The Twins’ series in Anaheim has started to produce a little bit of everything: a win, a loss, a young bat catching fire, and another roster move that hints at how the rest of this season is going to be handled.
Minnesota opened the four-game set against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium with a 5-4 loss on Thursday, then answered with a 3-0 victory on Friday. Game 3 is set for 8:38 p.m. CDT on Saturday.
The biggest on-field development has been Walker Jenkins. After a rocky start since his late-month call-up, the outfielder has suddenly found his timing.
Before the Angels series, Jenkins had only four hits in 53 plate appearances. In the first two games against Los Angeles, he piled up six hits and launched two home runs.
Both blasts came in key moments. On Thursday night, Jenkins delivered a game-tying, two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning. Then on Friday, he added a solo shot in the seventh.
With the Twins pretty much out of the postseason race, Jenkins’ surge has given fans something to latch onto while the season winds down.
Minnesota also made a notable move with Trevor Larnach, placing the outfielder on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Sept. 15 because of a left wrist sprain. Given how little time is left and where the Twins sit in the standings, Larnach’s season is likely over.
It’s been the best year of Larnach’s career. He posted a career-high 2.2 fWAR and hit .269/.352/.436 with a 123 wRC+, 13 home runs and 48 RBI in 122 games.
But his future in Minnesota looks uncertain. With Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez now in the majors, the Twins likely won’t have room for Larnach to play regularly next season.
The club will probably trade him or non-tender him in the offseason. Larnach is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2027 season.
To fill his spot, the Twins brought back Alan Roden from Triple-A St. Paul. Roden had hit .254/.333/.313 with an 86 wRC+ in 79 plate appearances for Minnesota this season, and he posted a 122 wRC+ across 48 Triple-A games in 2027.
Roden came to the Twins from the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2025 Louis Varland trade, a deal that also sent left-hander Kendry Rojas to Minnesota.
In Other News...
Byron Buxton's Long Injury Saga Just Got Worse For The Twins
Byron Buxtons season-long fight through hip pain has taken another turn, with the Twins center fielder undergoing successful arthroscopic surgery on his right hip. The procedure, performed by Dr. Christopher Larson, included a labral repair with decompression and cam resection, a sign of just how long this issue has been hanging over Buxton and the club after repeated trips to the injured list this year.
The timing only adds to the frustration in Minnesota, where the lineup is already dealing with another absence. Trevor Larnach landed on the injured list with a left wrist sprain, and Alan Roden was recalled from Triple-A to take his roster spot, leaving the Twins to patch together the outfield while Buxton begins the next phase of recovery. [Read more 🡒]
Trevor Larnach News Puts New Attention On A Twins Roster Move
The Twins roster shuffle this week put a new spotlight on the outfield mix, with Trevor Larnach landing on the Injured List and Alan Roden getting the call-up in his place. It was the kind of transaction that can ripple quickly through a club looking to keep its depth intact, especially when the organization is also watching how its upper-level players are performing day to day.
Across the system, the St. Paul Saints helped keep that conversation moving with a 4-3 win over Columbus, getting key contributions from Kalai Rosario and Jake Rucker. With player performances continuing to sort themselves out and another game on the schedule, Minnesota has a little more clarity in one area and a fresh question in another about how it will manage the outfield moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Walker Jenkins Keeps Giving Twins Fans A Reason To Watch
Walker Jenkins gave Twins fans another reason to keep one eye on St. Paul, even as the Saints ran into a rough night against Columbus. The Saints were shut out 4-0 and mustered only four hits without drawing a walk, while Jack Anderson handled the start and lasted four innings before Columbus pushed across four runs.
Even with the loss, St. Paul remains tied with Memphis for the best overall record in the International League West Division at 82-66, so there is still plenty at stake in the stretch run. For Minnesota, though, the more interesting thread is Jenkins, whose presence has become part of the broader conversation around the organizations future and another reminder that there is reason to keep watching beyond the scoreboard. [Read more 🡒]