A first glance at the Twins’ 2027 baseline roster points to one thing fast: the payroll is going up whether Minnesota makes a splash or not.
That starts with arbitration growth, which is already expected to push the club to a starting point around $115 million. That figure includes the $11 million the Twins are paying Houston for Carlos Correa, along with the $3.75 million they received back from Toronto to help cover Jeff Hoffman’s salary.
So when Tom Pohlad said payroll would rise next year, that’s not exactly a shocking reveal. It’s tough not to climb from the Twins’ 2026 Opening Day number of $105 million.
The real question is how far up it goes. The over/under here is $130 million.
The pitching picture is where things get especially crowded.
There’s a version of this roster where Connor Prielipp gets squeezed out of the rotation to begin the season, which is a pretty wild sentence to type. If healthy, Mick Abel should be in the mix too. Zebby Matthews, meanwhile, is currently projected for the bullpen, a role that could fit him well and offer plenty of upside.
Bailey Ober is another name to watch. The Twins could choose to non-tender him, but he was still reasonably effective even with reduced velocity. It would be a tough call to move on from a dependable back-end starter who ranks second only to Joe Ryan in innings pitched for Minnesota over the last four years, especially when the price tag is over $7 million.
That surplus is part of why Jeremy Zoll has already been open to the idea of moving from the club’s starting pitching depth. It’s also why Ryan is the arm I’d expect to be dealt.
On the offensive side, the outline looks much more stable.
When you run through the projected starting nine, eight of the nine spots appear close to locked in. Emmanuel Rodriguez is the one possible wrinkle, since he could open in a reserve role even though he has to be on the active roster because he’s out of options.
The biggest hole is at first base. Royce Lewis’ future with the organization is unsettled, and that makes this the clearest spot for the Twins to hunt for an impact upgrade. That’s the position that stands out as the obvious target for outside help.
The bullpen, though, already looks much better than it did heading into 2026.
One of the major jobs in this transitional year was simply to bring some order to a relief group that lacked quality depth. The Twins have made real progress there. Hoffman now gives them a legitimate anchor, while Yoendrys Gómez and Andrew Morris have emerged as useful supporting pieces.
There’s still a decision to make on three arbitration-eligible relievers: Anthony Banda, Cole Sands and Tommy Nance. All three make sense at their projected salaries, but none comes with much upside. Add one more significant arm and the relief corps starts to look like a strength, especially if someone like Matthews or Kendry Rojas ends up converting full-time.
So the shape of the roster is pretty clear: a rising payroll, too many starters, a mostly settled lineup, and a bullpen that finally has some structure. The biggest swing point remains first base, with the Twins also facing the larger question of how aggressively they want to trade from pitching depth.
In Other News...
Twins Prospects Are Already Raising A Bigger Arizona Fall League Question
The Twins sent eight players to the Arizona Fall League, and the assignment list says plenty about where the organization sees this group in its development. Most of the names are coming from Class-A or High-A, with infielder Kyle DeBarge the lone Double-A presence, a mix that gives Minnesota a chance to push some younger talent into a tougher setting before winter really sets in. DeBarge and outfielder Yasser Mercedes were in the Salt River lineup for the AFL opener and helped the Rafters roll to a 9-3 win, giving the Twins an early look at two players who have been on different tracks in the system.
What makes the setup interesting is the bigger question it raises about what the AFL is meant to solve for Minnesota this fall. This is usually a stage for prospects to face better pitching, sharpen routines and show whether they can handle a faster pace, but the Twins are leaning heavily on players who are still early in the climb. For a front office that has plenty of prospect context to work with already, the real value may come less from the scoreboard than from how these players respond to being challenged a little sooner than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Twins May Finally Make The Early Offseason Push Fans Wanted
The Twins are signaling that this winter could look a lot different from the usual slow burn around the holidays. Owner Tom Pohlad and GM Jeremy Zoll have both said Minnesota intends to be aggressive in the coming offseason, with a preference for getting business done early instead of waiting until late January or February when the market can narrow and opportunities can dry up.
For a club trying to build on the momentum it found at the trade deadline, the timing matters almost as much as the targets. The bullpen remains a clear area to address, and the front office is weighing both free agency and trades as it looks to improve the roster before a possible lockout on Dec. 1 complicates the calendar and, potentially, the clubs plans. [Read more 🡒]
Joe Ryans Price Tag Just Made A Twins Debate More Serious
Joe Ryans next arbitration jump is starting to give the Twins a real front-office puzzle. Projected to earn about $9.6 million for the 2027 season, he would be making a significant step up from his 2025 salary, a number that reflects both his value and the way the market keeps pushing starting pitching prices higher. For Minnesota, that matters because Ryan is still under team control, which means the club does not have to decide anything right away, even as his name naturally fits into conversations about payroll and roster balance.
The challenge is that a pitcher with Ryans profile can sit in two very different buckets at once. He is the kind of arm teams want to build around, but he is also the kind of controllable starter who can draw interest if a club decides it needs to reallocate resources elsewhere. That is what makes this such a serious Twins debate now, because the team has to weigh the value of keeping a quality starter in house against the possibility that his rising cost could make him one of the more appealing trade pieces on the roster. [Read more 🡒]