Austin Martin’s path into 2027 has become a real question for the Twins.
Not long ago, his name still carried the shine of being the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 draft. That didn’t last.
His value dropped quickly, he was dealt to Minnesota, and even after the struggles followed, there was still some hope he could carve out a future as a right-handed-hitting role player for a lineup that badly needed one. But after 2026, that hope looks a lot shakier.
The case for Martin is obvious enough on paper. Right-handed-hitting outfielders are hard to find, and productive ones are even rarer.
For most of baseball history, right-handed batters took more than half the at-bats. In 2026, that split was basically even.
And among right-handed-hitting outfielders, the offense was at its weakest level since 1974, with the group producing around league-average overall.
Martin still wound up in that historically thin pool, and not in a good way. Once Matt Wallner was sent to St.
Paul on May 14 and Martin was handed an everyday job, he hit just .173/.276/.254 the rest of the season. His overall production for the year was only a touch below league average, and his defense was graded positively, but the finish at the plate was impossible to ignore.
The Twins’ ideal alignment would make a place for a player like Martin. In that setup, Byron Buxton is out there nearly every day in center field, Luke Keaschall plays every day in a corner, and left-handed bats Emmanuel Rodriguez and Walker Jenkins handle regular reps against right-handed pitching.
That leaves one smaller but meaningful opening for a right-handed hitter who can hold his own against lefties and defend adequately. Right now, Martin is part of that mix, but not by much.
He is hardly alone in the fight for that spot. Gabriel Gonzalez came into the picture as a former top 100-ish prospect, but his defense is not viewed well and he struggled offensively in 2026 even at Triple-A.
Ben Ross put together a strong offensive run at Double-A and Triple-A and brings the same speed and athleticism Martin offers, plus infield flexibility, but the Twins did not feel compelled to give him much run in the stretch, which raises fair questions about how much they trust him as a bench bat. Ryan Kriedler might have been the club’s best defensive shortstop and backup center fielder last year, but if he gets anything close to everyday playing time, the bat is still a major problem.
There is another path, of course: the Twins could simply shop outside the organization and try to buy a more reliable right-handed-hitting outfielder. The free-agent pool is thin, and the names that would actually make sense - Randy Arozarena and Seiya Suzuki - figure to be too expensive.
That also leaves open the possibility of a trade. If Minnesota has lost faith in Martin’s development, moving him would at least be a way to see whether another team still believes it can unlock something.
Given the shortage of quality right-handed outfielders, maybe someone would offer something of value, even if the return is not much. The larger gain would be clearing a 40-man spot if the Twins are ready to turn the page and hand that opportunity to somebody else.
Going into 2027, Martin was supposed to have a real edge over the other internal options for an Opening Day roster spot. After the way 2026 finished, that argument is much tougher to make.
He’s 27 now, and the questions about whether he can produce at the major league level are still hanging there. At this point, he looks like a player standing at a crossroads, with the Twins justified in deciding whether to give him one more shot or move on to younger options.
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That has made the AL Central an especially logical place to hunt for help, since the Twins know those clubs well and can weigh the fit against both price and familiarity. The list of possible targets spans rotation help, bullpen support and a right-handed bat, which is exactly the sort of winter shopping that could address multiple needs at once while leaving Minnesota a little less reliant on internal fixes. [Read more 🡒]
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Twins Face One Big Offseason Question About Their Top Prospects
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Thats where the discussion around the upper minors gets interesting. The Twins have enough talent in the pipeline to consider dealing from strength, and the most obvious names sit in areas where the system has backed itself into a decision. With catcher depth and a crowded outfield both part of the equation, Minnesota may be willing to move some of its better young pieces if it believes that is the cleanest path to helping the big league club sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]