Alan Roden has turned into one of the trickier offseason calls on the Twins’ board.
Minnesota picked him up at the 2025 trade deadline in the Louis Varland deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, and while Kendry Rojas was the headline piece coming back, Roden mattered too. At the time, he looked like the kind of bat that could help sooner rather than later - a big-league-ready player with a chance to boost the lineup without forcing the Twins to give up too much of the future.
That’s the promise. The problem is finding the role.
Roden has kept hitting in the minors, and he flashed that same ability in Minnesota this season. He also brings enough defensive flexibility to fit somewhere if the bat plays.
But the Twins have a crowded group of young position players fighting for time, and Roden’s route to regular at-bats is getting harder to see. That’s what makes him such a fascinating offseason decision.
The case for keeping him starts with the simplest thing in baseball: he can hit. Over the last couple of seasons at Triple-A, Roden has been productive, putting up a 133 wRC+ in 2026 and a 122 wRC+ in 2025.
That’s not a tiny-sample illusion. Minnesota also got a taste of it this season, when he posted a 120 wRC+ in 32 games.
He didn’t get enough run to lock down an everyday job, but he showed why the Twins wanted him in the first place.
The outfield is part of the equation, too. Roden has played all three spots, though Minnesota hasn’t seemed especially comfortable with him in center.
That narrows things a bit, but it doesn’t erase his value. First base could even enter the conversation.
He hasn’t regularly played there since college, so it would be an experiment, but it’s a possible way to keep his bat in the lineup if the Twins don’t want him taking everyday outfield reps - or don’t want to block other prospects to do it.
That kind of flexibility has real value, especially for a left-handed hitter who has already proven he can do damage at Triple-A. If injuries hit or another young player stalls, Roden gives Minnesota a way to avoid making a bigger move.
Still, the downside is just as clear.
Roden was a collegiate draft pick in 2022, which means he’ll already be 27 next season. That doesn’t make him old, but it changes the conversation.
He’s not the type of prospect the Twins can afford to park for a year while waiting for him to “develop.” He needs to be playing.
And that’s where the fit gets awkward. Roden still has a minor league option left, so Minnesota could send him back to Triple-A and keep him as depth.
But that would raise a fair question: what exactly would he be proving there? He’s already shown he can handle that level.
At this point, another trip to Triple-A would look less like progress and more like standing still.
The bigger issue is roster real estate. The Twins have younger players who need at-bats, including Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, and Luke Keaschall, players the organization may believe have a higher ceiling down the road.
If Roden isn’t going to play regularly, keeping him on the 26-man roster could mean taking time away from someone who needs it more. That’s not a great use of the spot, and the Twins know it.
So what happens next? It doesn’t have to be one clean answer.
Roden isn’t arbitration-eligible until 2029, so it seems unlikely the Twins would simply move on from him. He’s still on a minimum salary for multiple seasons and brings roster flexibility. They could also trade him, since his age, Triple-A production, and remaining option could appeal to another team looking for a potential big-league contributor without paying a premium prospect price.
Another path is to keep him and let him compete for more in spring training. If Roden is going to be part of the 2027 Twins, they need to find him a lane.
That could mean more outfield time. It could mean trying him at first base.
It could mean some other fit entirely.
What doesn’t make much sense is sending a productive 27-year-old back to Triple-A simply because the Twins don’t know where else to put him. They brought Roden in because they believed he was ready for the majors. Now they have to decide whether they still believe that.
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