5 Things We Learned About the Minnesota Twins in 2026

The Minnesota Twins were surprisingly competitive in the 2026 American Central race. After purging 11 players at the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline, firing their manager, and uncertainty surrounding their ownership situation, a huge crash in the standings seemed to be in the offing.

But extremely impotent AL competition and surprise performances from some of their players, kept the Twins in the race for most of the season. But similar to the previous two campaigns, Minnesota souffled in the final month to end 2026 on a disappointing note. After all of that, what insights did we gain on this team?

1. Twins Have the Nucleus of an Outstanding Rotation

The Twins’ hopes took a hit on the first day of training camp when their ace, Pablo Lopez, was lost for the season with an elbow injury. In the course of the season, they also lost the services of David Festa and Mick Abel. But prospecting forward, Minnesota potentially could have one of the top rotations in baseball.

If Lopez recovers from his surgery and Joe Ryan can avoid missing significant time due to injuries, you start with a pretty potent one-two punch. Taj Bradley, with his breakout season, has the potential to advance his position in the rotation.

Dean Kremer was a surprise coming over from Baltimore and would fit nicely into the fourth slot. And Abel was finally starting to find his groove when his season was wiped out with an elbow injury. Add Connor Prielipp, Zebby Matthews, Festa, and possibly Bailey Ober, and Minnesota has the potential to be one of the top starting staffs in baseball in 2027.

2. Ryan Jeffers is One of the Best Catchers in Baseball

This just in: Ryan Jeffers is good. As if the Twins needed a reminder of this. Jeffers absence from the lineup with a hamate injury and his triumphant return further underscored his value to the team. In the last month and a half of the season alone, he hit four home runs, scored eight runs, drove in 14, and sported a tidy .458 slugging percentage.

Jeffers has improved behind the plate, and he placed sixth among all MLB backstops with a 61 % ABS challenge rate success. He is a positive presence in the clubhouse and is media savvy in his promotion of the team. Unfortunately for the Twins, he is on an expiring contract.

The team could fork over $23 million in a one-year qualifying offer to retain Jeffers. Or they could trade him to an interested party like the Yankees for draft compensation. Regardless, with prospects Vahn Lackey and Eduardo Tait waiting in the wings, Ryan’s tenure with the Twins will soon be over.

3. Twins Need a Closer

Wouldn’t Louis Varland look good in a Twins uniform right now? Ever since Minnesota jettisoned Jhoan Duran at last year’s fire sale, they have been looking for a reliable closer. Of course, they had their closer of the future, Louis Varland, on their roster last year, but… never mind.

They had hoped that Cole Sands, Taylor Rogers, or Justin Topa could fill that role in 2026, but lack of effectiveness and injuries extinguished those options. The Twins thought they finally had their fireman in Yoendrys Gómez, but his late-season flameout quieted those hopes. Andrew Morris is a possibility, but his demeanor suggests he would be more effective in a setup role.

Minnesota has enough in-house pieces to field about two-thirds of a competent bullpen. The addition of another lefty and a true closer would go a long way to bringing down the anxiety of Twins’ manager Derek Shelton.

4. Once in a Lifetime Outfield

As the 2026 season drew to a close, the Twins finally had their outfield of the future playing together at the big-league level. Patrolling right field was the throwback wonder Luke Keaschall. All he did this past campaign was lead the squad in runs (86), hits (149), doubles (28), and stolen bases (20), while sporting a slash line of .282/.374/.407.

Left fielder Emmanuel Rodriguez was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul in early September. His late-season play was a vindication of the Twins’ faith in the talented but hard-luck youngster. He hit for power, showed patience at the plate, and made a couple of SportsCenter highlight catches to boot.

And of course, slotted into center field in a late-season call-up, was their number one prospect, Walker Jenkins. After a slow start, he hammered the ball and left no doubt about his ability to defend the position. The three budding talents are fortunate to have veteran Byron Buxton around for a couple more seasons to show them the ropes.

5. Twins Have to Solve Their Left Side of the Infield Issues

The Twins desperately need to figure out what their long- and short-term solutions are at first and second base. Kody Clemens was named the team’s MVP at season’s end and is comfortable playing either position. Late next season or perhaps in 2028, hot prospect Maren Houston will join the club, probably precipitating the move of Kaelen Culpepper to second.

In the meantime, does Royce Lewis have enough in the tank to give Minnesota what they need at first base in 2026? He started last campaign in a horrendous slump, caught fire in St. Paul, then looked overmatched down the stretch. The Twins have to work on his pitch selection and ultimately hope that he settles in as their DH for the foreseeable future.

Room for Optimism

The Twins must still add some pieces to the puzzle, but they have a solid framework for the future. And more help is on the way in the near future with the eventual arrival of top prospects Houston, Lackey, and Tait.