The Twins’ Lineup Needs Another Difference Maker
Following their slow start to the 2025 season, the Minnesota Twins need someone to step up on offense. But who will that be?
In each of the past few seasons, an argument could be made that the Minnesota Twins have had the most talented roster in the AL Central. However, the Twins currently find themselves at a crossroads between building on their prior success and pivoting toward a downward trend.
Minnesota has been aggressive with their roster construction through both free agency and trade. Carlos Correa, Pablo López, Joe Ryan, and other core players were added from outside of the organization in order to help push the Twins to their next milestone, but they have come up short.
Could the front office do more? Sure, but this is not solely a case of a lack of effort or aggressiveness. A major part of the Twins’ struggles is outside of their control with key players suffering injury after injury. Although you cannot predict injury, you can prepare your roster to handle setbacks.
Right now, the Twins’ lineup simply is not good enough to reach their goals. Ty France is no longer the player he once was, Edouard Julien has struggled since his rookie season, Harrison Bader is better utilized as a fourth outfielder, and the bench is barren.
Despite their solid rotation and great bullpen, Minnesota is off to a poor start and needs to correct course, otherwise they will be looking at another disappointing season.
They cannot afford to hope Royce Lewis provides enough once he returns to the lineup, or that Byron Buxton can play a full season. They need another difference maker, either from within the organization or from the outside.
The Minnesota Twins’ Internal Options
The easiest, and quickest way to alter the lineup is from within the organization. Weather it be someone on the current roster producing at a higher level, or a prospect adding juice to the lineup, someone needs to step up.
Matt Wallner might be the Twins’ best bet. The power-hitting outfielder has put up impressive numbers in a somewhat limited sample over the past two seasons, but he comes with restrictions of his own. Wallner, a lefty bat, is strictly a platoon option, but he does offer an answer against righties.
Moreover, Wallner’s swing-and-miss is noticeable, but so is his power. If Wallner can continue to put up an ISO upwards of .250, you can learn to live with the 30%-plus strikeout rate. Getting a full season out of him will be crucial this year.
He’s proven enough throughout his time in the minors and should have plenty of opportunity in 2025. Translating his prior success over the course of 162 games could provide the Twins with another threat in the lineup, so long as his strikeouts do not get out of hand.
Trevor Larnach and Wallner fall into similar roles. They’re lefty platoon bats with some production at the major league level, but neither have a large enough sample size to truly feel comfortable about their outlook.
Last season, Larnach experienced a break out. He hit 15 home runs across 112 games while also cutting his strikeout rate by over 10%, showing that he was trending in the right direction.
Similarly to Wallner, Larnach being a platoon bat, but without the same level of power potential, limits his possibilities. In an ideal situation, he’s the Twins’ third-best outfielder, but they need him to be more. The changes he made last season show that he can at least have a high ceiling to dream on, but Larnach will need to show his production across a full season.
Minor League Options – Luckily, the Twins have a few top prospects that could theoretically make an impact in 2025.
Walker Jenkins (JB No. 4 prospect), Emmanuel Rodriguez (JB No. 19 prospect) and Luke Keaschall (JB No. 42 prospect) are all in Double-A and have a chance to debut this season. Jenkins has the highest ceiling but is more likely a 2026 option, while the other two might be closer to mid-season call-ups.
Having prospects of this level is great insurance, but it’s hardly something the Twins want to count on to save the lineup. While it is not outside of the realm of possibilities, how comfortable are they with a 22-year-old rookie providing the level of impact this teams needs?
External Options
Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way: The external additions should have come in the winter when players were more readily available, but that didn’t happen. At least not to the degree that was needed.
Now, the Twins are stuck in a position where an external addition likely won’t be an option early in the season, but perhaps a solution closer to the deadline.
We also know part of the reason why better players were not added was due to ownership. After their record-setting franchise payroll in 2023 ($164 million), the Twins slashed payroll in 2024 and were not very active this past offseason.
Ownership is looking to sell the team, and a recent potential suitor may have backed out — but also might still be interested. Instead of getting into the details, let’s just say this: It’s a messy situation.
Unless ownership changes relatively soon, what are the chances that the roster changes drastically? Pretty low. Actions, and words, prove that the current ownership will not be making large investments in the team, leading me to believe that an impact trade is unlikely.
Best case scenario for Twins fans? The team is sold, quickly, and the new ownership group swoops in and allows for a major move.
Oh yeah, there has to be a player and team willing to make a move, and the Twins have to present the best offer. All while hoping Buxton and Correa stay healthy, and Lewis and Lee come back and make an impact.
You can see why the best case scenario is a long shot. A more reasonable outcome could be trading a major leaguer for a major leaguer, which can be dicey as well. Perhaps they can look to trade from a strength to help a weakness, but those trades, especially in season, are rare.
Lastly, the Twins could look to add whoever the breakout player without a long-term home is. Think Brandon Drury in 2023, when the Reds traded him to the Padres.
Everyone knew Drury was not in the long-term plans, but he was in the midst of a career year and helped the Padres win. Still, that’s another situation where the stars have to align for that type of player to appear and for the Twins to be the one to land him.
Final Thoughts
Minnesota is off to a poor start, and the vibes around this team are at a new low. Not only is the lineup lacking the talent necessary to compete, but it feels like the Twins are wasting their best players’ prime seasons. On top of that, you have an ownership mess that leaves you with not even a sliver of hope.
Their eggs are in a basket of platoon players without a full season of sample size, prospects who have only just tasted Double-A, the health of players who are rarely healthy, and an owner who is focused on getting out. It’s not even Easter, and my hand is hovering over the panic button.
The good news? There’s time. Time for players to step up, and time to correct the course. Time to make a move, or call up a prospect. However, unless anything changes, that time will drag on just as the offseason did.
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