Five Things That Have Turned the Twins’ Season Around

On May 2nd, 2025, the Minnesota Twins dropped the first game of their road series against the Boston Red Sox, 6-1. It dropped their record to 13-20, fourth in the AL Central ahead of just the lowly Chicago White Sox.

Little did they know, their season’s fortune was about to change. The next day, the Twins would win 4-3 over Boston, kicking off a 13-game winning streak that would bring them to six games over .500.

With Memorial Day now in the rearview, the Twins still find themselves five games above that .500 mark. They also have climbed up to a tie for second in their division, five games behind the Detroit Tigers.

The Twins have operated on a bit different of a formula than last year. Instead of a high-powered offensive supporting an average pitching staff, it’s been the other way around in 2025. Still, there have been players all across the roster who have helped Minnesota get right back into contention. Here are five areas in particular that have helped turn the team’s season around.

Keeping Byron Buxton hot (and healthy) could take the Twins far

The story with the Twins’ center fielder has always been the same: he could be one of the league’s greats, if he could just stay healthy. Last year’s 102 games played were only the second time he’d played in over 100 in a season in his 11-year career.

Buxton was placed on the IL for the first time this season back on May 17, though this stint looks like it’ll be a relatively short one. That aside, he has played in 41 of Minnesota’s 53 games so far.

And as he often does when healthy, Buxton was helping lead the way on offense to start the year. Even with his recent time missed, his 10 home runs lead the Twins while his 27 RBIs rank second.

Buxton was further ramping things up right before his injury. Since May 3, the start of the team’s big win streak, he has a whopping 185 wRC+ that is amazingly only second on the team (more on that in a bit).

No one has ever denied Buxton’s talent and the Twins’ recent bit of success shows just how much he can positively affect the team. Anything they can do to keep him on the field will be huge.

Where on earth did Kody Clemens come from?!

After going 0-for-6 with a walk in just seven games of action with the Phillies to start the season, the team decided it was time to go in a different direction with utilityman Kody Clemens. He was designated for assignment before the season even hit May.

The former third-round pick was scooped up by the Twins just a few days later, who acquired him from Philly for cash. It marked the third team of Clemens’ career.

Fans likely weren’t expecting much from a guy with a career .200 batting average and .619 OPS in 146 games coming into the season. To say they’ve been pleasantly surprised, though, would be a big understatement.

Clemens has been on fire since joining the Twins with a .327 average, 1.131 OPS, five doubles, four homers, and 11 RBIs in 20 games. He’s already been a walkoff hero this month and has the one wRC+ higher than Buxton’s since May 3 (253!).

Clemens may have started off as a bandage at second base after rookie Luke Keaschall was placed on the IL at the same time he was claimed. Now, he’s a big part of how the Twins got back into the division race.

Setup man Griffin Jax is back to his dominant self

Last year, right-hander Griffin Jax emerged as one of the top late-game relief options in the American League. His 2.03 ERA and 0.873 WHIP were career-highs and his 24 holds tied for 14th in MLB.

For as good as he was last year, he had as equally rough of a start to 2025. Through the end of April he found himself 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA and two blown saves through 13 appearances.

Well, sometimes all you need is a new month to start fresh because apparently it worked for Jax. He has given up just two earned runs over 11.2 innings this month (1.54 ERA), striking out 17 batters while walking just two.

That, in turn, has helped bullpen mate Jhoan Duran. By being a better bridge to the ninth inning, Jax has helped Duran collect six saves in May after earning just two prior.

Good teams tend to have bullpens that lock up wins when handed a lead at the end of a game. Jax’s resurgence will help Minnesota’s bullpen do exactly that.

Top-four starters have gone from great in April to incredible in May

Though the Twins struggled in March and April, it was by no fault of the starting rotation. They were doing everything in their power to put the team in a position to win early on in games.

Specifically, the quartet of Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, and Chris Paddack each started off strong. All four had ERA’s under 3.50 for the month of April, yet the Twins were still five games under .500 to end the month.

So what better way to help kick off a big month of May than by the aforementioned starters somehow getting even better? With the month drawing to a close, those four hurlers all have an ERA of 2.49 or better in May with a combined 91 strikeouts compared to 18 walks.

As an entire unit, Twins starters rank among the best in the league. They are sixth in MLB with a 3.34 ERA and a 1.180 WHIP.

Twins starters finished in the bottom third of the league in ERA last season so righting that ship has been a huge boost for the team in 2025. Keeping that trend going will be vital for Minnesota’s run of success to continue.

Harrison Bader is having a career year with his new team

Raise your hand if you had outfielder Harrison Bader picked as one of the Twins’ offensive leaders for 2025. Anyone?

Huh, not seeing a lot of hands out there.

That’s no slight to Bader, a long-time St. Louis Cardinal who is now on the fifth team of his career. It’s more an observation of the fact that he has a .244/.309/.394 slash line and 93 wRC+ in 824 career games.

So of course he would come out in 2025 and be one of the Minnesota’s most consistent players on offense. Through 46 games he is slashing .276/.359/.433, the first two-thirds of which would be career highs, with six doubles, five homers, and 21 RBIs.

The former Gold Glove winner is unsurprisingly starting off hot in the field as well. His nine defensive runs saved already are third among all qualified MLB outfielders while his five outs above average tie for fifth.

Bader’s hot start has continued into May and luckily many of his teammates decided to join him. That’s exactly how you get a season headed back into the right direction.