The Minnesota Twins have a winter full of choices in front of them, and the order they tackle them could shape more than just next season. The front office first has to figure out how much room it actually has to spend once the existing commitments are accounted for. From there, the priorities start to sort themselves out.
At the top of the list is the bullpen, and for good reason. Minnesota’s relievers finished 26th in MLB with a 4.74 ERA, and the group is already facing turnover.
Jeff Hoffman is still under contract, but A.J. Minter and Taylor Rogers are headed toward free agency, and Anthony Banda’s recovery from lat surgery leaves the left-handed side with even more uncertainty.
That makes the need pretty clear: the Twins should come away with at least two reliable relievers, including one left-hander, whether that comes through free agency or the trade market. This is the kind of fix that pays off everywhere else. A stronger bridge to the ninth inning helps every starter and takes some of the strain off the offense.
Catching comes next, largely because Ryan Jeffers is the most important pending free agent on the roster. He hit .256/.353/.461 with 14 home runs in 2026, and while Victor Caratini is signed through 2027, losing Jeffers would leave Minnesota with a major chunk of production and workload to replace.
The Twins should work toward a reunion while keeping other options in play before talks run out. If Jeffers is gone, catching jumps all the way to No. 1 on this list.
The rotation also needs attention, and not just for 2027. Joe Ryan, Pablo López, Bailey Ober, and Dean Kremer could all hit free agency after that season, while Taj Bradley stands out as a younger piece the club can build around.
López’s recovery from Tommy John surgery only adds to the importance of having enough depth. Those contract decisions deserve to be addressed now.
Minnesota should at least explore a Ryan extension and weigh what Ober and Kremer might cost in arbitration against what it would take to find credible replacements. Trading a veteran only makes sense if the return improves the pitching outlook, because the Twins still need enough starters to absorb injuries.
On the offensive side, the picture is murkier. Josh Bell has a $10 million mutual option for 2027 with a $1.25 million buyout, and Royce Lewis hit .227/.287/.380 in 2026.
The Twins should tender Lewis a contract and make him earn everyday at-bats. Bell’s option and Lewis’ arbitration call should help shape the search for another bat, with enough flexibility at designated hitter to shuffle other players through.
This lands behind the catching decision because Minnesota has more ways to distribute those at-bats than it does to find another catcher.
Then there’s the next wave of young talent. Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kaelen Culpepper all reached the Majors in 2026, and the Twins need to map out real roles for them.
Jenkins should have a corner-outfield path when Byron Buxton returns, and Culpepper should get a shortstop competition. Trevor Larnach also fits into that conversation.
Minnesota should see what the trade market offers, especially if a deal could bring back useful MLB pitching. But if the offers don’t justify giving up his bat, the Twins should keep him.
The big picture is flexible, and that’s the point. Two strong bullpen additions would push the focus toward the rotation and lineup, while a Jeffers departure would force catching to the top. Minnesota’s winter plan should evolve as the roster fills in.
In Other News...
Twins Face 1 Offseason Decision Fans May Hate
The Twins came through 2026 as a competitive club, but the missed postseason finish has pushed the front office straight into an offseason full of questions. Free agency will bring the usual roster-checking exercise, and the club still has to sort out how aggressive it wants to be in adding help while weighing a few bigger-picture items that could shape the next step of the teams run.
Among the names hovering over the winter, Joe Ryan stands out as the one to watch most closely from Minnesotas side. The pitcher has become a central part of the conversation because of where the Twins are in the cycle and because management also has to decide how to handle Royce Lewis, leaving the organization with more uncertainty than it would prefer after a season that was close, but not close enough. [Read more 🡒]
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
Target Field is set for another round of upgrades, with the Minnesota Ballpark Authority signing off on work aimed at the stadiums HVAC and lighting systems. The project fits into the long-running arrangement between the Twins and the authority, which have split the responsibility for keeping the ballpark current since it opened.
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 🡒]