll be covering it all as the offseason blueprint comes together, and however next year's club materializes, you can bet we'll be back here breaking down the action each Sunday night on the Week in Review. Thanks to all who followed along and engaged this season! View full article

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Nick Wosika, Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images Through all of the ups and downs the Twins have experienced in the past 25 years or so — the many changes in managers, front office makeup and team quality — one thing has remained relatively constant: the presence of at least one All-Star caliber fixture at the back end of the bullpen. From Eddie Guardado to Joe Nathan to Glen Perkins to Taylor Rogers to Jhoan Duran, the franchise has had a remarkable run of top-tier closers anchoring the relief corps, providing stability in the ninth inning even when the bullpens and teams around them have wobbled. Heading into the 2026 season, the Twins bullpen — and especially the back end of it — looks as wide-open as any time in memory. As they look to reconstruct essentially from scratch, the front office needs to identify a foundational cornerstone they can build around. Right now they are short on credible candidates, but that's not to say they have none. Here's a look forward at potential names in the mix to take over as Minnesota's top late-inning option in 2026. Cole Sands He's the de facto choice, since he's the only carryover from the current relief corps with any real track record of success. If Sands could recapture his form from last year (3.28 ERA, 2.63 FIP) he'd be a fine choice as closer at least in the interim. But he hasn't been close to that form in 2025, at least not regularly. His ERA is up to 4.63 on the season thanks to a month of September in which he has allowed 10 earned runs in 11 innings. Sands turned 28 in July and is arbitration-eligible for the first time next year. Taj Bradley This is the one I've got my eyes on. It's possible, or maybe likely, that the Twins won't rush into converting Bradley to the bullpen after giving up multiple years of Griffin Jax for him. Maybe that's the right course of action. But man, I dunno. In spite of how hard he throws, Bradley just hasn't been able to sustain any kind of success in a big-league rotation, with a 4.91 ERA in nearly 400 innings, and he's looked worse than ever since coming to Minnesota. Why not just flip the switch now, prepare him as a reliever next spring, and hope you've got your triple-digit Duran replacement on hand for the next four seasons? David Festa His career outlook is in jeopardy following a thoracic outlet syndrome diagnosis, but Festa expressed optimism that he can come back healthy next year and get back on track after being limited to just 53 innings this season. He's got the stuff of a late-inning reliever and it increasingly appears he does not have the durability of a 5+ inning starter. He'll be 26 next spring without much of a workload baseline. I actually think the decision to transition him into a relief role, if he's healthy, is almost a given at this point. But I'm gonna be worried about that shoulder until I see him back on the mound and letting loose uninhibited. Zebby Matthews Matthews is another guy with a clearly high-caliber, high-velocity arsenal who has battled shoulder issues as well as performance struggles this season. Through 16 starts and 80 innings, he has a 5.56 ERA and 1.49 WHIP, with flashes of excellence muddied by bouts of inconsistency. He has a much smaller sample of lackluster output as a starter compared to Bradley, and the injury concerns aren't as severe as Festa, so I would guess the Twins aren't quite as ready to think about a relief route for Matthews, but the vision for him as a high-powered closer or setup man is pretty easy to project. Connor Prielipp Healthy at last, Prielipp was just named the Twins' minor-league pitcher of the year. His numbers were unspectacular on paper — 1-9 with a 4.03 ERA and 1.51 WHIP in 83 innings — but very impressive for a pitcher who'd been limited to just 30 total innings since being drafted in 2022. The lefty struck out 27% of opposing hitters and finished in Triple-A. Given his long injury history and his age (25 in January), there's some urgency to just get Prielipp up the big leagues; he's the epitome of a "don't waste the bullets" case. Promoting him into a relief role would seemingly be the only practical way to get a full season from him in the majors, but he's got what it takes to thrive in a late-inning role. Free Agent Veteran There's a good chance the Twins won't want to turn the keys in the ninth over to any of these guys, at least not initially. We've seen them turn to free agency for short-term closer fixes in the past, although it hasn't gone especially well with the likes of Alex Colome and Fernandy Rodney. I wouldn't expect the Twins front office to aim remotely high if they seek a free agent closer. Emilio Pagán will be available among others. (Oh boy, did I just speak that into existence?) Looking forward to 2026, who would you like to see take over as Minnesota's bullpen leader? Did I miss any credible candidates? Share your thoughts in the comments below. View full article

Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-Imagn Images The Weekly Nutshell: The steady drumbeat of losing continued over the past seven days, with the Twins winning on Monday and then dropping five straight. That included laying down for the red-hot Cleveland Guardians over the weekend to help them vault within a game and a half of Detroit for the AL Central lead entering the final week. What a stunning contrast the Twins and Guardians present. Cleveland actually had a worse record than Minnesota at the All-Star break. Adversity? They lost their superstar closer perhaps permanently to a gambling scandal. But instead of packing it in and giving up, they locked in and have surged in the second half. In the season's final series at Target Field — Fan Appreciation Weekend, in a wonderfully ironic touch — the Guards were playing their butts off and seizing their fate while the overmatched and irrelevant Twins barely seemed to care. It's an image that'll stick with me for a long time as I think about this season. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 9/15 through Sun, 9/21 *** Record Last Week: 2-5 (Overall: 67-89) Run Differential Last Week: -13 (Overall: -102) Standing: 4th Place in AL Central (18.5 GB) Game 150 | MIN 7, NYY 0: Twins Stifle Yankees Behind Career-Best SWR Start Woods Richardson: 6 IP, 0 R, 11 K Game 151 | NYY 10, MIN 9: Matthews Pummeled, Late Comeback Falls Short Matthews: 3 IP, 11 H, 9 ER Gam 152 | NYY 10, MIN 5: Bradley Throws Hard, Hit Hard in Another Ugly Loss Bradley: 4 IP, 8 H, 7 ER Game 153 | CLE 6, MIN 2: Lopez Leaves with Arm Injury as Twins Drop Third Straight Twins hitters: 16 K, 2 BB Game 154 | CLE 6, MIN 0: Ryan's Second-Half Struggles Continue, Bats Silenced Ryan: 5 IP, 4 ER, 4 HR allowed Game 155 | CLE 8, MIN 0: Twins Shut Out on Both Ends of Doubleheader, Guards Stay Hot Ober: 5 IP, 6 ER, 1 K Game 156 | MIN 6, CLE 2: Late Homers from Lee and Lewis Cool Off Cleveland at Last Lewis: Pinch-hit 3-R HR IF YOU'D RATHER LISTEN TO THE WEEK IN REVIEW THAN READ IT, YOU CAN GET IT IN AUDIO FORM! FIND THE LATEST EPISODE ON OUR PODCAST PAGE, AS WELL AS ON APPLE AND SPOTIFY. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNELS SO YOU DON'T MISS OUT! NEWS & NOTES Matt Wallner's season came to and end on Friday when he was placed on the injured list with a left oblique injury. His 2024 campaign ended in the exact same way: an oblique strain suffered in late September, albeit on the opposite side. Wallner's first full season in the majors will go down as a pretty disappointing one, albeit hardly disastrous, mainly because his batting average dropped off a cliff (.202 from his career mark of .251). He still was second on the team in home runs and slugging. I remain relatively confident in his outlook going forward. For the final week of the season, DaShawn Keirsey Jr. will hold down the vacated open roster spot. Pablo López had a bit of a scare in his start on Friday night. He made a nice diving play in the field during the third inning, and stayed in the game for a while afterward, but was removed an inning later due to discomfort in his arm resulting from the play. The Twins held their breath awaiting results from imaging, but fortunately the scans revealed only a mild forearm strain and no structural damage. López's season is over but he avoided anything too serious. Now the question is whether he'll still be here next year. Mick Abel returned to the roster in López's stead and tossed four innings in relief during the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader. He could get the nod to start in place of López on Thursday, though nothing's been announced yet. HIGHLIGHTS Byron Buxton set a new career high with his 512th plate appearance on Saturday, in a week that saw him further build upon his phenomenal body of work here in 2025. He notched three more doubles and went 2-for-2 on steals. The power, the speed, the defense ... it's a full package like we've rarely seen in Twins history. Only he and Kirby Puckett have surpassed 20 doubles, 20 steals and 30 homers in the same season. Watching a healthy Buxton play ball week after week has been a real treat, albeit one of the few joys to come out of this generally miserable Twins season. One of the rare things I will miss. Brooks Lee had another nice little flurry of power. He was excellent in two games against the Yankees, driving in four on a homer, a double and five hits, and then capped his week with a go-ahead two-run homer against Cleveland on Sunday, pushing his total to 16. This was a disappointing and generally discouraging first full season for Lee, but the bursts of production and slugging prowess we've seen from time to time do at least offer glimmers of hope. For a solid everyday shortstop, the bar is fairly low. On Monday night against the Yankees, Simeon Woods Richardson gave us perhaps the biggest glimmer of hope yet that at least mid-rotation upside exists within him. Woods Richardson has pretty consistently looked like a back-end guy during his time in the big leagues, but in this start he was nothing short of dominant, unleashing a refined splitter with devastating effectiveness as he shut down a good New York lineup. The 11 strikeouts were a career high. In fact, he hadn't struck out more than seven hitters in any previous start this year. He's also produced two of the three highest swinging-strike totals of career (15 and 16) over his past three starts. Woods Richardson turned in another strong outing against Cleveland on Sunday, allowing two runs over six innings in an eventual win, and has a 3.26 ERA in his past 12 starts. LOWLIGHTS One positive development in the starting rotation from Woods Richardson was outweighed by negatives everywhere else. An all too familiar experience. For a team that is attempting to rebuild with starting pitching as its central strength, the lack of momentum in this area feels rather grim. SWR's stellar outing on Monday night was immediately followed by a meltdown from Zebby Matthews, who was blasted for nine earned runs on 11 hits in just three innings. His ERA now sits at 5.97. Taj Bradley took the hill on Wednesday and got touched up for seven earned in four innings, raising his ERA to 7.82 as a Twin. You don't want to rush pitchers out of a starting role but it's not working for these two, in spite of their evidently good stuff. Given Minnesota's extreme level of need in the bullpen, I wonder if the front office will think hard about a relief transition for at least one heading into next year. Granted, that option might be off the table if the Twins trade Joe Ryan during the offseason. But he's doing nothing to help his marketability here in the second half. Ryan coughed up four home runs against Cleveland on Saturday, and now has a 7.33 ERA in his last six starts, in which the Twins are 1-5. It's been a career year for Ryan but he still can't escape the trend that's plagued him throughout his MLB run: failing to finish the season both healthy and effective. Will it have an impact on how potential trade suitors view his viability as a playoff starter? I'd think it might. Bailey Ober's status is completely up in the air at this point. Hopefully he and the Twins are able to confidently come up with a plan to get him right physically and mechanically during the offseason, because right now he's a sub-mediocre pitcher whose 90 MPH fastball stands little chance of surviving big-league lineups. Following a moderately encouraging performance against the D-backs the previous weekend in which he notched nine strikeouts, Ober fanned just one of 25 Cleveland batters on Saturday night, surrendering six earned runs in five innings. The Twins are 2-12 in his 14 starts since the beginning of June. If the rotation is supposed to be the foundation of this team going forward, the way this season is ending inspires little confidence. The lineup, meanwhile, inspires even less. Pretty much every hitter is ending the year cold, even the few who actually had decent campaigns. Wallner is finishing on the IL, again. Luke Keaschall went 5-for-22 with no walks and is batting .220 in his last 11 games. Kody Clemens went 3-for-14 and hasn't tallied an extra-base hit since the three-HR explosion against Arizona But probably the most dire issue for the Twins from an offensive standpoint is Royce Lewis's continual inability to get and stay on track. This wasn't a horrible week for him, per se – he went 7-for-24 (.292) with a double and a big pinch-hit home run on Sunday – but he just doesn't resemble the dominant player who broke through in his first two seasons. Lewis homered twice in Anaheim to kick off the Angels series two weeks ago, and since then has two extra-base hits in 45 plate appearances. He also has zero walks during this span. Pitchers don't fear him and he rarely gives them reason to feel differently. A return to vintage form for Lewis in these finals weeks of a lost season would've offered a much-needed jolt of reassurance for fans. But the clock has more or less run out on that. So much like with Ober, we'll have to hope that player and team can figure out an offseason plan that addresses Lewis's wayward game and revives the standout performer he once was ... if it's still in there. Flashes like Sunday's plate appearance have been too few and far between. TRENDING STORYLINE The final road trip will provide one last look at the players who we hope will help usher in better days next season and beyond. Matthews, Bradley and Abel should each get once more opportunity to take the mound and finish on a high note, parlaying some better vibes into the offseason. Lee, Lewis, Keaschall and other hitters will get a few more swings and hopefully can make them count. The games don't matter but the performances do. We might also be getting our last chance to watch Rocco Baldelli as manager of the Twins. He is under contract for 2026 but that guarantees nothing coming off another ruinous second half and a generally lackluster half-decade run. If ownership decides someone needs to take the fall for this (which would presume they actually care), then it seems more likely for Baldelli and his coaching staff to be targeted rather than Derek Falvey. LOOKING AHEAD The Twins will travel to Texas and then Philadelphia on a season-ending road trip. The Rangers are all but eliminated from postseason contention, while the Phillies are a World Series favorite, with the second-best record in baseball. The Twins enter this last week on the precipice of 90 losses. How low can they go? TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23: TWINS @ RANGERS — RHP Zebby Matthews v. TBD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24: TWINS @ RANGERS — RHP Taj Bradley v. TBD THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25: TWINS @ RANGERS — TBD v. RHP Jacob deGrom FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26: TWINS @ PHILLIES — RHP Joe Ryan v. RHP Aaron Nola SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27: DIAMONDBACKS @ TWINS — RHP Bailey Ober v. LHP Ranger Suarez SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28: DIAMONDBACKS @ TWINS — Simeon Woods Richardson v. LHP Cristopher Sanchez View full article

None of them stack up the greatness of Buxton, in Bader's eyes. Is he biased, by recency or stylistic likeness to his own game? Perhaps. But his perception as a total outsider who passed through the Twins organization for only a few months, witnessing Buck's game firsthand over half of a season, speaks volumes. It's another reminder for us all to appreciate what we're seeing from a healthy and uninhibited Byron Buxton. At age 31, he's still flying around the field and running as fast as anyone in baseball. He's making spectacular catches in center, swiping bases flawlessly, and putting up the best production of his career with 31 homers and 5.0 fWAR. In some ways, this brilliant and long-awaited breakthrough season for Buxton has been a source of fan frustration, spawning an array of what-ifs and what-could-have-beens. Given the overall malaise of this year for the Twins, it can feel difficult to fully enjoy and appreciate what Buxton has done. But make no mistake: it is never overlooked by his teammates, or by his manager, who was once again marveling recently about the center fielder's determination to fight through anything on the field — and how it clashes with the "injury-prone" or "fragile" labels that have dogged him throughout his career. There's a universe in which Byron Buxton stays healthy and avoids the injuries that started derailing him before his MLB journey even began. In that world, he may very well have been a player worth naming in conversations with Judge and Harper, and headed toward the same type of inner-circle treatment. That didn't come to pass, but players like Bader still see the raw ability in there, and it's awesome that we're all getting to see it on display in an otherwise dismal Twins season. View full article

I'd love to hear more specificity here. Which starters are getting converted to RP, instantly thriving in high-leverage roles, and giving up on their future as starters? What leftovers are we warming up? How often have the Twins spent "wisely" in RP free agency aside from Coulombe? I actually think the last item on this list is the only one that is pollyannaish and implausible.