2026 Minnesota Twins… What Have We Learned?

On Friday, September 25, 2026, Laura and I went to our first Twins game of the 2026 season. Which was the 79th of 81 Twins home games. So we only made it to one game this season. This wasn’t done out of protest or anything, just didn’t put in a real effort. Other things being more important. 

A lot of people in this state loudly declared they were done with the Twins, and were going to do everything in their power to deny the Pohlad family of a couple hundred dollars, by NOT attending any games. Well, enough people did, that it put a dent in tickets sold. 1.74 million tickets in 2026, compared to 1.768 million in 2025. A tiny dent… About a 28,000 ticket difference. Or one good home game. So it was a stance that didn’t really matter to the big picture. However, the 2019 Twins, with a record of 101-61, and a first round playoff loss to the Yankees, sold 2.3 million tickets. Those numbers tell a bigger story, that I’m not prepared to delve into today.

Aerial photo of attendance at the Twins SECOND game of the 2026 season. Opening Day was close to, or sold out, I don’t remember. But the second game of the season saw Target Field jam-packed with hundreds of paying fans… (Thanks to whomever uploaded this, it certainly didn’t appear on Twins.tv…)

Bottom line is baseball is baseball. And I’m going to enjoy watching it, no matter how shitty the game treats its fans. Yes, I know the lockout is coming… Tonight was a great night for sitting outside and watching a game. I have my feelings about team management and ownership, but that’s always been separate from enjoying the game itself.

Before the game, a moment of silence was observed for former Twins pitcher Don Cooper, who passed away a few days earlier.

Don Cooper’s time with the Twins (1981-1982 seasons), produced a 1-6 record, with a 5.14 ERA over 33 games (3 starts). He pitched a total of 70 innings, allowing 75 hits and 43 walks, striking out 38. The Twins drafted Cooper from the New York Yankees in the December 1980, Rule 5 Draft. 

After two seasons, bridging the Met Stadium to Metrodome crossover, Cooper was traded to the Blue Jays, for infielder Dave Baker. Who played two decent seasons for AAA Toledo, in 1983-84, but never appeared in a game for the Twins. Cooper spent most of 1982-1986 in the minor leagues, after completing his Rule 5 MLB roster requirement with the Twins. He pitched in a handful of games for the Blue Jays in 1983, and four games for the 1985 New York Yankees. 

He got into coaching after retiring in 1986, and found great success there. His coaching career began in 1988, in the Chicago White Sox minor league system. Eventually becoming the White Sox pitching coach, from 2002-2020, with 2005 as a member of the World Series Champions. 

The 2026 Chicago White Sox finished the season a lot closer to a World Series, than the Twins did. After starting the 2026 season, seemingly in worse shape than the Twins. 

Self-sabotage of the Twins franchise began in earnest after the 2023 season. Joe Pohlad (and his tiny sport coat) announced that payroll needed to be “right-sided”. With news of the team being put up for sale, following not too long after. It was also revealed the team was $400-500 million in debt, and all sorts of theories of that debt’s cause floated around. Making the Pohlad family’s asking price ridiculous. That sale eventually happened. But only partially sort of… It sure wasn’t anything satisfying to the fans.

The Pohlad Family completed the sale of a fraction of the team, to a pool of three outside investors, over the summer of 2025. After the sale was finalized, coinciding with the end of the 2025 season, Joe Pohlad stepped down as chairman. Taking his tiny sport coat to oversee other Pohlad family ventures. Technically, it didn’t happen like this, but it sure seemed like the Pohlads sold the Twins to the Pohlads. 

Replacing his younger brother Joe, was older brother, Tom Pohlad.

I’m really sick of the Pohlads…

But THIS time it will be different!

Tom Pohlad has some big words about how the Twins were going to field a competitive team that would “Play meaningful games in September.” He followed that statement up by dropping payroll down to about $105 million, on Opening Day. In January, team President of Baseball Operations, Derek Falvey, stepped down. So while changing the highest executive levels of the team was a change, it appeared to be change taking us back to some of the darkest in franchise history. $105 million is one of the lowest levels of Twins total payrolls, compared to league average, since the Metrodome days.

Before the season started, fans were given the message: “We’re going to win, but I’m not going to spend money on it.” What kind of message is that to the players? “You guys need to win, but we’re not going to give you the pieces you need.”

So what exactly has changed for the Twins?

2019 Topps - National Baseball Card Day - Rocco Baldelli

Well, longtime manager Rocco Baldelli was made to be the scapegoat for the recent failures on the field. Rocco Baldelli was NOT the problem with the 2024-2025 Twins. He did about the best he could with the roster he was given. Where the top talent was injured and the incoming prospects underperformed, at best. For years…

His replacement was Derek Shelton. Recently a multi-year manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Fired for not getting positive results from a roster lacking the talent to compete. Shelton was stepping into a situation, only slightly better than the one that fired him a year earlier. Sure enough, the top talent was injured and the incoming minor league depth underperformed, at best. Though, the incoming crop of legitimate prospects are a more talented lot, this time around.

2026 Topps Heritage - Carlos Correa

Hi Carlos!

The third highest salary on the team ($10 million) goes to a player not on our roster.  We’re paying this guy a third of his salary, to not play for us. And we’ll be doing that for the next two years, as well. Seems appropriate this is how the whole Carlos Correa deal worked out. Joe Pohlad made a big move to try and kick the team up a level, in March 2022. Correa gave us an excellent season. Then a lot of weirdness happened and Correa signed an even bigger free agent contract with Minnesota, for 2023-2028 (plus options). 

Correa was a below average player in 2023, then both great and hurt for 2024. For 2025, he was hurt, ineffective, then gone. Traded back to Houston for baseball legend, Matt Mikulski, and $33 million dollars. For his Twins career, Carlos Correa hit .271/.345/.440, with 61 home runs and 214 RBI’s, over 450 games. What should have been a much needed key piece to the next great run of Twins teams, became $33 million for absolutely nothing.

So there’s something that’s different…

Oooh! The game is about to start!

Laura: “When did we get cheerleaders?”

That’s a new thing for this year. I remember reading something about it during spring training. One of their ideas to improve fan experience would be dancing cheerleaders on top of the Twins dugout. Cool, I guess… I’m sure they work cheap. Cheap is like catnip to a Pohlad.

On the field, Minnesota was down 2-0 just minutes in. I predicted this game could get ugly, as starting pitcher Joe Ryan, was looking pretty shaky. Leadoff double, hit by pitch, single, groundout to first, popup to second base, another hit by pitch, and now it’s Burger Time!

Since the game was looking to be a disaster, I could keep myself amused by the player notes section on the scoreboard. Always a favorite Target Field distraction! And it wouldn’t be a stretch to think the Target Field scoreboard writer would immediately go to a hamburger pun. It’s right there…

Say Super A’s Fan Rob... Tell me something about Jake Burger…

Rob: “So we’re all watching the Rangers game, and my mother-in-law says: ‘Jake Burger looks like you.”

Ouch! Sorry dood!

“I know…”

Inspired by the man on the scoreboard, I went up to the Delta Club Grill booth and picked up a Burger Helmet. Consisting of a surprisingly delicious cheeseburger, sitting on top of some also surprisingly delicious thick-cut, and correctly cooked, French Fries. For $23… Add in a $15 Souvenir Soda! Which does include free refills, from a self service fountain located at the edge of the food counter. Laura and I will absolutely get our money’s worth from this cup!

Instead of a burger, she wanted a Twins Big Dog. A bargain at only $10. That came with a tiny bag of potato chips. She gave those to me, and we shared the fries from the Burger Helmet. That tiny bag of plain Lays was eaten shortly after the 7th inning stretch, as I was tired of my arm accidentally crushing them in my sweatshirt pocket.

2023 Prizm - Justin Morneau - Gold Wave

Speaking of crush… Laura got a chance to talk to Justin Morneau, at the radio booth, before the game. She had him autograph the picture I took of them, from the game last season. She loves to listen to him during Twins games. To me, Justin Morneau has a more dry and understated approach to commentating, though he can be funny and has some good stories to fill in down times. Whenever I want to be annoying as we’re watching a game, I’ll agree that Justin is just fine as an analyst, but I prefer some of the other cast of rotating former Twins in the booth. They all bring something different to the table.

2004 Donruss Elite - Trevor Plouffe - Auto

Actually pulled this card from a pack myself, in the summer of 2005. I wasn’t focusing on collecting Twins back then, but I was still quite happy about it. Don’t see too many representations of the Elizabethton Twins on a Major League card. After ending his career in 2019, Plouffe invested in Jomboy Media, and became a co-host on the daily Talkin’ Baseball podcast. He continues to work with Jomboy, and is one of their most prominent faces. 

Definitely ups the “Bro” factor of the Twins broadcasts, on the rare occasion he’s on a homestead or roadtrip.

2014 Topps Opening Day - Glen Perkins - Auto

Perkins is another Minnesota native, so you get additional Twins perspective from his days as a fan, before he was a first round draft pick. Combine those stories with ones from Perkins 12 seasons with the Twins. He’s definitely got the banter part of the job down, with a quicker wit than his peers. His stories are usually well structured and fit the situation. Probably my favorite for Twins broadcasts.

2009 SP Legendary Cuts - Denard Span - Jersey

Span is a newcomer to the rotating cast. It shows… He’s never really seemed comfortable in this role. After a few auditions in 2025, he took LaTroy Hawkins spot in the rotation went Hawkins signed on as the Twins Bullpen Coach, for 2026. Span has a deeper and more commanding voice, but has a tendency to stumble over his words, or draw blanks at times. Needs more reps.

But we had no color analyst tonight, since we are watching it live in-person.

I was kind of jazzed about tonight’s pitching match-up. Jacob deGrom would be starting for Texas, and I’d never seen him live in person before. Against Joe Ryan for the Twins. Arguably our best pitcher, against someone who was once the best pitcher in baseball. Well, Joe had a crappy first inning, but deGrom gave up a 6-spot in the bottom of the second.

So much for that pitchers duel…

Joe Ryan settled in, and pitched one of his best games after returning from injury. Going 6 innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 walk, with 8 strikeouts on 103 pitches. There were also three batters plunked by Ryan pitches. Which is always entertaining, but those two first inning runs was all Texas managed to post for the entire game.

Ryan’s 2026 season was interrupted by somewhat mysterious injuries before and after the All Star Break, wrapped around several bouts of ineffectiveness. These stretches dropped his overall record to 7-10, with a 3.79 ERA, over 27 games started. He did throw 144.2 innings, with excellent control, walking just 31 batters, and striking out 159. Joe Ryan will be a free agent after the 2027 season, and will most likely not be back. No guarantees he won’t be traded before the 2027 season either. He’s been one of my favorites since his 2021 debut with the Twins.

2026 Finest - Joe Ryan - Mini-Diamond Refractor

Needless to say, I didn’t buy any packs of 2026 Finest… Laura bought some cards off ebay to add to her Justin Morneau collection, and one of the sellers threw in some additional minor hit Twins cards. She said I could have them. I actually didn’t have any of them before, so it worked out great for me!

I also got to see my first live ABS Challenge!

Lost by the Twins batter. I don’t remember who it was.

But, it was as exciting as you’d imagine it being!

Baseball Reference doesn’t keep track of ABS Challenges in their box scores. That really surprised me. You know someone is keeping track of ABS statistics, because they’re always quoted during game broadcasts, in regards to catcher and batter appeal success rates. So how come Baseball Reference of all places, leaves them out of each boxscore? I didn’t remember the situation that caused this appeal, and expected it to be in the game notes. It wasn’t. Box scores on MLB.com have ABS Challenges, but not the unofficial keepers of the records…

2024 Topps National Baseball Card Day - Pablo Lopez

Tom Pohlad’s bold preseason prediction of the 2026 Minnesota Twins: “Playing meaningful games in September”, took an immediate hit 2 hours into the first day of Spring Training. Our ace, number one starter, Pablo Lopez felt something strange in his right arm, and came down with a case of Tommy John Surgery. Out for the season… See you in March 2027…

Boy, it sure is a good thing we have ownership that will step right up and replace him!

Yeah… That didn’t happen…

2023 Finest - Simeon Woods-Richardson - Purple Refractor

Which of course puts additional pressure on the healthy members of the rotation, and Woods-Richardson cracked spectacularly. He was arguably the Twins best pitcher towards the end of the 2025 season, so there was optimism going into 2026. Simeon was unexpectedly awful. Twins management gave him 2 months before pulling the plug, and the results were disastrous. An 0-7 record, with a 7.74 ERA, over 10 starts (and 2 relief appearances). He threw, 47.2 innings, and gave up 65 hits and 25 walks, while only striking out 26. In 2025, he averaged 7.8 base hits per 9 innings. In 2026, that ration skyrocketed to 12.3 hits per nine. Walks were way up and strikeouts were down.

Simeon Woods-Richardson’s contract was sold to Blue Jays on June 3, 2026.

The team that traded him to Minnesota, in July 2021.

2025 Topps - Bailey Ober

Causing further problems for Minnesota’s rotation was Bailey Ober’s continued loss of fastball velocity. Which has fallen over the last few seasons, from an average of 93 mph in 2023, down to 88 mph in 2026. This isn’t the mid-1980’s anymore, and throwing that slow isn’t going to lead to a great deal of success. He was babied during Spring Training, and did miss a month plus with an injury. There was a big highlight, when Ober pitched a dominating 2 hit shutout of the Miami Marlins. The only Twins complete game of the year. 

Even with diminishing stuff, Ober did manage a 7-7 record, with a 4.47 ERA, in 24 games started (plus one 3 inning relief appearance, where he notched his first career save. In total, he pitched 131 innings, only walked 37, but only struck out 96. Bailey will be eligible for his second round of salary arbitration this offseason, and it’s not a given that he’ll get that chance. Going to be awfully hard to pay him $8+ million next year, if he shows up throwing 84 mph.

2025 Topps Chrome Black - Zebby Matthews - Blue Refractor

Daniel Zebulon Matthews finished his third year split between the Twins and AAA St. Paul Saints. He’s taken steps forward each year, but hasn’t yet put it all together. His 2026 numbers are solid, but not great. Just a 9-11 record over 23 starts, and 130.1 innings pitched. Allowing 39 walks and 125 base hits are an improvement, but his 116 strikeouts are down several notches from 2025. His overall 2026 Earned Run Average of 4.90, is too high, and doesn’t tell the full story. He pitched a few games that were quite good, more than his poor games. But the poorly pitched games were so bad, the ERA never recovered.

Speculation after the 2026 season was the Twins debating moving Zebby to the bullpen. Perhaps he could be another Louie Varland in the closer role? He’s got the stuff to succeed as a closer, but unless we have better options for the rotation, I’m not ready to pull the plug on him yet. I’ve seen enough of his starts that were really good, to want to see him continue in that role. Doubtful the Twins are going to have an abundance of better starting pitching, any time soon.

Before we fill out the rest of the rotation, I need to make a quick, post-work, necessities run to the WalMarts. Which happened to coincide with retail packs of 2026 Topps (Series 3) Update, hitting the shelves. In the hours leading up to this, I’d seen the results of several box and pack rips online, and I was whelmed. Not over or under, just whelmed. Having not purchased any cards in a couple months, I splurged on two Hanger Boxes and two Jumbo Packs. My search was narrowed down to one card in the set. 

Tristan Gray.

One of the only members of this Twins story, that I didn’t have a card of.

And I didn’t get one…

2026 Topps Update - Taj Bradley

Taj Bradley wasn’t in either of the first two 2026 Topps series? That’s rather odd…

Taj was the Twins best starting pitcher of the 2026 season, and he also missed a few starts due to injury. One of the boys! For the year, Bradley posted a 12-6 record, with a 3.73 ERA. He started a career high 31 games, throwing 178.1 innings, also a career high. Hits were stingy, with only 142 given up. Walks were a bit high, with 76 of them, but he was able to get out of trouble with 205 strikeouts. Bradley also led the Twins in WAR (4.4), if that’s a stat you buy into.

(I’m not 100% sold on it.)

2026 Topps Update - Connor Prielipp

It was rumored, and almost expected, that Prielipp would end up as a lefty coming out of the bullpen, during Spring Training. His stuff is electric, but there’s a long history of injuries holding him back. Minnesota drafted him in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft, as he was recovering from Tommy John Surgery. He only threw 6.2 innings in all of 2023, only 23.1 innings in 2024, and 82.2 innings in 2025. Starting 2026 with the St. Paul Saints, he threw 18.2 innings with a 1.93 ERA. Holding the opposition to 11 hits and 9 walks, striking out 25. 

The Twins needed a starter in mid-April, and Prielipp got the call. He pitched good enough to earn a second start, then he stayed in the rotation for the (pretty much) the rest of the season. Because of his unprecedented workload, the Twins tried to give him extra rest at times, and he barely pitched in July. But as the season was ending, Prielipp was still showing encouraging improvement. Making the adjustments needed, as the league adjusted to him.

His 2026 MLB pitching line isn’t all that great, only a 6-7 record, and a 4.87 ERA. Considering all of the time he’s missed due to injury, starting 22 games (and two 5 inning relief appearances), and throwing 125.2 innings, is the biggest news here. He also struck out 128 batters, and gave up less than a hit per inning (118). Giving up 44 walks is little high, but the numbers are very encouraging for improvement as he gains experience.

Health permitting, Connor Prielipp has a chance to be very good.

Keeping with the theme of rookie left-handed starting pitchers… 

2026 Topps Update - Kendry Rojas

Kendry Rojas made his major league debut in relief of Connor Prielipp, against the New York Mets. While Prielipp didn’t go back to St. Paul, Rojas did. Then he came back and went back, got hurt, and stayed in St. Paul. Rojas, like Prielipp, has been slowed by injuries, but there’s a lot of talent in his left arm. And he’s only 23 years old. Combining his four stints with Minnesota, he went 1-1, with a tidy 3.34 ERA. Appearing in 12 games, starting 4 of them, he totaled only 29.2 innings. Rojas misses bats, giving up only 23 hits and striking out 34. However, 22 walks is too high to be sustainable. So there’s work to be done…

Unless he can really hone his control, a bullpen role may be Kendry’s future. You see his 100+ mph fastball, and images of our own version of Aroldis Chapman closing games for the Twins, enter your mind… The talent of Kendry Rojas is intriguing enough that I don’t hate on the Louie Varland trade as much as most Twins fans. I didn’t like it, but Rojas is a very intriguing prospect. 

The Kendry Rojas card surprised me. Topps/MLB’s rules of what current rookies can appear in which Topps series has -and likely always will- confuse me. Hadn’t seen this card in any of the posted pack-rip pictures, so I wasn’t expecting him in the set. Great, I planned on including him, but had no Kendry cards, Twins or Blue Jays.

There are four cards in the 2026 Topps Update set, of Twins starting pitchers. These three, plus Mick Abel. I didn’t get a Mick Abel card in my packs, but later saw one online. Looks almost exactly like Taj Bradley’s card. All four pitchers are photographed in the early “Drop and Drive” segment of their delivery. Prielipp and Rojas were likely from the same game. That’s become a huge problem with Topps. Not every photo needs to be an action photo. Mix it up. All four cards look too similar to stand out from anything. 

When that is every card from every team in every pack, I stop wanting to look at them, very quick. Pitchers pitching and batters batting. I was already sick of looking at these cards before I finished the second pack. Between my four packs, I got triples of 7 cards. From a total purchase of cards totaling less than half of the base set. Driving home, I wrote the 2026 Topps Update purchase off as another “buying a story” story. Quickly scrapped that idea after looking at these cards.

No plans to buy any more.

Oh well, I have three 2026 Topps Update Nolan Arenado Arizona Diamondbacks base cards now…

2023 Donruss - Mick Abel

Because I found no Abel in those packs, I had to use this crappy 2023 Donruss card for this story. It was the only Abel card I could find, without digging out my sorted Phillies cards, from the bottom of a six Monster Box pile up. Just wasn’t worth the effort. Abel has no presence in the Top Loader boxes, so nothing available there. Pretend I have a Superfractor, if the base Donruss card is such a let down.

Mick Abel was great in 2026 Spring Training, and given the 5th starter spot in the rotation to start the season. He made a relief appearance in his first game, because of MLB’s first week scheduled off days. It didn’t go well. His first start of the year, also didn’t go well. However, his next 2 starts were 6 shutout innings against the Detroit Tigers, followed up by 7 scoreless against the Boston Red Sox. Looked like he put it together and is going to become the budding ace, the Twins need.

Then he got hurt. Minnesota put him on the Injured List, with a seemingly minor elbow injury. Abel was on his way back to the Twins rotation, but the elbow flared up again while rehabbing with the St. Paul Saints, in June. Resulting in a arthroscopic clean-up surgery. No structural damage was found in his elbow, but his 2026 season was over. For the year, he went 1-2, with a 3.98 ERA. He pitched in four games with the Twins, starting 3, for a total of 20.1 innings. Allowing 22 base hits, 10 walks, and striking out 23. Mick Abel is expected to be fully healthy by Spring Training 2027.

Before moving on, I have to mention another (brief) member of the 2026 rotation, who has no cards that I own. The Twins shaky starting rotation showed signs of falling apart completely in May and June. Simeon Woods-Richardson was terrible and then gone. Lopez was already out. Abel, Ober and Bradley were having injury issues to varying degrees, and the Twins needed someone to step up and do something. They rolled the dice on 25 year old Mike Parades, out of AA Wichita. He wasn’t excelling, his ERA was approaching 8, in double A. And when he came to Minnesota, he wasn’t great. But he was a great band-aid. Pitching just well enough to allow our spare parts bullpen to somewhat settle. Providing the Twins with several decent 4 and 5 inning starts, without blowing up, until the veterans retuned. And that was exactly what they needed at the time. 

Then Mike Parades got hurt in July, and missed the rest of the season…

Nice hair!

2024 Topps Heritage - Dean Kremer - SP

Surprised that I had a recent Dean Kremer card. Had he not been a short print in 2024 Topps Heritage, I probably wouldn’t have kept it. Kremer was a needed July Trade Deadline pickup from the Baltimore Orioles. He was the odd man out of their rotation, and hadn’t pitched very well after returning from his own injuries. But he’d been a perfectly acceptable starting pitcher for last four seasons. Not a star, but not a schlub. The same pitcher that gets moved at the July Deadline, for a low-level lottery ticket prospect. 

For this example, the Twins sent 19 year old outfielder, Jhomnardo Reyes, to the Baltimore Orioles, for Dean Kremer. Now, Kremer pitched better for Minnesota than anyone expected, going 4-1, with a 3.48 ERA, in 54.1 innings (10 games started). He gave up only 36 hits, walked 18, and struck out 48. As a bonus, he’s also under team control through the 2027 season. So we can lock in another mid-rotation piece, for about $8 million. (Coincidentally what Bailey Ober is projected…)

Which made this a good trade, however, the X-factor is how Jhomnardo Reyes develops. There’s a non-zero chance we gave up a great talent in the Kremer trade. While not likely, there are hints in Reyes’ stat line that he could be a star. Reyes’ numbers in the Rookie level, Florida Coast League were .296/.409/.541, over 49 games. Showing power, speed, walks, without an extreme number of strikeouts. However, he didn’t hit well in a quick 7 games at Low A Fort Myers, just before the trade. Baltimore assigned Reyes to their Low A affiliate in Delmarva, MD, after acquiring him. He played in 28 games to finish out the season, hitting just .217/.325/.245. His walks were down, and his power was gone. Granted he was only 18 while playing in Delmarva, and the chance of his game not advancing further, is likely. But he could also put it all together, and in five years, the Twins are haunted by a new name joining David Ortiz and Louie Varland. 

The curse of Jhomnardo!

At least it sounds cool…

2025 Topps Chrome Black - David Festa - Blue Refractor

David Festa last pitched for the Twins on July 21, 2025. Various shoulder injuries, setbacks and surgeries have cost Festa a lot of time, and possibly his career. He may never be back as the promising young starting pitcher he was becoming in 2024-25, but if his recovery from thoracic outlet syndrome is a success (always questionable after that procedure), he may be able to play role in the bullpen. If he can come back at all.

2026 Optic - Riley Quick - Green Velocity

Minnesota’s top pitching prospect has been promoted aggressively by the Twins, based more on his talent than results. Our Competitive Balance 1st Round Pick (36th overall) in the 2025 MLB Draft, had been praised with a “possible ace” tag, going into the draft. But there were past injury and future control issues, causing his stock to fall to the Twins. 

Quick was shut down by Minnesota, after the draft, so he didn’t pitch professionally until 2026. Starting off in Low A Fort Myers, he pitched 8 innings over three games. Giving up only 1 hit, three walks and 13 strikeouts. Moved quickly to High A Cedar Rapids, IA, for another 41.1 innings, this time posting a 4.14 ERA, with 61 strikeouts. Good luck didn’t follow to AA Wichita, KS. He pitched 9 games, for 32.1 innings, but allowed 34 hits and 22 walks, against (only) 36 strikeouts. His AA Earned Run Average was a bloated 6.68. 

But Quick won’t turn 23 until next April, and his 2026 totals include 81.2 innings, giving up 66 hits, 48 walks, with 110 strikeouts, show a lot of promise. As well as command issues that will need to be improved. There’s a lot to like in Quick, and it’s understandable why the Twins refused to discuss him in 2026 Trade Deadline negotiations. The Angels asked for both Quick and Walker Jenkins, when the Twins inquired about shortstop Zach Neto. 

What a disaster trade that would have been… Even if Quick can’t get out of AA.

Have to say, with the upper 60’s temperature, the slightest wind bowing in from right field, the nearly full moon above it, and the half-full stadium… Tonight has the perfect conditions for sitting outside, watching a game.

I don’t miss the Metrodome.

******

Now it’s time to take a look around the 2026 Twins infield.

An infield so mismatched, it was complexly revamped after the first two months of the season.

“Combined with his father, they have accounted for 4674 strikeouts on the mound.” 

Yeah, and only one of them has ever struck out Shohei Ohtani… Take that Rocket!

This plate appearance resulted in a line drive single to right field, scoring Luke Keaschall from second. 

2026 Topps Heritage - Kody Clemens

Kody Clemens was named by local media as the 2026 Twins MVP. I can see it. He played 145 games, mostly at first or second base, but filled in in the outfield as needed. And did a good job defensively wherever he played. Coming to the plate a total of 583 times, he produced a .239/.298/.460 line, with 27 home runs and 81 RBI. He also contributed 10 stolen bases, and somewhat surprisingly, led the American League in Triples, with 7. Negatives on his season were only 39 walks and 127 strikeouts. The low batting average doesn’t scream MVP-worthy, but on this team, it doesn’t put him that far below the other contenders. 

“Last year, became a published author, partnering with literacy startup, Ello, on his children’s book ‘What Color is the Sky?’”

I didn’t know that about Josh Bell. 

That’s pretty cool.

2020 Topps Sleeve Patch - Josh Bell

Signed for a bargain $7 million to serve as the Twins Designated Hitter, and occasional first baseman. Until it was pretty well understood that he shouldn’t be at first base with any regularity. Which is fine, they paid him to hit, and he did a good job all around. He stayed healthy, appearing in 154 games and taking a career-high 631 plate appearances. His line of .255/.319/.419 wasn’t remarkable, but he proved to be the clutch hitter the Twins have been lacking (beyond a healthy Buxton). Bell’s 96 RBI led the Twins, off 21 home runs and simple base hits with runners on.

None of that matters because Josh Bell stole his first base since the 2018 season! Not just one, but TWO!  He wasn’t caught stealing all season either! There’s the true value!

2024 Topps 2023 Greatest Hits - Royce Lewis

Seems like so long ago now…

Royce Lewis hasn’t been the potential superstar he was when he came into the league, since 2023. I think that all of the injuries have taken their toll on his body. He’s played not bad enough to be terrible, just not good and declining. Perhaps a change of scenery would be best for both parties. Give Royce a fresh start somewhere else and see what happens. Maybe trade him to the Angels, close to where he grew up. I just don’t see him breaking out of this while he’s here.

Not even two months into the season, he lost his everyday third base job, because his hitting hadn’t yet started the season. On May 17th, Lewis was batting .163/.261/.279. Trying to break his 2026 season opening slump, the Twins sent him to AAA on May 18th.

Laura, her nephew and I went to Saints game, and watched Royce Lewis play third base for St. Paul. He slugged a massive home run to left-center field. It was his 4th home run in four games with the Saints. He destroyed AAA pitching for 15 games before going back to the Twins. His time in St. Paul put up a .333/.403/.900 line -yeah, a .900 slugging percentage- with 10 home runs and 22 RBI, in those 15 games.

Seems the demotion may have kickstarted him? 

Temporarily… Royce lost the third base job to Brooks Lee, and came back as a first baseman. After a crash course in learning the position on the fly, he was adequate. Definite growing pains, but he did make some great defensive plays. At the plate, the last two months of the season was more of Royce Lewis grounding out, popping out, surprise home run and more strikeouts than any contending team could allow.

For the 2026 season, his line was .227/.287/.380, with 15 home runs, 16 stolen bases, 57 RBI, 38 walks, and 130 strikeouts. This was over 125 games and 509 plate appearances. Something that jumped out at me was the 16 stolen bases. I didn’t realize he ran that often. More shocking, he was only caught stealing once.

Which is why I’m not certain you should give up on him yet. I don’t know where he plays on the 2027 Twins. I’d hope for an upgrade at first base, and Royce isn’t suited for a utility role. He’s been in the organization since going 1st overall in the 2017 MLB Draft, and there’s still talent there. Someone’s going to make a decision on his Twins future shortly, and I don’t know which way they’re leaning. It’s not an easy call.

2024 Bowman Sterling - Brooks Lee

Lee was given the shortstop job after the July 2025, Carlos Correa trade. He was below average there last season, and worse this year. When Royce Lewis was sent to AAA, Brooks shifted to third base and found his home. His defense was improved so much by the position move, he finished in the top 3 for the American League Gold Glove Award at third base. No one saw that coming…

Brooks also took big strides at the plate, achieving career highs across the boards. Leading the Twins with 156 games played and 631 plate appearances, Lee’s 2026 line was .253/.286/.428, with 24 home runs, 8 stolen bases and 83 RBI. 37 walks were still far too low, but 102 strikeouts is very reasonable number. I look forward to what full year of Brooks Lee at third base, in 2027. I think there’s more room for those numbers to grow, as he gets more comfortable in the league. He’ll only be 26, and in his third full season, next year.

“His go-to cheat meal would be a In-N-Out Burger. Closest one to here, is in Colorado.”

And it showed up after we moved out of state. Not yet open, when we had to pack up and flee for lower ground. I’d really like to try it, compared some other regional fast food chain burgers I’ve tried. See what all the hype is about.

Somehow I doubt it would be better than Griff’s…

2023 Stadium Club - Ryan Kreidler - Members Only

Pulled this card from a retail Blaster, shortly after the set came out. Supposedly they’re pretty rare. Since it was a rookie card, I was excited to get a rare parallel rookie card. Of course it would be of a weak-hitting middle infielder… Not much breakout potential here, so the best chance this card had of becoming important to me, was if Kreidler would play for the Twins.

Well, that happened, and this card was rewarded by being scanned.

Kreidler was as advertised. An excellent defensive shortstop that really can’t hit much. But with Brooks Lee taking over third, the Twins needed a strong defensive shortstop, and it didn’t matter too much if he hit. And he didn’t do that very often, posting a .218/.300/.379 line, in 105 games, but only 267 plate appearances. Hit did pop 8 home runs, and had 29 RBI’s, but his real value was defense. Both at short, and filling in for Buxton, in center.

“Growing up, watched VHS tapes with baseball games or highlights and later watched Ripken baseball DVDs. Ask your parents what VHS means.”

Thanks for making me feel old, Twins scoreboard note-writer…

2017 Bowman Chrome 1992 Chrome - Orlando Arcia

Signed to a minor league deal prior to the start of Spring Training, strictly for infield depth. Arcia spent parts of 2025 with the Braves and Rockies, but wasn’t hitting anything, and his defense at short was already suspect. You’d know things went south if he appeared on the Twins major league roster as a shortstop. So of course, he was called up in May, and spent a month playing a very weak shortstop. Though his hitting wasn’t too awful… He got 50 plate appearances, over 19 games, and batted .271/.300/.354. The younger brother of former Twin Oswaldo Arcia, did hit a home run with the Twins, accounting for one of his two RBI’s!

As mentioned, I didn’t get a Tristan Gray card out of my 2026 Topps Update packs. I don’t think I have his 2024 Topps Series 2 base card, and I didn’t feel like looking for it. Gray is a 30 year old journeyman, who played a handful of games with the Rays, A’s and Marlins. Minnesota sent him out for 66 games (188 plate appearances), and got a .225/.267/.324 line out of it. 4 home runs weren’t enough to save his overall numbers.

Gray was waived by the Twins, the day after the 2026 World Series ended.

2026 Bowman Chrome - Kaelen Culpepper - Laser Refractor

All of these poor shortstop fill-in options were not the plan. Brooks Lee would open the season at short, and hold the position until #2 ranked prospect Kaelen Culpepper was ready to take over. But an unexpected delay popped up, when Culpepper was hurt and missed nearly two months with the Saints. His time in St. Paul (74 games) was exactly what the Twins were expecting. Producing a .271/.367/.478 line, with 14 home runs, 46 RBI and 17 stolen bases. His defense alone made him the best shortstop option for the Twins, and his offense was holding steady. 

He finally got the call to join the Twins in early August, and received a 33 game audition. Culpepper showed he could hit major league pitching, putting up a .274/.328/.393 line, with 3 home runs and 11 RBI’s. Defensively, he’s who I want to see opening the 2027 season at short. Seems like Twins management agrees.

Although that my be a short lived stay…

22 year old shortstop prospect, Marek Houston, was named Twins Prospect of the Year, by Baseball America. Minnesota’s first round pick (16th overall) in the 2025 MLB Draft, was heralded as a potential Gold Glove fielding shortstop, but has questions if his bat will develop enough to keep a starting job. I wondered at the time if we basically drafted Ryan Kreidler… However, his season and half in the Twins minor league system, Houston has shown he may become a productive hitter down the line. For 2026, he split the season between High A Cedar Rapids and AA Wichita, putting up a combined .312/.392/.455 line in 116 games, hitting 12 home runs and driving in 60. Houston also stole 50 bases, showing unexpected speed and base running potential. Questions about his bat eased with him drawing 61 walks, with only 108 strikeouts in 554 plate appearances.

Chances are Houston could be ready by mid-season 2027, which would most likely shift Culpepper to second base. A Brooks Lee, Marek Houston, Kaelen Culpepper infield would look really good with a power hitting first baseman. Something this organization does not have. 

******

Moving to the Outfield

2026 saw a season-long transitional turnover in the outfield, taking place as the infield was busy playing musical chairs. Setting up a 2027 Twins outfield that should be one of the more dynamic and athletic, Minnesota has seen since the Metrodome days.

2020 Panini Spectra - Byron Buxton - Jersey

Byron Buxton isn’t going anywhere, nor should he. Given his track record, we know that he’s going to be one of our best hitters, and he’s also going to miss significant time. Buxton’s seasons are cut into thirds. One third is played at an elite superstar level. One third is him playing through a nagging injury, sapping his production, but he keeps playing. One third is him just plain out with an injury. Sucks, but it is what it is. At least his contract is set up to reflect this unfortunate reality.

For 2026, Buxton played in 93 games. At least 40 of those games saw him slowed by a hip injury that he tried to play through. It sapped both his speed and his power, and finally ended his season in Sacramento. Buxton couldn’t bend down to pick up a ball rolling toward the center field wall. He came out of the game and shut it down after that game. He underwent surgery in September, and should be ready by Spring Training. If/when that happens, CBA Lockout permitting. If he’s not fully healed by then, it makes you wonder why the Twins allowed him to play when he was clearly hurt. Instead of shutting him down, to have the surgery sooner.

In 408 plate appearances, Buxton hit .254/.319/.511, with 25 home runs, 46 RBI’s, and 7 stolen bases. Numbers that are way down from when he was first hurt in June. At that point, he was on pace for close to 50 home runs. 

Sad that we never got to see what a completely healthy Byron Buxton could do on the field.

At any point in his career.

2021 Topps Chrome - Trevor Larnach - Pink Wave Refractor

Trevor Larnach has been a mismatched piece on this roster for a couple of years now. He hasn’t hit well enough to be a starter, but he keeps starting games because he may hit well. To his credit, he changed his approach this season and reached career highs in Batting Average (.269), On Base Percentage (.352) and Slugging Percentage (.436). Problem being, he’s a poor defender and left-handed hitter. One of far too many left-handed hitting, poor defensive corner outfield/first base types the Twins have filled their rosters with, over the last few seasons.

Larnach is entering his final season of team control in 2027, via salary arbitration. Nothing at all against Larnach, but I’d like to see him on a different team, in 2027. His skill set is easily replaceable by incoming prospects, and the $8 million salary the Twins would have to pay him, would have far better use elsewhere. He was almost traded to Houston in July, but Astors ownership nixed the trade. Perhaps they’d be interested this winter?

2023 Finest - Matt Wallner

Minnesota did pull the plug on Forest Lake native, Watching Wallner became painful. He just quit hitting. I once called him “a cheaper Joey Gallo”, and Wallner lived up to that. His partial seasons of 2023 and 2024 were very promising, with OPS totals of .877 and .894. That OPS fell to .776 in 2025, and was at .551 on May 13th, 2026. He was sent to St. Paul, the next morning. His last 8 plate appearances for the Twins resulted in 8 strikeouts, and was abutted in the field. The Twins never recalled him for the rest of the season. His 2026 totals with the Twins: 34 games, 135 plate appearances, .167/.259/.292, 4 home runs, 10 RBI’s, with 10 walks, and an unsustainable 53 strikeouts.

Wallner went down to AAA, a few days before he was joined by Royce Lewis. Unlike Lewis, who was only in St. Paul for 10 games, Wallner spent the rest of the season as a Saint. He played in 94 games, batting 413 times, which led to a .254/.366/.520 line. He slugged 25 home runs, driving in 75. He even stole 9 bases! Continuing his career trends, he drew 50 walks, but struck out 115 times.

Those numbers show that he destroyed bad AAA pitching. However, a deeper dive reveals he was still completely overmatched by good AAA pitching. He really couldn’t hit velocity over 95mph. And you’re going to see a lot of higher velocity pitching in the major leagues. Just as bad major league pitching is still better than good AAA pitching, it tells you that Matt Wallner didn’t improve in the areas the Twins needed him to improve. Major League pitchers figured him out, and he couldn’t make the adjustments. Sure, he’ll crush a slower mistake pitch, but hurt the team against even average major league pitching.

Some team will sign him, but I think it’s safe to say Matt Wallner won’t be with the Twins in 2027.

2024 Topps Chrome - Austin Martin - Refractor

I’m not sure if Austin Martin has a role on the 2027 Minnesota Twins either… He showed real improvement from 2024 to 2025, then regressed in 2026. He’s fine defensively in left or right field, but has zero power (3 home runs and 17 doubles in 358 plate appearances) and stopped hitting for average, this spring. When Matt Wallner was demoted to AAA, Martin was given the starting right field job. He’d began the 2026 on a tear, and was batting .327/.448/.416, on May 13, 2026. He finished the season at .228/.341/.315. Hard to see him getting as much playing time, unless the incoming prospects fail spectacularly.

Don’t know if he still does, but Martin lived in the new apartment tower, just beyond left field’s Budweiser shrine. In 2024, he commented in an interview how he liked it because he could just walk across the street to work. 

2025 Topps - Alan Roden

Roden was the other half of the return in the widely hated Louie Varland trade. And in traditional Twins fashion, they had no place for Roden to play. Because they re-signed Trevor Larnach, and played Matt Wallner, and then Roden got hurt. By the time he was healthy again, Luke Keaschall solidified the right field chaos. They didn’t trust Roden in center, and Trevor Larnach was still playing left. Then the prospects came up, and he got even less time. In total, Roden played in 32 games with the Twins (and a bunch more in St. Paul), stepping up to the plate 94 times, and producing a decent .291/.376/.392 line. Only 1 home run and 14 RBI, but the 12 walks against only 12 strikeouts, are encouraging.

If the Twins were going into 2027 with an outfield consisting of the above listed players, we’d be in severe trouble. But just as the infield has some promising new names staking claim to long unstable positions, the outfield looks even better.

The New Core?

2025 Topps - Luke Keaschall - Pink Diamonte

Keaschall opened the year as the Twins second baseman, and he was very bad… Finally the Twins had enough, and at the end of June, Keaschall was now the right fielder. Austin Martin stopped hitting and was moved back to the bench. Initially, Keaschall was pretty poor in right field, but improved to the point where he wasn’t terrible. They learned their lesson in not pushing their luck, when Keaschall was a disaster in center field, after Buxton’s initial injury. Though, if Larnach is gone next year, I think Keaschall would be better in left field.

“With no games to play in 2020, Luke created a home gym out of telephone poles in his backyard. Very Rocky-like.”

One thing Keaschall’s 2026 season -and second consecutive strong season- at 23 years old, he is definitely a building block for the organization. He started slow at the plate, batting around .210 at the end of April. From there, he figured things out and slowly pulled his numbers up to well above average. Excelling once placed in the leadoff spot, he stole 20 bases. A total that will likely increase as he goes on. He played in 152 games, made 620 plate appearances, and posted a line of .282/.374/.407. Adding 10 HR and 52 RBI, with 59 walks, and a reasonably low total 87 strikeouts.

He’s also become a favorite among Twins fans.

I hear the girls think he’s “dreamy”.

2024 Bowman Chrome - Walker Jenkins - 1999 Anniversary

Already looking forward to next years crop of official Walker Jenkins rookie cards. Which I’ll be purchasing off the ebays, instead of chasing in packs…

Had it not been for a shoulder injury, Jenkins would have made his major league debut, months before late August. In some sort of Ironic twist, he hurt his shoulder running into a wall. Costing him the opportunity to replace an injured Twins outfielder, famous for getting hurt running into walls. (Well he used to… That hasn’t happened in a few years now…) Either way, the Twins scrambled to find an adequate replacement in center field, during Buxton’s absence. Jenkins not being available caused Keaschall to embarrass himself in center. Moved Kody Clemens to center in an emergency (and he wasn’t bad). Moved Ryan Kreisler to center, leaving a gaping hole at shortstop… 

You get the idea.

“His favorite karaoke song is Tequila because it does not have many words.”

Minnesota’s First Round pick (5th overall) in the 2023 MLB Draft, is probably the best Twins prospect since Byron Buxton, in 2015. Jenkins had nothing left to prove in AAA, after returning from his shoulder boo-boo. He played 69 games with the Saints, making 307 plate appearances, hitting .308/.407/.532. He slugged 12 home runs, driving in only 28, as he only hit leadoff for the Saints. He did steal 17 bases, so there’s speed in his arsenal. Jenkins drew 42 walks and only struck out 48 times. So he’s got some advanced plate discipline for a 21 year old.

He stumbled fierce coming out of the gate, batting something like 4 for 50, over his first 16 games in the majors. He was batting .089/.212./.200, and looked like his approach was falling apart. Then the Twins went on a 7 game, west coast road trip, and he caught fire. After those 7 games, Jenkins overall numbers improved to .222/.300/.417, thanks to back-to-back 3 hit games and 3 home runs over the 7 game road trip. Jenkins’ 26 game introduction to the major leagues produced a line of .226/.293/.393, with 4 home runs, and 10 RBI’s. He took 7 walks, and 19 strikeouts, over 93 plate appearances. 

You can pencil him in for left field next year. And center, when Buxton isn’t available. Or he’s just getting needed rest. It will be nice to finally have a Buxton replacement, that is almost Buxton.

Jenkins isn’t the only Twins outfield top prospect looking to make a name for himself…

“On September 1, 2026, Rodriguez hit for the cycle at Triple-A St. Paul.”

Just another reason why Emmanuel Rodriguez remains one of the Twins top prospects, which he has been for the last five years. Problem is, much of those last five years have been lost to various injuries. (We can’t have a top prospect who isn’t slowed by injuries…) So much so, that he was already out of options, before making his major league debut. Now he has to stay on the Twins 26 man roster major league roster, or be exposed to waivers. Where any team could claim his contract, and the Twins lose him for nothing. He’s only 23 years old, we’d have zero chance at not losing him.

2025 Choice - St. Paul Saints - Emmanuel Rodriguez

A few weeks into the Saints 2026 season, Rodriguez made the mistake of sliding head-first into first base, messing up his thumb and missing close to three months. Which was precious developmental time missed, given his option situation. He did play in 49 games for St. Paul. Coming to the plate 220 times, posting a line of .262/.414/.500, with 11 home runs, 33 RBI’s, and 7 SB. He drew 42 walks, and struck out 58 times. Once he was healthy, the Twins called him up to take a look at him facing major league pitching.  

In 13 games with the Twins, he batted .178/.229/.400, with 2 home runs (including a home run in his first major league plate appearance), and 5 RBI’s. He drew only 3 walks and struck out 16 times, in 48 plate appearances. If he’s just established a floor, his play showed enough promise that I would give him a roster spot, and just let him play until he proved he couldn’t. I think the Twins believe in him enough, that the will do just that. Emma is too talented to fail completely, and you’d regret him putting it together in a different uniform.

He brings a dynamic presence to the game, including making this incredible catch in tonight’s game, likely robbing a home run. His play popped the crowd huge, and you could tell if he plays well at all, he’s going to be a fan favorite in Minnesota.

A couple other Twins outfield prospects that could appear in a few games in 2027…

2024 Bowman - Gabriel Gonzalez

The Twins acquired Gonzalez in the 2024 Jorge Polanco trade, and he’s hit pretty well in St. Paul. Posting a .255/.324/.421 line, with 16 home runs and 55 RBI’s. Gonzalez got into 7 games with the Twins, coming to the plate only 11 times. His small sample size line was .250/.455/.250, which really isn’t much to go on. He won’t start for the Twins, but could serve as a 4th or 5th outfielder. He’s a right-handed batter, which helps because that’s something the Twins haven’t put much effort into signing in recent years.

2022 Topps Pro Debut - Hendry Mendez

Mendez came to the Twins from Philadelphia (who got him from Milwaukee a couple years ago) in the Harrison Bader trade, during the July 2025 fire sale. He hasn’t made the major leagues yet, and has been playing games at first base more, showing what the Twins think of his future value. In 102 combined games at AA Wichita and AAA St. Paul, Mendez batted .281/.377/.411, with 12 home runs and 53 RBI, over 437 plate appearances between the upper levels of the farm system. Taking 53 walks against 73 strikeouts is an encouraging sign as well.

******

And that’s all fine and good, but I know the reason you’re still reading this boring list is because you want to know who won tonight’s Mascot Race!

You have Louie the Loon, Babe the Blue Ox, Wanda the Walleye, Gracie Grey Duck and Spot the Target Dog. All taking their starting positions on the left field warning track…

After about a minute or so, this group of mismatched mascots floppily jog-walk their way to an arbitrary finish line, set up in the right field foul territory. Looks like Gracie is going to win, several lengths ahead of Target’s corporate mascot. Poor Babe has barely made it to Kwik Trip. While he’s there, he should pick up a six pack of Glazer donuts. They’re really good, but only if they’re fresh.

Indeed, Gracie Grey Duck won the race!

As a prize, she get to pinch run for a slow catcher, in the 8th inning!

Not really…

******

What About Those Catchers?

Before taking a look at Minnesota’s catching options for 2027, there’s a doppleganger on the scoreboard. 

“Jake is a big Marvel fan, especially including Wolverine and Psylocke. Probably has tickets already to ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ this December”

Well, what do you have to say to that, Super A’s Fan Rob?

“What a nerd.”

Man… What if Jake Burger ends up being a cheap answer for Minnesota at first base next year? I’d really hope we’d be aiming for better, but this is still a team owned by the Pohlad family…

As the umpire emphatically calls an unknown Twins batter out on strikes. A metaphor for the Twins making this sort of move to address a need, after all that tough talking…

Ryan Kreidler?

2026 Topps Heritage Chrome - Ryan Jeffers - Refractor

Ryan Jeffers has been the Twins primary catcher since the 2021 season. Not the best defensively, but one of the better offensive catchers in the game today. He’s also a free agent, and has priced himself out of Minnesota’s budget. Likely to get a multi-year offer from som big market team looking for a quality backstop. (The Yankees have been interested in him for years.) Jeffers missed two months with a broken Hamate bone in his wrist, but still played on 92 games for the Twins. His offense was affected by the injury, and he didn’t hit as well after coming back from being hurt. Still, his 2026 line of .256/.353/.461, with 14 home runs and 56 RBI’s was still great when compared to his catching peers.

So, if/when Jeffers leaves for greener pastures, who is lined up to replace him?

2026 Topps Update - Victor Caratini

Yeah… We’re in trouble…

For the second time in four years, Minnesota vastly overpaid for a backup catcher. Four years ago, we gave a ridiculous 3 year, $30 million contract to Christian Vazquez. Before last season, we gave another ridiculous two year $20 million contract to Caratini. We just don’t learn. The idea was, he’d back up Jeffers in 2026, then move to the starting spot after Jeffers leaves. 

And that’s a problem. In 106 games (382 plate appearances), Caratini hit only .220/.312/.315, with 7 home runs and 44 RBI. While not terrible, he looked very old, both behind the plate and while standing at it. Early on, the Twins abandoned all ideas of playing him as a backup first baseman. There wasn’t enough offense or defense to make that move pay off. But we’re paying him $10 million in 2027, so hopefully we can get something out of him.

2015 Bowman Chrome Prospect Profiles - Alex Jackson

Nothing against Alex Jackson, but his place on the 2026 Twins roster was much of what was wrong with the 2026 Minnesota Twins. After the 2025 season, we traded a non-prospect (Peyton Eeles) to the Baltimore Orioles, for Jackson. At first, he was scheduled to back up Jeffers, until Caratini was signed to be the back up catcher. Jackson -and his $1.35 million salary- had to pass through waivers, in order to go to St. Paul, but he cleared.

He was re-added to the 40 man roster on May 19th, after Ryan Jeffers Hamate injury. Coincidentally, the same day Royce Lewis was sent to St. Paul. Jeffers returned in early July, and Jackson stayed on the roster as a third catcher. Who didn’t play very often… However, there was a possibility of Jeffers getting traded at the end of July, so it kind of made sense to not risk losing Jackson on waivers, at that time. 

Well, Jeffers wasn’t traded, and Jackson still wasn’t playing. At the same time, the Twins desperately needed help in the outfield, with Buxton hurt. Fans were calling for Walker Jenkins to be called up, because it only made perfect sense. Finally realizing they needed Jackson’s roster spot for a more useful piece, Alex Jackson was designated for assignment when Buxton was activated, on August 13th. The next day, Austin Martin got hurt in a game, and we were down another outfielder. And Buxton clearly wasn’t ready to come back. Again, we really need an outfielder. Walker Jenkins would be perfect right now…

So what do the Twins do?

August 17 - Minnesota Twins select the contract of C Alex Jackson from St. Paul Saints. 

So Jackson cleared waivers and accepted his outright assignment to AAA. No danger of losing Jackson, he’s in St. Paul and off the 40 man roster. Now we really need an outfielder, and we call up a third catcher. TO NOT PLAY!!! Jackson made 4 plate appearances between August 17th and September 21st. What are we doing with the roster? Wouldn’t take much to make a compelling argument that the Twins mis-management of their 26 man active roster, didn’t cost the team 3-4 wins, over the course of the 2026 season.

Of course the Twins realized they didn’t need a third catcher, that never plays, and designated him for assignment again, on September 21st. Once again, Jackson clears waivers and accepts the outright assignment to AAA. And now he’s a minor league free agent. 

All of this for nothing… At least Alex Jackson got paid, and more MLB service time than he could have realistically expected. He appeared in 33 games, making 73 plate appearances. Actually was pretty good at the plate, when he did actually get to take some swings, putting up a respectable .304/.342/.406 line. Only 1 home run and 5 RBI, but it’s to get in a rhythm when you play 1 game a week.

2026 Topps Update - Daniel Susac

Daniel Susac was a member of the Minnesota Twins for less than an hour, on December 10, 2025. 

Susac was the Twins pick (4th) in the 2025 Rule 5 draft. At the time, I liked that pick a lot. Susac was caught in a roster crunch with the A’s, and looked like he could step in and be a quality backup to Ryan Jeffers. (The Twins hadn’t signed Victor Caratini yet). This move made a great deal of sense, and I thought we just drafted our likely backup catcher. About a half hour later, I read the Twins had just traded Daniel Susac to the San Francisco Giants.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s epic run with the Twins, has nothing on Daniel Susac…

Minnesota’s return in the trade was Miguel Caraballo. A 17 year old catcher, signed out of Venezuela. Caraballo batted .229/.366/.412, with 5 home runs, over 166 plate appearances, for the Florida Coast League Twins.

While we’re most likely losing Ryan Jeffers to free agency, We’re also building up quite the stockpile of catching prospects in the lower minors. If we can limp through the 2027 season, with a less than ideal catching platoon, some of our prospects may be ready to take over for the 2028 season.

2026 MLB Draft - Vahn Lackey - Twins

With the graduations of Jenkins, Culpepper and Emma Rodriguez from Minnesota’s top prospect list, Vahn Lackey will become our #1 prospect. (Followed closely by Marek Houston.) Chosen 3rd overall, in the 2026 MLB Draft, the Twins assigned Lackey to Low A Fort Myers (FL), after signing. Three weeks later, he went up to High A Cedar Rapids (IA). In total, Lackey played 15 games in Low A, and 10 games at High A. He came to the plate a combined 124 times, and put up a .250/.435/.424 line, with 3 home runs and 16 RBI’s. He also stole 13 bases, which catches your attention, for a catcher. Drawing 28 walks against a low 24 strikeouts, there’s a lot to like in those numbers. Pre-draft comps for Lackey, were: “A more athletic Buster Posey.”

Sign me up for that!

Very interested to see what Lackey does in 2027. I’d expect him to start in High A, but the Twins could push him to AA Wichita, if they’re serious about fast-tracking him. If he continues to hit, and his game behind the plate adapts, it’s not entirely unreasonable that he could make the big leagues by September. I can imagine the Twins would like to get him up sooner, rather than later, given Lackey’s overall talent, and the Twins overall need.

2025 Bowman Chrome - Khadim Diaw - Green Lava Refractor - Auto

Diaw stayed healthy for the most part, and posted very solid numbers for the second season in a row. Splitting 2025 between Low and High A, and 2026 was pretty even split between High A and AA. He put up a combined line of .306/.417/.452, with 9 home runs, 47 RBI’s, and 14 stolen bases, over 107 games at these levels. Diaw drew 56 walks, and struck out 71 times. Diaw’s still got a lot of work to do before he could be a starting catcher, but he’s also proven to be a capable center fielder. He’s also proving he is a good hitter, with very useful defensive capabilities. Khadim has shot up the Twins prospect rankings, from 23rd before the season, to #9, after the season. 

I hope he stays with the Twins, but I’d think Diaw would be a very tempting name for other teams to pursue in offseason trades. Now’s not the time to send off prospects for veterans, but I wonder if the current Pohlad might strongly suggest it, in order to make it look like he’s different from the rest of his family.

2026 Donruss - Eduardo Tait

Tait played the entire 2026 season at High A Cedar Rapids, and saw his prospect stock tumble a bit. Still only 20 years old, there’s plenty of time to recover. But a line of .221/.281/.418, with 22 home runs and 73 RBI’s, isn’t setting the league on fire. Tait played in 116 games and batted 520 times, only drawing 35 walks, against 119 strikeouts. He’s still ranked above Khadim Diaw, but I’d take Diaw over Tait today. Probably next year too…

That’s enough about Twins catching prospects. I don’t even feel like covering 2026 second round draft pick, Carson Tinney. I don’t think he’ll stick at catcher, and is more of a long term power hitting, first base prospect, in my mind. But he looks like a hitter.

Tonight I learned there’s a new Target Field between innings deal, where they turn the lights out, so people can wave their cell phone lights. Which you can’t do very well in day games.

This impromptu seance didn’t bring Bray Wyatt back from the dead…

So what else does the scoreboard have to say about some of the Texas Rangers?

Evan Carter - “He started dating his now-wife in sixth grade, but they waited to get married until 2022. Because 11 years old seemed early at the start.”

Well… That’s uh… Something?

Danny Jansen - “Growing up, his family hosted Timber Rattlers, including Adam Jones. Jones was a human baseball player. Though we suppose you could host snakes if you’re into that type of thing.”

Laura read this and said it made no sense. And it doesn’t, unless you know that “Timber Rattlers” is referencing the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, High A minor league baseball team, in Appleton Wisconsin. The name was a re-brand of the old Appleton Foxes franchise. (Famous for all those 1994 Classic Minor League cards of Alex Rodriguez!) Some minor league players live with “host families” during the season. In the early 2000’s, the Jansen family hosted several Timber Rattlers players. Including Adam Jones, who played 14 seasons with the Mariners, Orioles and D-Bags.

It amused me right away, because I got it. I wouldn’t have expected Laura to have known any of the peripheral information. Incidentally, I’ve always been a fan of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers logo…

The D-Bags wish they had come up with something this cool.

******

About That Bullpen

The bullpen was and is the biggest problem with the 2026 Twins roster. Thanks to the July 2025 Fire Sale, Minnesota decimated what had been a strength of the team, their bullpen. And they did all sorts of nothing to address this during the 2025-26 offseason. Relying on waiver wire transactions, and buying minimal contracts from other teams’ discard piles. 

When Tom Pohlad took over and said he expected us to win, while not paying for any bullpen upgrades, it’s no mystery why the fans were pissed and not interested in his rhetoric.

2024 Topps - Louie Varland

Compounding (legitimate) fan anger is the name Louie Varland. The Minnesota native developed into a top level setup relief pitcher, with 5 years of team control left, when he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, for Alan Rodeo and Kendry Rojas. Twins fans had to watch Varland lead the Blue Jays bullpen to the 2025 World Series. Then watch Varland become the American League’s top closer, while the Twins kept running out the worst bullpen in the major leagues, for the first two months of 2026.

The bullpen would improve as new names replaced old, but the name Louie Varland will forever elicit an angry rant, from every Minnesota Twins fan of this era.

Like Ron Davis in reverse… Kinda…

2022 Topps Update - Cole Sands

Cole Sands was the last “veteran” standing in the 2025 Twins bullpen. The only one that wasn’t traded. Opening the 2026 season, he was kind of pencilled in as the default closer. If only because he’d been with the team the longest and there were hints he could grab the role and run with hit. 

But he hurt himself falling flat on his face… (Not really) Actually he hurt his elbow and had arthroscopic surgery, missing most of the season. He pitched in 13 games (12 innings), going 1-1 with a 8.25 ERA. Allowing 15 hits, 5 walks, with 11 strikeouts. 2027 will be his second round of arbitration eligibility, but the Twins may not offer him a contract. It’s unknown how long the elbow issue will keep him out of games, so it may be time to just move on.

2022 Topps - Taylor Rogers - Gold

Speaking of time to move on… Former closer, Taylor Rogers, was brought back on a $2 million contract, to be an actual, functioning, major league relief pitcher. But it appears his best days are behind him. He stayed healthy, pitching in 65 games, with a 6-4 record, and an acceptable 4.33 ERA, over 60.1 innings. But he allowed far too much traffic, 65 hits and 31 walks, with only 54 strikeouts. If Minnesota brings him back for 2027 (a possibility), it can’t be in a key role. As the season wore on, he was barely better than mop-up duty.

Rogers pitched a scoreless 9th inning tonight, on one base hit.

As he walked off the mound, I wondered if I saw his last game…

(I didn’t. He pitched Saturday night.)

2018 Topps Chrome - Anthony Banda - Blue Wave - Auto

Banda has been bouncing around baseball for 10 seasons now. He first came up with the D-Bags in 2017. Between then and now, he’s pitched for the Rays, Giants, Mets, Pirates, Blue Jays, Yankees, Nationals and Dodgers, before a February, 2026, trade to Minnesota (for International Bonus Pool money). Banda and Rogers were the key left-handers in the Opening Day bullpen. His Twins numbers weren’t overly encouraging: 4.46 ERA over 34.1 innings, 31 hits allowed, a high 15 walks, and 33 strikeouts. He pitched okay, similar to Rogers, but Banda threw harder.

Banda strained his lat while pitching against the Rockies, in June. The injury required surgery, which will keep him out until mid 2027. The Twins waived him after the season, so he’s a free agent again. It’s possible they bring him back on a minor league contract, or he continues on to another organization.

2026 Topps - Cody Laweryson

Laweryson wasn’t particularly good, but I liked him. Originally a Twins 14th round draft pick in 2019, he got into a few games in 2025, after the Fire Sale, and pitched ok. He was selected off waivers, by the Angels, after the season. The Angels held onto him until February, 2026, when they released him. He signed back with the Twins a week later. Laweryson pitched in 15 games for us this year, going 1-0, with a 4.86 ERA, off 15 hits, 8 walks, and 18 strikeouts over 16.2 innings. I don’t see him coming back in 2027.

2026 Topps - Travis Adams

Adams was seen as more of a AAA depth pitcher with the Saints, when he became part of the bullpen mess of the post-trade deadline 2025 season. He wasn’t very good, but none of our relief pitchers were. He got a bigger shot in 2026, and showed some improvement. Enough that I’d consider him having a role in the 2027 Twins bullpen. (He’s still a minimum salary, after all.) Between multiple trips to St. Paul, Adams pitched in 40 games, and went 3-0, with a 4.58 ERA. He threw 59 innings, giving up 53 hits and 25 walks, while striking out 62. If he can get those walks down, the rest of his numbers look pretty good.

Kody Funderburk pitched the 7th inning tonight. He gave up a base hit, but didn’t walk anyone and struck out 2. This was one of his good outings, compared to his bad ones. Which still happen too often, but with less frequency as he gains experience.

2024 Stadium Club - Kody Funderburk - Auto

For the 2026 Twins, Funderburk entered 58 games in relief. Going 3-2, with a 3.71 ERA, over 51 innings, giving up 43 hits and  27 walks, striking out 49. For the second straight season, Kody’s lowered his hits per nine, but his walks per nine have gone up each year. His strikeout rate has remain consistent over his career. An interesting stat, that kind of surprised me, is how stingy Funderburk is when it comes to giving up home runs. For his career, he’s faced 613 batters, and only allowed a total of 10 home runs. There’s definitely value in that. 

Even if his mom doesn't think so...

Like Adams, Funderburk will likely have a role in the 2027 Twins bullpen.

Going into the 2026 season, the sentiment coming from the Twins was they could rebuild the bullpen on the fly. Which is true in many cases in baseball history. However, you could have given that concept a better start, and not cost the team multiple wins, by trotting out a parade of pitchers that have no business in a major league bullpen.

2024 Topps Chrome - Yoendrys Gomez

Minnesota purchased the contract of Gomez, from Tampa Bay on May 6, 2026. After parts of three seasons with the Yankees, he spent 2025 and early 2026 with the Dodgers, White Sox and Rays. Always the pitcher on the waiver wire, but sticking on the roster. When it became the Twins turn to try him out, something clicked. Gomez pitched way above his statistics and quickly became the Twins closer. We had no one else capable, and he ran with the opportunity. 

He pitched 56 games with Minnesota, posting a 3-4 record, with a 3.62 ERA, picking up 21 saves for a team that didn’t have a great deal of late leads. Gomez tended to give up a lot of walks, 29 in 49.2 innings. But he limited the damage by only allowing 39 base hits, with 52 strikeouts. Like Funderburk, Gomez just didn’t allow home runs. Only 2 all season. Out of 215 batters faced. That will definitely help you keep a closer’s job.

Look for a step back in 2027, unless he can get those walks under control. But the huge lift Yoendrys Gomez brought to the 2026 Minnesota Twins, can’t be overstated. 

2025 Choice - St. Paul Saints - Andrew Morris

Not long after Gomez solidified the closer role in the bullpen, Andrew Morris came up from St. Paul and became our top set-up man. He fell off later in the season, but was excellent from early June through late August. He pitched 64 games in 2026, with a 4-8 record and a 4.40 ERA. Notching 5 saves, around Gomez rest. In 73.2 innings, he allowed 74 hits and 27 walks, striking out 69. Morris gave up only 5 home runs, against 321 batters faced. Between the last three pitchers I’ve covered, all of them are excellent at keeping the ball in the park. Which is a great foundation for a bullpen.

Andrew Morris will most likely be one of our top set-up relievers in 2027.

Tonights game ended when Taylor Rogers got Danny Jansen to fly out to deep center field, caught by Walker Jenkins. The Twins defeat the Texas Rangers, 10-2. Bringing our record to 76-84. 

And did you two absolutely HAVE to stand up for the next ten minutes, ruining not only my picture of the post game, celebratory team handshake, but irritating me by blocking every picture I wanted to take of the post game, pre-fireworks goings on. They finally sat back down after the fireworks started.

The game lasted 2 hours and 37 minutes. A game where one of the teams scores 10 runs, was always well over three hours, before the pitch clock came into play. Quicker pace made this game much more enjoyable than a 10-2 blowout would have been.

And I sure didn’t see nearly 26,000 people here tonight. I’d have guessed the attendance at around 17,000. 

Cheerleaders are back! Dancing on the dugout, as the star of the game, Luke Keaschall, is interviewed by Audra on the field. Keaschall went 4 for 5, with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI’s. He was on cycle watch, only needing a home run in either of his last two plate appearances. Did steal his 20th base on the season, but it’s not the same thing. No one threw a barrel of Gatorade over him. Kind of disappointed in that.

4:20!

If this game was at Coors Field in Denver, this would’ve popped the crowd.

Possibly a short crowd countdown before it…

Back to the bullpen!

2026 Topps - Tommy Nance

As the bullpen evolved in 2026, a July 6 trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, for Nance was another key move that paid off. We sent them High A third baseman, Ryan Sprock, our 8th round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. Between the two organizations, Sprock hit .300/.422./.469, with 11 home runs and 58 RBI. Sure hope it doesn’t bite us in the future… But we needed Nance in the present. According to stuff said on TV, Byron Buxton was very happy about the trade, since he hated facing Nance. For the Twins, Nance went 2-1 with a 4.05 ERA, in 25 games, for a total of 26.2 innings. He gave up 30 hits and 11 walks, striking out 34. Not spectacular numbers, but a stabilizing piece in the bullpen, when we needed it most.

Nance pitched a scoreless 8th inning tonight, allowing a walk to Wyatt Langford. Quickly erased when Ezequiel Duran grounded into a double play, a few pitches later. Nance will be 36 next season, but eligible for arbitration for the first time, so he won’t cost much. I’d expect him to be in the 2027 bullpen.

2018 Topps Chrome - 1983 Anniversary - A.J. Minter

I was half watching the Dodgers game on the TV, after getting home from work, a few nights before the July (actually August 3rd) 2026 Trade Deadline. It had been background to whatever I was doing, then the Dodgers did something Dodgery that I didn’t want to watch anymore. Just as I was grabbing the remote to change the channel, the guy calling the game says: “I just got breaking news of a trade that just went down…” Okay, I won’t press the button yet. “The New York Mets have traded A.J. Minter to the Minnesota Twins for prospects.”

More importantly, the Twins picked up the remaining $3.5 million of Minter’s contract. A move more eye opening than the trade itself. Minter was great in 25 games for the Twins, going 1-1, with a 2.78 ERA over 22.2 innings. He allowed 19 hits and only 6 walks, striking out 21. He became a free agent after the season ended, but I’d be completely happy if we re-signed him. We definitely need a good lefty in the 2027 bullpen. Better than Funderburk, and a wiser signing than Rogers.

What did we give up?

2024 Bowman Chrome Draft - Billy Amick - Auto

How about our 2nd round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft? The 24 year old Amick was with AA Wichita, batting .217/.338/.482, with 23 home runs and 72 RBI’s. So good power there, but a scary low batting average, with 50 walks and 108 strikeouts, over 379 plate appearances. Again, not great, but interesting. Combined with his AA and AAA stats in the New York Mets organization, Amick totaled .222/.328/.520, with an impressive 38 home runs and 108 RBI’s. But he also struck out 161 times in 533 plate appearances.

We also threw in Bruin Agbayani. A 19 year old outfielder drafted in the 6th round of the 2025 MLB Draft. I’d imagine the Mets requested his inclusion, as he’s the son of former Mets fan-favorite outfielder, Benny Agbayani. He hasn’t yet put up any numbers of note.

0:42!

2018 Topps - 1983 Anniversary - Jeff Hoffman - Gold Auto

After the Houston Astros own nixed the Larnach for Abreu trade, the Twins turned their attention to another high leverage reliever, old friend, Jeff Hoffman. I still remember Jeff Hoffman as the key piece of the return in the shocking July 2015, Troy Tulowitzki Rockies/Blue Jays trade. Also remember Hoffman struggling in every opportunity the Rockies gave him. Going a combined 10-16, with a 6.40 ERA, in 68 games, 38 of which were starts. Between 2016-2020, he pitched 230.2 total innings with Colorado, giving up 267 hits, 107 walks, with 197 strikeouts. 

Hoffman’s luck improved when he moved out of Colorado, and moved to the bullpen full time. After back to back stellar seasons as a set-up man in the Phillies bullpen (taking place immediately after he was released by the Twins, in 2023 Spring Training), he cashed in and signed a 3 year, $33 million contract with the Blue Jays. And we all remember him giving up the game tying home run in the 9th inning of game 7, against the Dodgers in the 2025 World Series. He didn’t lose the game for Toronto, but he did lose the lead, only 2 outs away from winning it…

So you kind of had to know that Toronto may be looking to move on from Hoffman. Especially with the development of -you guessed it- Louie Varland. Hoffman came to Minnesota, to serve as the set-up man for newbie closer, Yoendrys Gomez. And Hoffman did his job exactly as we needed, going 0-1 with a 2.50 ERA in 20 games. He gave up only 9 hits, but did walk 12. However, damage was kept to a minimum, thanks to 27 strikeouts in 18 innings. 

He only notched 1 save with the Twins, but is likely to take over the closer role in 2027. In a move similar to Minter, Minnesota assumed the remainder of Hoffman’s contract, minus his part of his signing bonus. Tom Pohlad signed off on adding a significant amount of salary, in both 2026 and 2027, to acquire him. Regardless of any other factor, that was a rare move in Twins history.

But we potentially gave up a lot…

Headlined by Dasan Hill (shown here in 2026 Spring Training), a 20 year old left-handed starting pitcher, and former 2nd round draft pick (2024). Hill has had control problems since signing, but is an immense talent. In 16 games (all starts) with High A Cedar Rapids, Hill went 1-8, with a 5.80 ERA, in 45 innings. He gave up 41 hits and 37 walks, but struck out 77. 

After the trade, Toronto assigned Hill to High A Vancouver. It’s a small sample size of just 16.1 innings, but he cut his walks per nine, by nearly half. Hits allowed per nine, dropped from 8.2 to 7.9, he continued to not allow home runs, however his strikeouts per nine fell from 15.4 to 11.6. Suggesting that Blue Jays coaches may have found something the Twins were missing. A few tweaks led to notable improvement.

It’s hard to argue the need for bullpen stability, but dealing Dasan Hill has a shot at haunting this franchise. Too bad it has to be with Toronto, already rubbing Louie Varland in our face…

Other, less scary pieces sent to Toronto for Jeff Hoffman…

2024 Bowman Chrome - Dameury Pena - Purple

Light hitting shortstop (.245/.341/.316, 0 home runs in 110 plate appearances), from High A Cedar Rapids.

And Brooklyn Park, MN, native, John Klein. A lower level prospect in AAA St. Paul, that got a cup of coffee with the Twins, pitching 4.1 okay-ish innings in May 2026. 

Hopes are that some of these newer veteran can combine with some prospects seizing their shot at a role in the 2027 bullpen.

2025 Choice - St. Paul Saints - Marco Raya

Marco Raya was name I expected to see more of in 2026. The Twins called up the 23 year old, former 4th round draft pick (2020) in June. He pitched 6 innings and was fine, but suffered a minor shoulder injury. After sitting out for 17 days, he was sent back to St. Paul. He pitched the rest of the year with the Saints, but didn’t get a call back up. His numbers with the Saints don’t look great at first glance (a 5-5 record with a 5.32 ERA), but 7.4 hits per nine, 3.4 walks per nine and 10.2 strikeouts per nine, look pretty good. Giving up home runs have been an issue, but his numbers show that he could have bullpen value in 2027

At least we’ve most likely seen the last of this crew of 2026 Minnesota Twins bullpen… A parade of: “Oh, THAT guy…” Such as… Zak Kent, Austin Voth, Woo-Suk Go, Jack Anderson, Justin Lawrence, Luis Garcia, Garrett Acton, Justin Topa or Eric Orze…

I just can’t bring myself to write about any of them…

Other than something I saw on Reddit, after one particular player’s release:

“Woo-Suk Go is Woo-Suk Gone!”

A roster move worthy of fireworks!

One more thing…

SIT DOWN!!!

The Twins scored 10 runs tonight, but hit only one home run. 

Thank you, Kody Clemens!

One more cool note from tonight’s game…

“Got engaged at the beginning of the year, January 12th!”

Not funny, but informative!

Aaron Sabato’s contract was purchased from the St. Paul Saints, on September 21st. That same day, the Twins remembered that Alex Jackson was still on the roster, and waived him in order to call up Sabato.

2021 Bowman Chrome - Aaron Sabato - Orange Shimmer Refractor - Auto

Minnesota selected Sabato with the 27th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft. He was a big time power hitting first baseman, out of the University of North Carolina. Defensively, he was stuck at first base, but if he could hit enough, his power would carry him. Unfortunately, Sabato didn’t hit. His batting average between 2021 and 2024, A and AA, barely went above .200. Something clicked in 2025, and Sabato batted .305 in 39 AA games, and was promoted to AAA St. Paul. He regressed, but still put up a .245/.288/.453 line in 65 games with the Saints.

Sabato returned to St. Paul for 2026, and put up a decent .273/.349/.528 line, with 25 home runs and 75 RBI’s, in 113 games (470 plate appearances). Twins fans starting rumbling about giving Sabato a chance with the Twins. We needed right-handed power, and with Alex Jackson doing absolutely nothing for over a month, give Sabato a chance!

I was genuinely excited to see an Aaron Sabato plate appearance tonight. Pinch hitting for Ryan Kriedler, in the bottom of the 8th inning, then moving to first base in the top of the 9th. I’d been following his career since he was that 2020 First Round Draft Pick. By 2024, I figured his lack of hitting gave him no chance at ever playing a single game in the major leagues. But he proved me wrong. Sabato worked hard on his game, and the Twins rewarded him with a chance to play in the major leagues.

And I was going to see it in person!

And he struck out on 6 pitches…

The day after the World Series ended, the Minnesota Twins outright Sabato off the 40 man roster. He may re-sign a minor league deal, or sign a minor league deal with another team, or go to Japan or Korea to continue playing. But he did make it. He played in the major leagues. I saw it!

Aaron Sabato did not record a base hit or walk in his 3 games (6 plate appearances) with the Twins. Giving him a rather unfortunate line of: .000/.000/.000. He did strike out 3 times in 6 at-bats. 

YAY!!!

2023 Topps Update Stars of MLB - James Outman

After watching James Outman play (sparingly) parts of two seasons with the Twins. It’s laughable that he was once considered a Star of MLB. His 2023 rookie year was good. But it bares no resemblance to anything he’s done since. Especially his 86 game run in Minnesota… A combined line of .151/.224/.302, with 4 home runs and 10 RBI’s, in 174 plate appearances. 74 of them resulting in strikeouts.

With all sorts of irrational concern over sending him to St. Paul, “Because he won’t clear waivers”, the Twins finally bit the bullet and waived him in early June, 2026. Their worst nightmare were realized when the Detroit Tigers claimed him on waivers. Twins fans rejoiced. James Outman was only slightly better with Detroit (.183/.240/.366). He did hit 5 home runs as a Tiger, which is 5 more than he hit for the Twins in 2026. 

Now let’s never speak of him again.

2023 Bowman Chrome - Kyler Fedko - Auto

The Twins have operated in this weird way of not using one of their roster spots. Calling up minor leaguers that don’t play, instead of letting them try to develop into a role that fits the Twins needs. After a couple seasons of knocking the snot out of the ball, Fedko was called up to sit on the bench for a few weeks. He appeared in 14 games, going up to the plate 19 times, but not getting a hit. He did draw 2 walks, but that was it. He went back to St. Paul, then got hurt. He was released by the Twins in September, and was immediately signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

2026 Topps - Eric Wagaman

Eric Wagaman gets the honor of having a Topps card for a team he never played for. Minnesota traded minor leaguer, Kade Bragg, to the Miami Marlins for Wagaman, thinking he may be a source of cheap power, after a decent season with the fish. But he didn’t make the team out of spring training, and was sent to St. Paul. After hitting next to nothing in 18 games with the Saints, he was claimed off waivers by the New York Mets. Didn’t do much for them either.

YAY!!!

Time to head back to the car…

Target Field’s Gate 34 does look cool at night.

But I don’t know why the lights above the Kirby Puckett statue were turned off.

It’s his Gate after all!

2012 Finest - Liam Hendricks

Liam Hendricks was invited to 2026 Spring Training with the Twins. He had a very good career, after he left the Twins. Hopes were high that he could contribute to the late inning bullpen mix. But he couldn’t handle the early innings of mid-March games, and was cut from the team. He latched on with the Cubs, but after throwing 13.2 scoreless innings at AAA Iowa, he retired.

One more former Twin update!

2017 Topps Chrome - Max Kepler - Negative Refractor

Long time Twins right fielder, Max Kepler, left the Twins after the 2024 season, signing with the Philadelphia Phillies. He was all sorts of not good in Philly, then was popped for an 80 game P.E.D. suspension, after the 2025 season ended. Meaning that he could sign with a new team for 2026, but had to sit out for 80 games, before playing 1 game. Coming off a not good season, this was far from ideal. Not long before the suspension was complete, Kepler signed a one year contract with the Arizona D-Bags.

Even a well-rested, 33 year old, Max Kepler of 2026, couldn’t muster anything close to his Twins peak. In 41 games with Arizona, Kepler hit only .205/.262/.303, with 2 home runs and 15 RBI’s, in 145 plate appearances. Walking 11 times and striking out 32. Having seen enough, Arizona released Kepler on September 8th, 2026. Not even finishing the season with them. However, the days spent on Arizona’s active 26 man roster cleared Kepler of 10 full seasons of MLB service time. Qualifying him for a full pension and other perks that only members of that rare club see. 

So that’s cool for him. 

Though I still hold his stubbornness at helping back up center field, against him.

Before going up the C Ramp to our car, I smoked a cigarette under the unlit Luke Keaschall banner on Target Plaza. Was still a really nice night, and I could see traffic wasn’t clearing the ramp in a hurry, so we weren’t in a rush.

So I walked over for a picture of the Harmon Killebrew statue. 

Which also wasn’t illuminated.

By the time we got up to the car, the 5th level of the ramp was pretty much empty. Much prefer exiting an empty parking ramp, over the brain dead masses making their own rules as they wind their way down to street level.

******

As far as the 2026 Minnesota Twins go, there were two games left with Texas, after tonight. They won one and lost the other. Giving them a final record of 77 wins and 85 losses. Finishing 8 games behind the division winning Cleveland Guardians. The Twins scored 739 runs, and allowed 797 runs to be scored against them. They went 42-39 at Target Field, and 35-46 on the road. 

77 wins was a surprise to me. They went 70-92 in 2025, and looking at this team coming out of Spring Training, I was certain they’d lose 95 games. They tried, but they simply weren’t that bad.

So what does that mean for 2027?

(Ignoring the elephant in the room, that is the certain MLB Lockout on December 2nd, 2026…)

Monday, September 28, 2026.

The Twins 2026 season ended less than 24 hours earlier, and team management was holding their traditional end-of-season press conference at Target Field. Tom Pohlad took center stage and discussed the future (Quotes taken from Twins Daily):

"The approach we’re going to take this offseason is strictly about what our strategy is, and I have said over and over that a $100 million payroll or anything close to that is not sufficient to be consistently competitive and in the playoffs, and so we intend to take the offseason and meaningfully invest," 

Okay. That’s good, but I -and every other Twins fan- need to see those words backed up with actions. To Tom’s credit, he did say in July, that if the Twins were in contention, he would add to the payroll at the deadline. And he did. The Minter, Hoffman and Kremer trades all added several million dollars (or more) to our meager payroll. All three of those trades did pay off, neither Minter, Hoffman nor Kremer were responsible for the team’s collapse in August and September.

So a track record of spending to help is starting to be established…

"I know everybody in this room wants me to define what 'meaningfully' is, and I understand that that’s a subjective word. But I am confident that (General Manager) Jeremy Zoll, if he has conviction about a move that’s going to improve this roster and help us accomplish our goals, that this ownership group is prepared to support him with the financial resources he needs."

And it’s already kind of walked-back with traditional Pohlad vague-speak…

I swear it’s genetic with them…

“The work to build on the foundation we laid this year began [Monday], We will assess every part of our organization to get better. We will raise the standard for how we support our players on the field. And we will exhaust our energy to invest meaningfully in this team. Our goal this offseason is to field a roster next spring where making the playoffs isn't a hope, it's the expectation that everybody agrees is realistic.”

Well, if that’s your goal this offseason, we’re going to hold you to it. You think attendance was down in 2026? Field another sub-par and on-the-cheap team in 2027, and you’ve killed the territory. The state has put up with too much talk from the Pohlad’s to simply “trust them”. 

Looking at the current roster, there are few glaring needs. Catcher is a concern without Ryan Jeffers. The rotation has question marks, and the bullpen still has major gaps. However, most of the infield and outfield is very solid. Depth is a concern, but this isn’t a bad team. Signs of improvement from 2025 are definitely there, and with a few smart additions, Pohlad’s goal isn’t as far-fetched as it seems. 

But it’s on no one but himself to get it done.

Come on Tom… Show Minnesota you’re the Pohlad who will finally take the long time family investment seriously.

Your nearby competition just showed what a competently run organization can accomplish!

Before I go, I’m going raise my drink (water) in honor of the Milwaukee Brewers, beating the Tampa Bay Rays (who seemed to put a lot of effort into looking like the Devil Rays again) in the 2026 World Series. Capping off some of the better of playoff baseball series in recent memory. I really enjoyed watching this year.

Is it because of the looming CBA expiring Lockout?

2020 Bowman Chrome - Aaron Ashby - Auto

Congratulations Milwaukee, you’ve earned and deserved this one!

Most of this story was written with the 2026 MLB Playoffs in the background. And the small market World Series was a particularly enjoyable one. It showed that you can build a team that can beat the Dodgers and Yankees. You just have to be smart about what you’re doing. The Twins need to start making smarter baseball decisions. Something we really haven’t done a whole lot of in the last 35 years.

Now I can get back to sorting Top Loaders!

(Yes, I am keeping that 2022 Topps Heritage Wander Franco autograph.)