The Twins closed the book on 2026 with a pair of wins, and they did it by making life miserable for someone else. Minnesota finished the season by taking its last two series, including two games from the Rangers in a spoiler role that knocked Dallas out of the spotlight in the AL West race.
That late push left the Twins at 77-85, which was good for third in the AL Central. It also left them seven games out of the final wild card spot and with the 11th-worst record in the majors. So the ending was better than the overall script, but the bigger story now shifts to an offseason that could turn messy fast with CBA negotiations between players and owners looming.
Around the organization, there’s already plenty to sort through. Aaron Gleeman has laid out the decision the Twins face with Royce Lewis this offseason, while Dan Hayes at The Athletic says the club still has reasons to feel good about the future of the outfield despite the way the year ended.
Ryan Jeffers is headed into free agency, and Matthew Leach at MLB.com checked in with the catcher on what could have been his last day in a Twins uniform. Lou Hennessey at Zone Coverage also made the case for bringing back midseason pickup A.J.
Minter.
The front office has already started changing the look of the staff, too. The Twins announced they are parting ways with pitching coaches Pete Maki and Luis Ramirez, along with athletic trainer Jason Kirkman.
There’s no shortage of reading material from the season’s final stretch, either. Aiden O’Brien handed out awards to the top minor leaguers in the system, Zach Koenig looked back on the one good day in the 2006 Twins season, and Matt Monitto returned with the annual “Name Every Twin Who Played This Season” quiz. If you want to jump into the conversation, The Feed is there for that, too.
Across baseball, the postseason bracket is set. In the American League, Tampa Bay and Cleveland earned byes to the Division Series.
That sets up a Yankees-Red Sox matchup on the Tampa Bay side and White Sox-Astros on the Cleveland side. In the National League, the Brewers and Dodgers got byes, with Milwaukee waiting on the winner of Padres-Cubs and Los Angeles set to face the winner between the Phillies and Atlanta.
The offseason churn started early elsewhere, with the Mariners moving on from manager Dan Wilson on Sunday.
There were also a few individual honors and near-misses worth noting. Yordan Alvarez won the AL batting title, but Pete Alonso’s huge September - 11 homers and 22 RBI - kept Alvarez from the Triple Crown, as he finished second to Alonso in both categories.
Even so, Alvarez is still the likely AL MVP. In the National League, Gabriel Moreno finished with the best average, just one point ahead of Luis Arraez, while PCA led the league in home runs and Alec Burleson gave Cardinals fans a bright spot by finishing first in RBI.
Jacob Misiorowski wrapped up a dominant regular season by leading the majors in ERA, strikeouts, and opponent batting average. Now the Brewers will try to turn that into a World Series run.
In Other News...
Twins May Have Just Seen A Painful Goodbye Behind The Plate
The Twins closed their 2026 season with a 6-4 win over the Rangers, and for Mitch Jeffers, it may have also marked the end of the line in Minnesota for now. Jeffers wrapped up his final game of the year with the club, then looked back on a career that brought both staying power and a strong individual season, even with injury setbacks interrupting the run.
What comes next is the part Minnesota has to brace for. Jeffers is set to hit free agency this winter, and the Twins are left weighing an uncertain future behind the plate while also sorting through other roster moves. For a team that values stability at catcher, the possibility of moving on from Jeffers adds another significant decision to an already busy offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Coaching Shakeup Feels Like The Start Of Something Bigger
The Twins wasted little time starting their offseason overhaul, moving on from pitching coach Pete Maki and assistant pitching coach Luis Ramirez after the regular season ended. The shakeup also reached the training room, where assistant athletic trainer Jason Kirkman is no longer with the club, even as head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta and top assistant Masamichi Abe are staying put.
For Minnesota, the staff changes feel like more than routine turnover. Replacing both leaders of the pitching program suggests the organization wants a fresh direction on the mound, and the front office has now put the coaching side of that conversation squarely on the table as it heads into next season. [Read more 🡒]
Former Twins Pitchers Are Suddenly All Over This Postseason
The Twins may be on the outside looking in this October, but plenty of their old pitching inventory is still very much in the postseason mix. A list of 11 former Minnesota arms has surfaced across the 2026 MLB playoffs, a reminder of how much turnover can ripple through a pitching staff and how often ex-Twins end up scattered around the bracket. Caleb Thielbar is with the Cubs, Jhoan Duran is in Philadelphia, and Tyler Mahle is part of Atlantas rotation picture, giving the postseason a distinctly Minnesota-flavored subplot even without the Twins themselves involved.
What makes it especially notable is the sheer reach of it all, with those former Twins tied to multiple series and matchups as the playoff schedule unfolds. For a fan base that has watched a lot of arms come and go, this is one of those October snapshots that says as much about organizational churn as it does about the players themselves. The full list stretches well beyond the biggest names, and the spread of destinations makes it clear just how many different contenders are carrying a little bit of Minnesota pitching history with them. [Read more 🡒]