The Minnesota Twins made a deadline push with an eye on the postseason, but they did it without blowing up the roster or emptying the farm.
That’s the big picture after a quiet-but-real set of moves that left the Twins 58-60 and still hanging around the race. They’re 2-3 since the deadline, sitting 1.5 games back of the final AL Wild Card spot held by the Texas Rangers and three games behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central. The upgrade wasn’t dramatic, but it was enough to show ownership was willing to let general manager Jeremy Zoll add payroll if the right fit came along.
That flexibility helped bring reliever Jeff Hoffman over from the Toronto Blue Jays, the final deal of the deadline for Minnesota. It also came with a price tag, and now that the dust has settled, the full bill is coming into focus.
According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the Twins added $8.53 million to the payroll this year. A.J.
Minter accounts for about $3.411 million of that, with Minnesota taking on the remainder of his two-year, $22 million deal with the New York Mets. Minter is a free agent after the season.
Dean Kremer adds another $1.752 million, as the Twins absorb the rest of his one-year, $5.575 million salary with Baltimore. Minnesota also picked up his arbitration rights for 2027.
Hoffman is the largest current commitment of the three. He signed a three-year, $33 million deal with Toronto in 2025, and Minnesota is responsible for the rest of his 2026 salary, which comes out to $3.235 million.
There’s more money down the road, too. Kremer should be due for a bigger arbitration number next offseason since it will be his third year.
Hoffman has one more year left on his contract worth $11 million, though Toronto has agreed to pay down $3.75 million of his 2027 salary. That leaves the Twins on the hook for the remaining $7.25 million.
So yes, the Twins spent. But they spent with limits.
The prospect cost followed the same pattern. Minnesota sent shortstop Bruin Agbayani and third baseman Billy Amick to land Minter.
Jhomnardo Reyes went out the door in the Kremer deal. For Hoffman, the Twins gave up left-handed pitcher Dasan Hill, second baseman Dameury Pena, right-handed pitcher John Klein and other considerations.
Klein is the only one of that group who has already pitched in the majors. He debuted this season and posted a 0-1 record with a 4.15 ERA in three games for the Twins before Toronto optioned him to Triple-A Buffalo. Amick is at Double-A, while the other three are at High-A or below.
There is real talent in the group Minnesota moved. Agbayani is the No.
29 Mets prospect per MLB Pipeline. Reyes now ranks No. 23 in the Orioles system.
Hill is No. 7 and Klein is No. 25 in the Blue Jays’ system.
Even so, the Twins managed to keep the headliners in their own system. Walker Jenkins, the club’s No. 1 prospect, remains at Triple-A, and shortstop Kaelen Culpepper made his MLB debut earlier this week.
In the end, Minnesota paid to reinforce the roster, but it didn’t turn the deadline into a future-killing gamble. The Twins added help, took on manageable money and held onto much of the prospect core. That’s the kind of deadline that can make sense when you’re trying to chase a spot without tearing everything down to do it.
In Other News...
Former Twins Infielder Gets Another Shot With A Division Rival
Jonah Bride is getting another big-league look, this time with a division rival after the Rangers selected him from Triple-A Round Rock and brought him onto the 26-man roster. The move came as Texas optioned outfielder Alejandro Osuna back to Round Rock and cleared a 40-man spot by transferring right-hander Jack Leiter to the 60-day injured list, a roster shuffle that gives Bride an immediate path back into the lineup.
For the former Twins infielder, the opportunity appears to be a real one, with Bride expected to start at third base in the upcoming game. Texas is sorting through its infield depth while Leiter continues to work back after ankle surgery, and Bride now has a chance to show he can hold down a role against familiar American League Central competition. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Bet On Jeff Hoffman Despite One Lingering Concern
The Twins went into the trade deadline looking for a bullpen lift, and Jeff Hoffman gives them a reliever with real closing experience and a familiar face from a previous spring. He was in Minnesotas camp in 2023 before moving on without appearing in a regular-season game for the club, then rebuilt his value with strong stretches as a closer for the Phillies and Blue Jays. Even with his uneven numbers this year, he arrives as the kind of late-inning arm the Twins were clearly trying to add.
Minnesota also had to pay a meaningful price to get him, which only raises the stakes on how quickly Hoffman settles in. His recent track record suggests there is enough there to trust the fit, and the fact that he has started to trend better since June only adds to the appeal. The lingering question now is whether the Twins have landed the steadier version of Hoffman, or whether the rough patches from earlier this season are still part of the package. [Read more 🡒]