The Minnesota Twins are heading into a complicated offseason, and the biggest decisions aren’t hard to spot.
Minnesota hung around in the race for most of the 2026 season, only to be knocked out of playoff contention in the second-to-last weekend of the regular season. That the club stayed alive as long as it did owed plenty to the weak American League Central and a watered-down Wild Card chase. Now, after missing the postseason three straight times since that memorable 2023 run, the Twins are staring at three massive questions that could shape what comes next.
The first one is simple enough: will they actually spend?
Controlling person Tom Pohlad said he plans to give general manager Jeremy Zoll the resources needed to keep the Twins competitive in 2027. If that turns into real spending, Minnesota could have a lively winter ahead - unless the looming lockout shuts the door on movement.
If the club does go shopping, Ryan Jeffers may be the easiest place to start. With Jeffers set to reach free agency, re-signing the fan favorite could end up being the headline move. If Minnesota wants another catcher, Carson Kelly is an option too.
The outfield looks mostly spoken for with Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Luke Keaschall and Byron Buxton, so any offensive upgrade through free agency would likely come somewhere else. That points toward catcher or the infield. Among the available infield names mentioned are Ty France, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Luis Arraez, Mauricio Dubón, Brandon Lowe and Bo Bichette.
Pitching is another area that clearly needs attention, especially in the bullpen. Minnesota’s relief corps finished 26th in ERA at 4.74, though the group improved as the season went on thanks to Yoendrys Gomez, Andrew Morris and the arrivals of A.J.
Minter, Tommy Nance and Jeff Hoffman. Nance and Hoffman are set to return in 2027, which leaves the unit in better shape than it was a year ago.
Even so, more help is still on the table.
If the Twins want to make a real splash in relief, the names listed as possible targets are Adrian Morejon, David Bednar, Raisel Iglesias and Minter.
The rotation market also offers some appealing options, though Tarik Skubal is viewed as a long shot. Possible targets include Trevor Rogers, Kevin Gausman, Sonny Gray, Freddy Peralta and Tyler Mahle.
Then there’s Joe Ryan, and that’s the decision that may carry the most intrigue.
At first glance, dealing an All-Star from each of the past two seasons would seem to run against any plan to contend next year. But Ryan is also headed for free agency after next season, which gives Minnesota a reason to consider moving him now and getting younger talent back before he reaches the open market.
The right-hander opened 2026 strong, putting up a 2.85 ERA over 110 1/3 innings before the break. After that, though, his year went sideways.
A glute strain limited him to just seven starts after the All-Star break, and he finished with a 6.82 ERA across 34 1/3 innings in the second half. The split isn’t just a one-year concern, either.
Ryan owns a 4.98 second-half ERA in his career, a sharp contrast to his 3.17 first-half ERA. That history, along with his contract status, gives the Twins a real reason to listen.
The toughest call of all might be Royce Lewis.
Minnesota’s handling of Lewis this offseason could end up defining the winter. He was the 2017 first-round pick and flashed superstar-level production during his breakout 2023 season, when he posted a 152 wRC+ with 15 home runs and 52 RBI in 58 games.
He also hit four home runs in six postseason games that year. But since that rookie explosion, the results have not held.
Over the past two seasons, Lewis has produced just 2.6 fWAR in 313 games and carried an 85 wRC+.
The Twins have already tried to reset him once, optioning him to Triple-A St. Paul last May in hopes of jump-starting his bat. He tore up Triple-A pitching, but once he returned to the majors, the turnaround didn’t stick.
That leaves Minnesota with a difficult choice and three major questions sitting at the center of its offseason.
In Other News...
Twins Face A Ryan Jeffers Decision That Could Shape Their Offseason
Ryan Jeffers has become one of the more important decisions on Minnesotas offseason checklist, with the Twins weighing whether to extend him a qualifying offer after another season in the mix behind the plate. The move would give the catcher a one-year deal and give the club a clear framework as it tries to sort out its roster priorities entering the winter.
Jeffers is widely expected to turn down that kind of short-term arrangement in search of a longer commitment, but the possibility of him accepting it is still there, which keeps the Twins in a bit of limbo. If he were to leave after declining, Minnesota would stand to gain a compensatory draft pick, adding another layer to a decision that could shape how the front office approaches the rest of its offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Are Making Another Target Field Upgrade Fans Will Notice
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The latest improvement matters because it touches the parts of the building fans feel most often, even if they rarely think about them. The schedule calls for the work to get underway before the end of 2026 and wrap up by April 2027, giving the Twins another maintenance project to fold into the steady evolution of one of baseballs more polished venues. [Read more 🡒]
Twins May Have To Lose Useful Depth Before Adding Anyone
The Twins are heading into the offseason with the kind of roster crunch that forces some uncomfortable choices before any upgrades can even begin. Minnesota currently has 40 players on the roster, and the six players on the 60-day injured list will come back into the count after the World Series, tightening the squeeze even further. Even with several expiring contracts potentially creating a little room, the front office still has to think about which players are worth keeping, which prospects need protection and how much flexibility it can preserve for the winter market.
Minnesotas challenge is not just finding openings, but deciding who to move off the roster without weakening the depth that made the group useful in the first place. That means the Twins may have to part with some helpful pieces before they are in position to add anyone of consequence, a familiar but never simple part of offseason roster management. For a club trying to stay competitive while sorting through injuries and evaluating long-term value, the next few moves could shape how much room there is to do anything meaningful later on. [Read more 🡒]