Nick Nelson

You might be right, it's possible I'm just trying to talk myself out of this reality. But, the Twins are just deeply unserious about improving their defense if they're going to have Bell out there regularly in an infield that already has big question marks up the middle. He's been replacement-level over the past two seasons because of his glove. Like, even the last-place Nationals could see he should not be in the field.

I'll be honest: I just don't know. I spent a lot of time trying to work through this in my head. If Clemens is on the roster they will probably want him starting often against RHP. And if he's in the lineup with Bell, you want Clemens and his glove at 1B. But then, I guess Larnach is in LF, which also doesn't help the defense. And where is Caratini if Jeffers is catching? My best guess with the current personnel is a heavy rotation at 1B, with no single player getting more than like 70 starts. I don't know that Clemens will be there Opening Day, but as of now I think he'll end up with the most, mainly because he's not useful to start at any other position. Looking at all these pieces together, I kinda feel like Clemens has been squeezed out by the free agent additions but no one's talking about that as of yet.

Image courtesy of Matt Krohn-Imagn Images When you look at the names on the depth chart listed below, one thing sticks out: none of the players who are expected to get significant playing time at first base are internally developed. And that's nothing new. Last year, Minnesota's primary first baseman was free agent acquisition Ty France. In 2024, it was free agent acquisition Carlos Santana. In 2023, it was free agent acquisition Donovan Solano. This year, top free agent acquisitions Josh Bell and Victor Caratini figure to mix in with Kody Clemens and Eric Wagaman, who were more or less waiver wire pickups. I suppose this reflects an organizational philosophy that first base is a position easily supplemented by low-cost external plugs — thus development efforts and resources should be focused elsewhere. There's a validity to this mindset, but it hasn't always paid dividends for Minnesota in the past — e.g. last year, when the Twins ranked 22nd in fWAR at first base despite having a Gold Glover on hand for the first four months. How will this year's patchwork solutions work out? TWINS FIRST BASEMEN AT A GLANCE Starter: Kody Clemens Backup: Josh Bell Depth: Victor Caratini, Eric Wagaman, Aaron Sabato Prospects: Hendry Mendez, Billy Amick Twins fWAR Ranking Last Year: 22nd out of 30 Twins fWAR Projection This Year: 24th out of 30 THE GOOD In a lineup that is loaded with question marks, the Twins needed to add a dependable bat this offseason, and they got just that in Bell. He has posted an above-average OPS in every season, sans the abbreviated 2020 campaign, and has a career 114 OPS+ over a decade in the big leagues. He's a switch-hitter who takes quality at-bats, puts the ball in play and reliably delivers good-not-great power production. A fine fit at first base. Except, it's not clear Bell will play first base all that often, nor that he should. With the Twins placing an emphasis on improved defense, they'd be doing themselves no favors by using Bell in the field regularly. His defensive shortcomings have persistently dragged down his overall value, and in 2025 with Washington he saw far more time at designated hitter (98 starts) than first base (33 starts). I'm not sure the split will be quite so extreme with Minnesota, but I'd bet they're planning — or at least hoping — to use Bell more at DH than first. That would leave a sizable share of playing time for Clemens and Caratini, as well as Wagaman if he's on the roster. It's a group that provides some matchup functionality and a few intriguing skillsets, albeit not a ton of upside. Clemens seemed to be in line for the starting first base job at the start of the offseason. That was based on remarks from Derek Falvey — "We want to give Kody a lot of runway there," he said at the GM Meetings — and before the Twins signed Bell and Caratini. Part of me is kind of curious to see Clemens get that runway to show what he can do, because he flashed real power last year and he does offer relatively good speed and defense at first base on a team that needs all it can get of both. I've still got him penciled in atop the depth chart but the position is very fluid and, as things stand, I would expect a somewhat even distribution of starts. Bell and Caratini are going to play a lot, and there will only be so many ABs available for them at DH. Collectively, these three along with Wagaman as a RH platoon option give the Twins a decent amount of depth at first, even if it's not the highest-quality depth. THE BAD If the Twins could combine Bell, Caratini and Clemens into one player, it'd be the full package at first base: experience, proven production, solid athleticism and defense. Unfortunately, they can only use one of them at a time, and on their own, each of these players brings major limitations when they're manning the position. Bell is the best hitter of the bunch, but a major defensive liability. Caratini hits well for a catcher, enabling him to command $14 million in free agency, but his average-ish offense is much less impactful at first. Clemens runs and fields better than those two, but he's got a career OPS+ of 81 and finished at 94 in last year's "breakout." These factors dampen the upside offered by each when at first base, and unfortunately, I'm not sure how much upside there is to detract from. Clemens and Caratini are both substantially below-average hitters in their careers, and Bell hasn't been a great hitter since 2022. Wagaman played the most first base of the bunch last year, in Miami, but was one of the worst regulars in all of baseball. It feels like the best you're hoping for at first base is competent offense and non-disastrous defense. Which is more or less the same blueprint as last year when the Twins went with Ty France. It wasn't good enough then, and if the 24th-out-of-30 projection from FanGraphs is at all accurate, it won't be good enough now. The lack of short-term vision would be more palatable if there were a promising pipeline in place on the other side, but right now it's anyone's guess who might step in at first base down the line. The Twins have talked about working in outfield prospect Hendry Mendez, acquired in the Harrison Bader trade last year, but that experiment is only beginning. No other prospects in the system's upper tier currently play first base primarily. Which can change, of course — the nature of a position near the bottom of the defensive spectrum — but as we've seen, the Twins have not shown much ability to develop impact big-leaguers at the position. The Billy Beane-esque "anyone can play first base" mentality has not proven out practically for Minnesota, at least not since the days of Luis Arraez and Miguel Sanó. THE BOTTOM LINE Maybe the worst and most rudderless position on the roster as we size up the Twins in their current state. I do see things to like about each of the main candidates for playing time, but first base doesn't bring out the best in any of them. Bell is best suited for DH, Caratini for catcher, Clemens and Wagaman for roving platoon bench roles. There's no great first baseman on this team or readily available in the minors. I'm interested to see how the usage patterns take shape under Derek Shelton, but not terribly optimistic about the sum result. Catch up on the rest of our roster preview series: Twins 2026 Position Analysis: Catcher View full article

Image courtesy of Bill Streicher-Imagn Images The Ryan Jeffers era at catcher has quietly brought as much stability as any for the Minnesota Twins since Joe Mauer moved off the position in 2014. He's never been a steadfast regular in the way Mauer was, but Jeffers has been a steady presence behind the plate since his MLB debut back in 2020, when his impressive 26-game breakthrough earned him Twins Daily Rookie of the Year honors during a shortened season. Jeffers ranks fourth all-time among Twins catchers in plate appearances, behind only Mauer, Earl Battey and Tim Laudner. Entering his final year of team control, and with an extension appearing unlikely, a changing of the guard is afoot at catcher. Here's where things stand entering 2026. TWINS CATCHERS AT A GLANCE Starter: Ryan Jeffers Backup: Victor Caratini Depth: Alex Jackson, Noah Cardenas, Andrew Cossetti Prospects: Eduardo Tait, Enrique Jimenez, Khadim Diaw Twins fWAR Ranking Last Year: 22nd out of 30 Twins fWAR Projection This Year: 12th out of 30 THE GOOD If there's one area where I will give the Twins front office credit for their vision in the past eight months, it's the extent to which they've strengthened the organizational roadmap at catcher. Last year, there wasn't any roadmap. The "top prospects" listed in my 2025 position analysis for catcher were Jair Camargo and Diego Cartaya, both of whom ended up being released during the season. The future didn't just look bleak; with free agency creeping up for Ryan Jeffers, there basically was no future. The Twins addressed that issue emphatically at last year's trade deadline. They first acquired Enrique Jimenez, a 19-year-old switch hitter of some promise, from Detroit in the Chris Paddack trade. It was a surprisingly strong return for Paddack, albeit nothing spectacular. Then, the biggest singular prize of Minnesota's deadline haul came over in the form of Eduardo Tait, another teenager of much higher esteem hailing from the Phillies system. Jimenez is a legit presence on the Twins prospect radar — Aaron Gleeman ranked him as the 20th best prospect in the organization in his recent top-40 list at The Athletic. Tait is a legit presence on the overall prospect radar — ranked 38th, 54th and 65th by ESPN, BP and MLB, respectively. Catching prospects are always a gamble, especially ones this young, but it's hard to overstate how much the long-term outlook at this position has improved since this time last year. The short-term outlook has also received a boost, even as Jeffers nears the end of his team control. He'll be plenty motivated for a big year, and is in line to be the true primary starter with Derek Shelton envisioning a two-thirds starting share. Jeffers is even more ambitious: "My goal is 120 (starts)," he told reporters this spring. "My body is going to be ready for that." The pressure on Jeffers, who's never started more than 81 times behind the plate, to reach that lofty goal is lowered by the arrival of Minnesota's biggest offseason pickup: veteran switch-hitter Victor Caratini. His two-year, $14 million contract stands as the largest issued by the Twins in almost three years, reflecting their urgency in securing some sense of continuity at the catcher position. He's not just a catcher, and if Jeffers has his way, Caratini will spend a good chunk of time at first base and DH this year. But the newcomer will play plenty, and when at catcher, Caratini's bat is a standout, massively improving over the precedent set by Christian Vázquez. Minnesota's catching duo has a solid chance at forming one of the best offensive units in baseball, and that's maybe one of the more underrated strengths of this year's Twins team. Caratini wasn't the only high-level catching depth added by the Twins during the offseason. Prior to signing him, they made a trade with the Orioles to acquire Alex Jackson in exchange for minor-league utility man Payton Eeles. Jackson has the opposite profile of Jeffers and Caratini — great glove, highly suspect bat — but he brings some balance to the catching mix in that regard. The hold-up is that Jackson is unlikely to make the Opening Day roster as a third catcher, and he's out of options. The Twins are seemingly hoping that, if all three players stay healthy through spring camp, they'll be able to sneak Jackson and his $1.35 million salary through waivers and stash him as depth. As a backup catcher, Jackson is adequate. As a third catcher waiting on hand in Triple-A, he'd be a really nice asset. THE BAD The Twins didn't lose much of anything offensively with the departure of Vázquez, but they lost a lot defensively. He was clearly the team's best receiver, and pitchers loved working with him. Jeffers has seen his fielding metrics decline to the point where most models saw him as well below-average last year. Caratini is not considered a particularly strong defensive catcher. Neither of these guys are disasters behind the plate, they just aren't standouts, and that speaks to the reality at this position: outstanding offense vs. outstanding defense is an either/or proposition, outside of the true upper-echelon stars. (Like Joe Mauer. And hopefully one day Eduardo Tait?) For a team highly focused on improving its defense overall, while also bringing along a number of emerging young pitchers, this feels extra important. Defense is difficult to measure and quantify at this nuanced position, but no one can deny its critical impact. Can Jeffers find a way to reverse his sub-par control of the opposing run game? How quickly can Caratini build rapport and earn confidence from his new battery partners? How will both adapt to the new ABS system? These are key questions. The presence of Jackson and his highly regarded glove do bring a level of defensive assurance, at least from a depth perspective, but again, he'll be in Triple-A if things go to plan. And if/when he does enter the catching mix, the Twins will have to deal with his bat — one of the worst in baseball over the past handful of years — in the lineup. THE BOTTOM LINE Good offense and questionable defense amount to a Twins catching unit that projects as above average but not elite. FanGraphs forecasts them to rank 12th among MLB teams in fWAR at the position, which looks about right to my eye. The big storyline is whether Jeffers makes it through the entire season as a Twin. The healthier and more successful he is in the first half, the more likely he is to be traded at the deadline by a front office looking to supplement its rebuild. That is, unless the team is surprisingly competitive, and not in position to sell. If that happens, this potentially top-tier catching unit will undoubtedly play a big role. View full article

Image courtesy of Matt Krohn-Imagn Images The Twins were gearing up to face the Boston Red Sox in their first Grapefruit League game on Saturday afternoon when, around 10 minutes before the scheduled first pitch, the team shared news that scheduled starter Joe Ryan had been scratched. Soon after, we learned the reason: lower back tightness on the right side. No further information was available as of game time, but Twins Daily's John Bonnes is live on the scene in Fort Myers and will update this article (or a new one) with additional details and quotes from team officials, so be sure to check back in a bit. During the minutes in between the announcement of Ryan being scratched and the revelation of the cause, a wide range of possibilities passed through the minds of bamboozled Twins fans – still reeling from the bombshell of Pablo López going down the 2026 season due to elbow surgery. A trade? Another injury? Turns out it's the latter, although initial indications don't necessarily point to anything overly serious. The fact it's not an arm issue is, on its own, fairly relieving. That's not to say one can safely dismiss or downplay any back-related discomfort, but naturally, the Twins are going to be taking every precaution at this early stage of spring training. Ryan has generally proven extremely durable for the Twins, rarely missing a start or facing any limitation outside of a teres major strain in 2024 that cost him most of the second half. Last year, he set a career high with 171 innings pitched over 31 outings (30 starts). With López going down, the Twins are counting on him to be the steady, dependable workhorse atop their rotation. This isn't a great first step, and the timing is almost surreal coming just days after López suffered a season-ending injury in his first live BP. The Twins came into this spring with that duo as the foundation of their faint contention hopes. But at this point there's no reason to panic, and I'd suggest mentally separating this situation from any lingering López-related despair, even if it feels tempting to lump it all together. With that said, Ryan's planned participation for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic would certainly seem to be in doubt. We'll have more info for you as it becomes available. For now, feel free to sound off with your reactions to the early-spring health woes for the top of the Twins rotation. [UPDATE: The Twins revealed results of an MRI on Sunday morning and it was good news: only inflammation. Ryan's availability for the WBC may still be affected but he still has a good chance to be ready for Opening Day. Whew!] View full article

FORT MYERS - Minnesota Twins baseball returned on Friday night, though it won’t count even in spring training’s Grapefruit League standings. The Twins beat the University of Minnesota’s Golden Gophers baseball team, with Zebby Matthews starting and Cole Sands following him on the mound. Gophers pitchers faced a mix of veterans (Josh Bell - 1B, Kody Clemens - 2B, Gio Urshela - 3B) and top prospects (Emmanuel Rodriguez - CF, Henry Mendez - DH, Gabriel Gonzalez - RF; Walker Jenkins and Kaelen Culpepper subbed in midway). I’m not going to go over any of their stats, because it would create the false impression that any of it means anything. Instead, I’ll tell you that it was a beautiful night, included a great sunset, and was appreciated by an appropriately sized half-full Hammond stadium. Matthews threw hard and seemed to feel good, which is probably the most important takeaway. Tomorrow afternoon, the Grapefruit League schedule will start with a home game versus the crosstown rival Boston Red Sox, and with Joe Ryan starting the game. Ownership Thoughts New Twins executive chair Tom Pohlad has spent the week in Fort Myers with his family, the team, management, and even the media. The message has been consistent: he wants to be hands on, he wants to be aggressive, and he wants the team to win this year. The reaction, of course, has been skepticism, because the Twins have consistently spent less under the Pohlads than the average MLB team for at least the entirety of 21st century. View full article

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images The 2025 trade deadline saw a lot of outstanding talent shipped out by the Twins, with Jhoan Duran topping the list. It was a bold strategy for the front office, and the wisdom of their audacious gambit will ultimately be dictated by the impact of those players who came back in the veteran purge. Mick Abel, acquired alongside teenage catcher Eduardo Tait in exchange or Duran, stands out as one whose development will greatly influence how the controversial '25 deadline sell-off is remembered. Long viewed as a top prospect before debuting in the majors last year, Abel had an up-and-down rookie season that featured plenty of struggle, but also real indicators of future potential as a rotation building block. That included his final start of the year, against the Phillies, in which Abel was lights-out: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K. It was a performance that lived up to the hype of an overpowering arsenal, for which the 24-year-old has garnered much acclaim. While it's far from clear that Abel and his shaky command are going to succeed in the big leagues, especially right away, it is evident that he's ready for the challenge. There's little left to accomplish in Triple-A, where he's thrown over 200 innings. As such, it felt odd that — heading into spring camp — Abel appeared very much in line to start the season in St. Paul. With López, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober locked into the top three rotation spots, Abel was competing for one of the final two openings against several pitchers with more MLB experience and more proven track records: Simeon Woods Richardson, Taj Bradley, Zebby Matthews, David Festa. Even accounting for a bullpen conversion or two, Abel was going to need to leapfrog multiple guys ahead of him on the depth chart. But now, López is out for the year, causing a major shakeup in depth atop the rotation picture. Ryan and Ober each slide up a spot, and the back end becomes more of an open field. According to observations from early in camp, Abel is ready to make his case. In his "Live from Fort Myers" blog highlighting on-the-scene observations earlier this week, Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune wrote that Abel "looked like he was in midseason form" during his first live bullpen section on Day 2. "His fastball was sitting from 96-98 mph," Nightengale reports, "and he was mixing all his pitches." Derek Shelton, per Nightengale, was impressed with what he saw. “Abel is one of those guys that, I mean, you guys saw it last year, what he did to the Phillies late in the year,” the new Twins manager said. “He's got electric stuff. I mean, he throws the first pitch out of his hand, it's a 98-mph sinker to [Byron Buxton]. I mean, that'll make you smile.” Twins fans could use something to smile about in the wake of the devastating López news. Hopefully a clear path for Abel to step in and take hold of a rotation spot will be that. In a year that figures to be primarily focused on development and building toward the future, he's exactly the kind of player fans should want to tune in and watch. View full article

Genuine question: what "emerging young stars" are you looking to lock up in 2028-30 at high salaries? Royce Lewis? Matt Wallner isn't due for free agency until 2030. Luke Keaschall not until 2032. The Twins have essentially no payroll commitments in that timeframe, and there aren't any big expenses creeping up in the current core. If they're going to invest in winning during those years, they'll need to pay some veterans to supplement the young core. Personally, I'll go with the player who I know and believe in like Lopez vs some high-priced FA mercenary like Framber Valdez.

Image courtesy of Jonah Hinebaugh/Naples Daily News/USA Today Network-Florida / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Twins spring training started with a thud on Monday. All of the customary positive energy and vibes from the opening rally cries and first full-squad workout were dampened by Pablo López's ominous report of elbow soreness. He underwent an MRI and on Tuesday we learned that its results confirmed, essentially, the worst: López has "significant tearing" in his UCL and is almost certainly headed for season-ending Tommy John surgery. There's no downplaying the catastrophic impact on whatever slim chances this year's Twins team had to contend in the AL Central. López is arguably their best player, and his absence will leave a huge void atop a rotation that needed to be Minnesota's carrying strength if they were to take the league by surprise. In my opinion, though, that was already a pretty substantial long shot. And it's not just my opinion: Even with a healthy López, the Twins had a Vegas over/under of 73.5 wins, and I don't think any projection system pegged them as even a .500 team. The bullpen and lineup challenges will be so much to overcome. The emerging young core hasn't quite arrived. As I wrote in my overview of the organization's talent landscape, 2027 feels like the most realistic target for any type of short-term contention. And through that lens, maybe the López news doesn't feel quite so dire. Look at it this way. The best-case scenario this year for López was a fully healthy rebound that saw him reliably take the mound every fifth day and resume pitching like a frontline starter. Those efforts would've probably gone to waste on a Twins team that lacks the offensive strength and bullpen to win regularly, so the odds of López being traded in this scenario — at the deadline or after the season — seem pretty high. But now, if he misses the entire season, López is all but assured of being back in 2027, albeit probably with a slightly delayed start. This would enable him to potentially support a more developed, well-constructed team with actual championship aspirations. Of course, with the CBA about to expire and labor tensions already running high, there's a distinct possibility that a lockout could wipe out some or all of the 2027 season. That'd be a bummer for the Twins and their timeline but look at it from López's perspective: He'll miss out on some or all of his salary in the final year of his contract, and he'll be staring down free agency as a 32-year-old with little production to showcase from the past three years, and maybe not a single pitch thrown in the past two. It's a sobering reality for the right-hander, who has built up an impressive résumé that includes an All-Star appearance, playoff success, and — previously — a pretty good track record for durability (he ranked seventh in the majors in IP from 2022 through 2024). He faces a great deal of uncertainty as he stares down a lengthy recovery from his second Tommy John surgery, and an ensuing lockout. This opens the door for a mutually beneficial contract extension that would give López some long-term stability and peace of mind, while theoretically securing his services post-2027 at a very favorable value. I'm not sure exactly what terms would make sense for both sides but I'm very interested in a multi-year extension that locks up, say, his age 32-through-34 seasons (2028 through 2030) for somewhere in the range of $15-20 million annually. It wouldn't exactly be new ground for the Twins, who signed Michael Pineda as a free agent and Chris Paddack to an extension under similar circumstances, albeit at a smaller scale. Results have been mixed in past instances. But with his legendary work ethic and exceptional talent, I have little doubt López will eventually come back strong from this latest setback, and I love the idea of entrenching him as an ongoing veteran rotation leader for whatever team emerges out of the current "reset." If Tom Pohlad wants to make a demonstrable investment in the future success of the team, this would be a good way to do it, and it's also a very sensible baseball decision for a franchise that seems destined to compete on middling payrolls. It's the kind of move that probably wouldn't have been possible if López had a healthy, stellar season this year and either got traded or priced himself out of Minnesota's comfort zone. Is this all a bit of mental gymnastics? Probably. It’s never good when your ace blows out his elbow and a season that already felt tenuous suddenly tilts further toward irrelevance. There’s real pain in losing López for a year — for the clubhouse, for the fans, and especially for him. But as someone who genuinely loves watching Pablo López pitch — the craft, the intensity, the professionalism — the idea of trading one lost year for several meaningful ones on the other side is the only silver lining I can muster right now. If 2026 was always unlikely to be the year anyway, maybe the best outcome is ensuring López is still here when the window actually opens. It’s a stretch, sure. It requires patience, optimism and a front office willing to act boldly. But at a moment when the short-term outlook just got a lot bleaker, betting on López being part of the next good Twins team feels like something worth holding onto. View full article

Image courtesy of Jonah Hinebaugh/The News-Press/USA Today Network-Florida / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Minnesota Twins pitchers and catchers reported to camp on Thursday, so spring training is officially on. Position players will trickle in over the weekend leading up to the first full-squad workout next Monday. Exhibition action kicks off with a contest against the Gophers on Friday, February 20th, followed by the first Grapefruit League game against Boston the following day. Coming off a 92-loss season, and a chaotic winter that saw more change off the field than on, expectations are fairly low but uncertainty is running high. The Twins have much to figure out and many questions to answer in the six weeks leading up to Opening Day in Baltimore on March 26th. Key Position Battles Backup SS: Brooks Lee has not proven himself in terms of ability or durability, making this a critical piece of depth. The main contenders are Ryan Kreidler, Tristan Gray and Orlando Arcia, with the latter needing to earn a spot on the 40-man roster. 4th and 5th SP: The three proven veterans — Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez, Bailey Ober — are locked into the top spots, leaving the bottom of the rotation open for competition. Presumably Simeon Woods Richardson and Taj Bradley are currently topping the chart, since they've got significantly more experience than the rest of the pack, but guys like Zebby Matthews, David Festa and Mick Abel could shake things up with strong, healthy showings. 4th OF: As things currently stand, Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner appear to be the starting corner outfielders, at least against right-handers. Byron Buxton will of course be in center. The Twins need a player who can back up all three outfield spots, and might have room for only one between Austin Martin, Alan Roden and James Outman. 6th, 7th, 8th RP: The following bullpen spots are more or less claimed, pending health: Cole Sands, Taylor Rogers, Justin Topa, Eric Orze, Anthony Banda. These are all relatively proven MLB relievers. That leaves three spots up for grabs among a group that includes incumbents Kody Funderburk and Travis Adams, along with numerous NRIs and starters with conversion potential. It's going to be a free-for-all, but situational usage in spring games should give strong indication of who the team favors. Health Situations to Monitor Bailey Ober: His mechanics were a mess last year, which Ober admits was due in part to nagging injury issues. He spent the offseason trying to get right, but his velocity and overall quality of stuff in camp will tell the story. David Festa: His 2025 season ended with a scary diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome, but Festa avoided surgery and supposedly went through a fairly normal offseason. He's a really important part of their pitching plans, whether as starter or reliever, so hopefully the righty is able to quickly put last year's shoulder problems behind him. Cory Lewis: He's in camp as a non-roster invite and looking to put himself on the MLB relief radar, but Lewis and his intriguing knuckleball will be slowed out of the gate by a "moderate subscap" (shoulder) issue, keeping him down for at least the first two weeks. Matt Canterino: Recovering from shoulder surgery, Canterino is not expected to pitch this spring, but he's still in camp, soaking everything in. It's been a hell of a road for the right-hander, now 28 with just 85 professional innings thrown, but he's worth dreaming on because the raw stuff is amazing. Royce Lewis: No specific injury concerns, but it seems silly not to list Lewis as a health situation to monitor. Last year he suffered a hamstring injury in spring training that cost him the first month, adding to a string of misfortune that finally seemed to let up in the second half last year. How will Lewis look physically coming off an offseason spent building on his healthy finish? Top Twins Storylines to Follow in Camp Building a bullpen from scratch Sorting out the bullpen makeup and hierarchy feels like easily the most pressing challenge ahead of Derek Shelton and Co. this spring. They've got a lot of high-leverage gaps to fill and a lot of unknowns vying for opportunities. Exhibition games in March aren't always the best basis for informing important roster decisions, but that's the task at hand. Keep a close eye on who's getting put into games and when. WBC departures create veteran leadership void The Twins opted to build around their trio of veteran All-Star talents rather than trading one or more and committing to a full-on rebuild. They see value in staying relatively competitive, as well as keeping these respected voices in the clubhouse to guide a bunch of developing players. But for much of this spring camp, all three of Ryan, Lopez and Buxton will be away, representing their countries in the World Baseball Classic. That could create some tricky dynamics as Shelton looks to establish a new clubhouse culture, but the flip side is that there will be more innings and at-bats available for other auditioning players. "The one good thing about that this spring is because of the WBC, and we’re losing three starters to the WBC, we’re going to be able to evaluate guys in more meaningful innings. And what I mean by that is, the challenge with evaluating pitchers, especially starting pitchers, in the spring is who they face. Because all of a sudden they end up piggybacking or pitching innings 4-6 and then they get guys that may be in Double-A or Triple-A because Major League players have rotated out. This spring we’re going to have the ability to evaluate because three of our top guys are pitching for their country." - Derek Shelton to media including Twins Daily on Thursday Eyes on the shortstop position There's a reason I listed backup shortstop atop the list of key position battles above. The Twins have much to figure out at this all-important spot in the post-Carlos Correa era. FanGraphs has Minnesota ranked dead last in projected WAR at SS. We've got to see something from Lee this spring, or at the very least he needs to stay healthy and keep the back problems at bay. The notion of Tristan Gray or Ryan Kreidler as Opening Day starting shortstop is scarily plausible. Will Kaelen Culpepper make a statement and accelerate his timeline? Prospects showcase what they've got On that note, the biggest reason to feel optimistic and hopeful about the Twins — even if not in the short term — is the wave of talented, highly-regarded prospects who are on the doorstep of the major leagues. Many of them will be seeing plentiful action in Twins camp, including Culpepper, Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Connor Prielipp and Gabriel Gonzalez. Up-and-comers like these offer the most compelling reason to tune into some of Minnesota's 25 spring games available to stream. It's been a long, tumultuous offseason and I find myself feeling as low on the outlook of the Minnesota Twins as I have entering any spring in a long time. Still, I'm very happy baseball is back and there will no shortage of things drawing my interest over the next month and a half leading up to Opening Day. What's catching your attention as 2026 spring training gets rolling? View full article

Image courtesy of Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images Last year around this time, Twins fans were buzzing about the team's bullpen outlook. With Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax leading a deep unit, Minnesota was projected to have the highest fWAR in baseball from relief pitchers – one of the big reasons for optimism surrounding the 2025 club. In some respects, the bullpen was living up to this billing through midseason. At the point that they traded everyone away last July, the Twins did indeed rank first in the American League in fWAR at the position. And yet, the team was well below .500 and fading from relevance, largely because – for all the strong underlying stats and indicators – Twins relievers weren't making the desired impact. They ranked fourth in FIP but 23rd in ERA and 25th in WPA. The talent and ability across the relief corps were plain to see, but these pitchers were lapsing too often when it mattered most. It proved costly. So it goes with bullpens. We're talking about small samples and situational outcomes. Sometimes a good group of relievers amounts to sub-par effectiveness overall. The Twins are hoping for the opposite this year: a bullpen that is greater than the sum of its parts. Some of the outside factors have changed. There's a new bullpen coach leading the crew in LaTroy Hawkins, and a new manager determining usage in Derek Shelton. Other factors will likely remain constant: these relievers will be protecting slim leads (if that) and the defense behind them is not going to be very good. Despite parting with their three best relievers, and not replacing them with anyone on remotely the same tier, the Twins still have some intriguing arms in the mix and a track record for successful reliever development under Pete Maki. They have significantly less proven quality to work with than in the past, and the pressure will be high under Tom Pohlad's "be competitive" edict. For the Twins bullpen to hold its own, they need most, if not all, of the following things to happen. At least one more impact arm joins the fold There's no one left in free agency that's going to provide a slam-dunk upgrade at this point, but there are at least a few wild-cards offering the upside to be a real difference-maker if things break right. Michael Kopech is the standout name, but Shelby Miller and José Leclerc are other examples of veteran free agents who've been dominant at times. Trades are also still an option. The hope here would be to catch lightning in a bottle, if even for a temporary spell, until others break through later in the season. I'm reminded of how Brandon Kintzler sprung up as an out-of-nowhere All-Star closer in 2017, helping that team shock the baseball world coming off a 103-loss campaign. Cole Sands recaptures his 2024 form It's clear that the Twins are really counting on this. The only remaining holdover from the previous late-inning relief mix was one of its top performers in 2024, posting a 3.28 ERA and 85-to-12 K/BB ratio in 71 innings. He took a step backward last year, but the peripherals weren't as bad as the ERA and the stuff still looked pretty good for the most part. Sands in 2024 showed the profile of a credible relief ace. Last year he was barely good enough to trust in the sixth inning. In order to have a shot at competence this year, Minnesota's bullpen needs him to gravitate back toward his previous breakthrough form. Taylor Rogers and Justin Topa are extremely reliable These aren't ceiling-raisers but they can bring a needed level of sturdiness and steadiness to the table. Both in their mid-30s, Rogers and Topa aren't going to blow anyone away. You don't want them facing the opposing lineup's biggest threats in the highest leverage. But they've been around the block, they're crafty and they've both been perfectly solid in terms of recent results. Since 2023, Rogers has a 3.16 ERA in 162 innings and Topa's at 3.15 in 131 innings. Continue to operate at that level and these seasoned hurlers will play key roles in stabilizing the pen with experience. Surprising depth emerges What really worries me about the Twins bullpen is the depth. You take the three guys mentioned above, plus Eric Orze, plus hopefully one more decent addition, and you've got the potential makings of an okay unit. But as we know, people are going to get hurt. Probably in spring training. And then you start digging into the thin layers of depth left behind from the deadline purge. It's not just downgrading from, say, Jax to Topa in the eighth inning that hurts you. It's the corresponding downgrades for the fourth and fifth right-handers in the bullpen, where Topa used to slot. And it's the guys who are stepping into those spots if anyone above them goes on the injured list. As things stand we are dangerously close to seeing a large amount of innings go to the likes of Travis Adams, Marco Raya, etc. They Twins are going to need some unexpected and largely unknowns to step up and hold their own. This is where their self-belief will really be put to the test. Keep a close eye on the non-roster invites this spring to see who might establish themselves atop the reinforcement ranks. Prospects and converted starters quickly break through Ultimately, this will make or break the 2026 Twins bullpen. There's no two ways around it. It's clear that the team's plan is to transition some of their many starting prospects into relief roles, mirroring the approach that yielded Jax, Sands, Louie Varland and others. But who specifically will they push down this path, and how quickly will it pay dividends, if at all? The Twins have enough MLB-ready pitching outside of their Big 3 vets to instill some level of confidence, but they've got work to do in determining how it will all shake out. It's great to say, in theory, that a few arms out of a group that includes Simeon Woods Richardson, Taj Bradley, Zebby Matthews, David Festa and Mick Abel will develop into effective bullpen arms, but putting that plan into practice is another story. You've got to get the players on board, you've got to accept the trade-offs in terms of SP depth, and you've got to make the switch actually click. It's not difficult for me to envision, say, Matthews and Festa offsetting a considerable amount of the dominance lost in relievers like Jax and Duran. Will it actually happen, and how long will it take? This question, more than any other, will dictate the upside of the Twins' relief corps in 2026. What am I missing? What else needs to play out this year for the Twins to find surprising bullpen success? Or is it a moot point given the personnel and timelines at hand? I'd love to hear from you in the comments. View full article

To be clear, I'm not expecting them to make all 5 of these moves. That said ... why not? The Twins can still have a decent catching unit without Jeffers and a decent rotation without Ryan. If they're going nowhere, you hope Kopech is having a good year and you can trade him at the deadline.

Image courtesy of Matt Krohn-Imagn Images Under Derek Falvey, the Twins front office developed a penchant for making moves — including some of their biggest moves — in the very late stages of the offseason. This was best exemplified by the Taylor Rogers trade, which took place on the eve of Opening Day in 2022, but there were plenty of others. It's possible that Falvey's successor, Jeremy Zoll, will eventually differentiate himself from this tendency. But by virtue of stepping into the lead role so late in the offseason, for a team with an unfinished and imbalanced roster, he almost has no choice but to pick up the mantle with some February or March moves. Given the team's circumstances, I wouldn't rule out one or more transactions of some significance. Here are five signings, trades and extensions I could pretty easily envision taking place before Opening Day. Not all would make the team better, but they'd at least provide a further sense of direction and long-term vision. Trading Joe Ryan or Pablo Lopez Yeah, the Twins have said they don't plan to trade either of their frontline starters. But the time for rallying season-ticket sales has mostly passed, and by now reality has to be setting in that this team is not equipped to contend in the AL Central, especially after Detroit's bold move to add Framber Valdez alongside Tarik Skubal top their rotation. Tom Pohlad might not like the business optics, but the baseball wisdom of trading one of these two premier starters is undeniable. It means opening up more innings for the young arms Minnesota needs to audition, while bringing back a haul to bolster the team's post-2026 outlook. The Twins acquired Ryan while he was competing in the Olympics. Could they trade him away while he competes in the World Baseball Classic? Trading Ryan Jeffers After acquiring Victor Caratini and Alex Jackson this offseason, the Twins now have three catchers. None have minor-league options. Conventional wisdom says they'll go with the two best ones, Jeffers and Caratini, while seeking a low-scale trade for Jackson or trying to sneak him through waivers at the end of camp. That puts them at risk of losing Jackson for nothing, and while the team didn't invest a ton to acquire him (Payton Eeles), it was something. Clearly they like him to some extent. The bigger risk for the Twins in this scenario is that they lose Jeffers for nothing after this season, when he's due for free agency. An opportunistic gambit would be to trade him now and roll with a catching duo of Caratini and Jackson. That'd be a clubhouse leader and quality player out the door, but again, if the Twins aren't contending, it doesn't matter. Jackson is under control for two more seasons so he'd provide some continuity at least alongside Caratini, who signed a two-year deal. Trading Trevor Larnach It would almost be more surprising if this doesn't happen. The Twins have to move Larnach or someone else in the lefty-swinging 1B/DH/COF mix, because currently the pieces simply don't fit together. He continues to be the most likely candidate, though he hardly offers clear surplus value at $4.5 million. You'd like to think the Twins can flip him for at least a decent middle reliever, which they could sorely use. But if such a deal were available, wouldn't they have already made it? Maybe spring developments will create new opportunities but it seems the front office is struggling to find takers for its superfluous lefty corner bat — not exactly a first for them. Signing Michael Kopech Finally, an additive move! The Twins made a play for Framber Valdez, so clearly they've been given the green-light to pursue a somewhat sizable investment as Pohlad pushes for an energy boost. There aren't many places left to spend, as the free-agent market has been picked over, but there's one clear standout atop the relief market. Kopech is hardly a big splash, but he's the last remaining reliever from The Athletic's top-50 big board (he was #50) and really the last chance for Minnesota to make a remotely emphatic addition to its needy bullpen. He's been oft-injured and rarely good, but the 29-year-old righty offers undeniable upside with his bigtime fastball. This is the team's last chance to truly bolster the relief pitching outlook via free agency. Long-term contract for Luke Keaschall or Walker Jenkins This wouldn't really impact the 2026 season, but it would generate some much-needed positive headlines for a Twins team that needs them. Extending young players and even yet-to-debut players on long-term deals has become in-vogue for MLB teams, and tends to be a win/win for both sides. The player secures generational wealth, guaranteed. The club gets price breaks down the line if things to plan, with modest risk on their side. The Twins say they're serious about building from within and getting behind the talent they draft and develop. A move like this would be a statement to back that up. And while it might not make much difference this year, gaining cost control over Keaschall or Jenkins — whom I recently ranked as the two most valuable player assets in the organization — could make greatly improve the front office's ability to add around them in their primes. View full article

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images In major-league front offices, no moves are made in a vacuum. Many voices are in play and Twins fans are well aware that outside constraints (e.g. payroll limitations) can hold major influence. But ever since he was first hired after the 2016 season, up until his departure on Friday, Derek Falvey was atop the chain of baseball command. Every move made over the past nine years has had his stamp on it. During that time, we've seen some of the best trades and boldest signings in franchise history. We've also seen a lot of misfires and missed opportunities that played a huge role in the inability of talented teams to get over the hump. These are my picks for the five best, and five worst, moves made by the Twins during Falvey's time in charge. 5 Best Twins Moves Under Derek Falvey The first Carlos Correa signing It's reasonable to look back at Correa's Twins career with some bitterness, given the shortcomings and early exit. His second contract with Minnesota was at best a mixed bag. But that shouldn't cause us to overlook what a monumental, game-changing moment his first signing was. Announced out of nowhere in the middle of the night, Correa's bombshell contract – three years, $105 million with opt-outs – seemed to redefine what was possible for the Twins franchise. They had never waded into these kinds of free agency waters before. This was a statement signing that they (briefly) followed through on the next year, And although the 2022 season proved to be a disappointment overall, Correa produced one of the best seasons for a shortstop in team history, posting 4.6 fWAR and setting the stage for an unlikely return. The Joe Ryan trade Now this is how you "sell" at the deadline. When the Twins fell out of contention in 2021, they made hay with their best expiring asset, trading Nelson Cruz to the Rays for two pitching prospects. One of those prospects came to the majors almost immediately, and has been excelling in the Minnesota rotation ever since, to the point where he's now arguably their ace. This was a rare moment where the Twins managed to outfox a Rays front office that they so admired and aspired to emulate. Easily one of the best trades in franchise history. The Pablo López trade The López trade doesn't rate quite as highly as Ryan, since the Twins had to give up more substantial value for him, but it looked smart at the time and looks genius in retrospect. Luis Arraez has declined rapidly since the trade while López – whom the Twins quickly extended – instantly solidified his status as a frontline starter, which he has maintained since. He led the way in two playoff victories in 2023 and will likely start on Opening Day for a fourth consecutive season. The Byron Buxton contract extension For a long time, it looked like this wasn't going to happen. Unable to find common ground on an extension as free agency approached, the Twins were actively exploring trades for Buxton before finally managing to reach an agreement just ahead of the 2021 lockout. The seven-year, $100 million contract was very favorable to the team, built around incentives due to Buxton's availability concerns. It has already paid for itself based on his performance on the field, despite injuries and missed time. Drafting Ryan Jeffers There are a lot of other candidates I thought about throwing in here: the Escobar-for-Durán trade, the Willi Castro signing, the Royce Lewis selection. Bailey Ober deserves mention as well. But I think it's fair to say Jeffers was the biggest draft success story of the Falvey era – the one position player who has developed into an above-average, multi-year major-league regular. Perhaps that is damning with faint praise, given that Jeffers hasn't been a spectacular player or All-Star, but we've seen how hard it is to develop a good big-league catcher. 5 Worst Twins Moves Under Derek Falvey The 2024 trade deadline As you'll see, most of the low points from Falvey's tenure revolve around the trade deadline. Missed opportunities to supplement good or borderline rosters will haunt memories from this stretch of competitive seasons where the Twins too often fell short of their potential. The deadline in 2024 was a perfect example. When it arrived the Twins were very much in contention, 11 games above .500 at the end of July. At the deadline, the front office did nothing of consequence; in fact, trading only for Trevor Richards – a replacement-level reliever who'd be released weeks later – was almost worse than nothing. This set the stage for a full-on collapse to ensue, with no added quality depth to help weather the storm. The 2019 trade deadline Unlike the 2024 team, the 2019 team didn't need saving. It needed reinforcements. The Bomba Squad was perhaps the best regular-season Twins teams ever, but got swept out of the playoffs. There's no guaranteeing savvier pickups at the trade deadline would've changed that outcome, but Sam Dyson was a disaster and Sergio Romo didn't move the needle enough. If ever there was a time to think big. The Alex Colomé signing Rarely has a singular offseason acquisition tanked an entire season like this. Signed as a free agent to handle the closer position in 2021, Colomé repeatedly melted down in key spots while the Twins dug an inescapable early-season hole. It's one of several examples that makes me raise an eyebrow when people intimate that building a bullpen on the fly is easy. The Ryan Pressly trade Ope, another deadline trip-up. I view letting Pressly get away as perhaps the single most regrettable move of Falvey's time at the helm. He would've been under control in 2019, when the Twins were scrambling for the likes of Dyson and Romo at the deadline, but instead was flipped in 2018 for Jorge Alcala and Gilberto Celestino. Pressly went on to become Houston's bullpen ace for several years, helping the Astros win a World Series. A former Rule 5 pick, Pressly was one of the biggest reliever development success stories for Minnesota in decades, but the front office – intent on "selling high" with extended control remaining – let him get away before his impact could be fully felt. You hope the same doesn't happen with the players lost in this final set of moves... The 2025 firesale I know this wasn't all driven by Falvey or the front office. Maybe not even mostly. But still, you have to hold the baseball decision-makers accountable for some truly baffling baseball decisions. On their own, many of the trades at least year's deadline made sense, but in totality this scorched-earth sell-off completely obliterated any realistic hopes of contention in 2026, which now looks like a glaring misstep in light of Tom Pohlad's directive to field a competitive squad this year. Had the Twins not sold off four key controllable players, that would have actually been viable. What are your thoughts? Which highs and lows did I miss from Derek Falvey's nine-year tenure as Minnesota Twins baseball leader? Where are you hoping to see the team improve in his absence? Sound off in the comments. View full article

Image courtesy of © David Berding-Imagn Images "We will be competitive in 2026," said Tom Pohlad on Friday, reiterating an assertion he's made multiple times since taking over as controlling owner of the Minnesota Twins in December. It's a proclamation that defies reality, and certainly hasn't been backed by any significant action on the roster-building front. Coming off a 92-loss season, mired in question marks, and lacking much in the way of relief pitching, the Twins face a steep uphill climb to fulfill Pohlad's ambition. That point of friction seems to be what resulted in Derek Falvey stepping aside. While this split has been positioned by the team as "mutual," Falvey could surely see the writing on the wall and was ready to move on. Opinions will vary on the effectiveness of his tenure, but no one can deny Falvey has been stifled and railroaded repeatedly in trying to do his job over the past couple years. Minnesota's 2023 success was immediately followed by a momentum-shattering payroll slash, with sharper spending limits imposed since. The about-face in strategic direction this winter had to be the final straw from Falvey's point of view. The Twins' approach at the deadline clearly signaled intentions for a rebuild, or at the very least a temporary reset. Shipping out 10 players set the stage for a presumed follow-through in the offseason that would see the Twins trade Pablo Lopez and/or Joe Ryan (who was by all accounts very nearly dealt in July) for peak remaining value. This was a tough pill to swallow for Twins fans, but in the aftermath of what Minnesota did at the deadline, it was the only viable option. That is, until ownership threw a curveball and Tom took over from Joe as executive chair. With him, the new figurehead brought a contradictory mandate: compete now. No kicking the can down the road. As a fan, I can appreciate what Pohlad is trying to do. He sees that interest in the team is spiraling, he knows the difficult road ahead for Major League Baseball, and he wants to temper the crash in fan morale by demonstrating some level of care and investment. Thus, we have the "we're going to compete" campaign, and the green light for modest acquisitions like Josh Bell and Victor Caratini. (Not to mention calling up canceled season ticket-holders personally.) But here's the thing: it's too late. The die was cast for the 2026 season at the deadline when the front office traded three top relievers under team control, as well as Carlos Correa with no expectation of backfilling his salary. If the Twins were going to have a shot at rebounding from those losses, it was going to take higher-scale moves than Bell, Caratini and an army of waiver claims or scrap-heap signings. The Twins are projected in Vegas for 72-74 wins, which seems a very fair expectation objectively. Derek Falvey knew it, helping explain his decision to jump ship. He was in line to be a scapegoat this summer, following in the footsteps of Rocco Baldelli, and he got out ahead of it. As for the motivations of Tom Pohlad and the Twins? Those are harder to reason, both in this instance and at a broader level. Parting ways with Falvey at this peculiar moment feels more like a denial of reality than an inspired shakeup. "We're in the business of winning baseball games," Pohlad said back in December when he took over the reins. But therein lies the problem: business savvy doesn't win baseball games. It takes visionary baseball leadership and sound big-picture decision-making. The departure of Falvey leaves a huge experiential void in that department, while the Twins navigate aimlessly into a season that is bound to disappoint. View full article