The Twins went into the trade deadline trying to thread a needle: stay alive in the American League race without gutting the future. They held onto Joe Ryan and Ryan Jeffers, added three pitchers, and left August looking like a team trying to chase down a playoff spot instead of punting on the season.
A few weeks later, that approach has put them in a bind.
According to MLB Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo, top prospect Walker Jenkins is expected to join the major league club in time to be in the lineup for Friday's series opener against the Chicago White Sox. That kind of call-up usually signals a club pushing all its chips toward the present, and that’s exactly where the Twins have landed after their deadline decisions.
The additions they made have helped in spots, but not nearly enough to turn the roster into a true contender. Dean Kremer has gone 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in four starts and remains under team control for next season.
Jeff Hoffman has been less sharp, putting up a 4.50 ERA in eight appearances, though he is under contract through 2027. A.J.
Minter has given the bullpen a legitimate left-handed option, but even those pieces haven’t been enough to change the larger picture.
That’s why the deadline now looks like a missed chance to deal from the top of the roster. Ryan, a second straight All-Star, was 6-5 with a 2.85 ERA in 20 first-half starts.
Since then, though, he hasn’t pitched since Aug. 4 after three second-half starts in which he posted a 9.39 ERA while dealing with glute and back strains. He could return from the injured list soon, but the Twins might already be too far out of the race by then.
Jeffers is in a different spot, but the same logic applies. Before breaking his left hamate bone on May 18, he was one of the top catchers available ahead of the deadline and was hitting .295/.408/.541 with seven homers and 26 RBI.
Since coming back on July 10, he has cooled off, hitting .256/.351/.402 with three homers and 16 RBI in 33 games. The downturn has deepened lately, too: he’s hitting .234/.347/.328 with no homers and six RBI in 19 games since the Aug. 3 deadline.
Trevor Larnach has gone the other way entirely. Reportedly headed to the Houston Astros before owner Jim Crane stepped in, he has hit .140/.189/.200 with a home run and two RBI in 15 games since the deadline.
With Jeffers moving toward free agency, Ryan carrying the look of a pitcher whose best work has come before the break, and Larnach slumping hard, the case for moving all three at the deadline only gets stronger in hindsight.
Instead, the Twins are trying to squeeze one more push out of the roster they chose to keep intact. That’s where Jenkins comes in.
If Minnesota had sold, it could have played out the rest of the season without the pressure to keep forcing the issue. It could have left Luke Keaschall in center field, lived with the offensive shortcomings of Austin Martin and Alan Roden, and even used a roster spot on a third catcher without much concern. Most importantly, it could have kept Jenkins in the minors while MLB and the players association work toward a new labor deal next spring.
But the Twins did not choose that path. They acted like a club trying to win now, and now fans want the next move.
At 21, Jenkins has been crushing Triple-A pitching, hitting .411/.488/.795 with eight homers, 13 RBI and seven stolen bases in August. As Keaschall has been muttering under his breath and Martin and Roden have kept struggling at the plate, the pressure to bring Jenkins up only grew. With the Twins’ playoff odds down to a season-low 11.2 percent according to FanGraphs, his debut felt less like a possibility and more like the inevitable next step.
For an organization that talked up its aggressiveness at the deadline, keeping Jenkins down while the big-league club sputtered would have been a sharp turn from that posture. And with the fan base already worn down over the past few years, the push to win people back now matters just as much as any long-term plan. That’s the spot the Twins created for themselves, and it’s why Jenkins is on his way to the majors.
In Other News...
Twins Prospect Performances Just Put More Pressure On The Depth Chart
Luis Quiones has been sent to Fort Myers on a minor league rehab assignment, a routine step on the surface but one that still matters for a pitching staff trying to sort itself out over the long haul. Around him, the Twins minor league system has kept producing the kind of little reminders that can eventually change a depth chart, from Walker Jenkins flashing his all-around game with a home run and a stolen base to Adrian Bohorquez turning in a scoreless debut at Double-A.
For Minnesota, the larger takeaway is less about one box score and more about the steady drumbeat of useful performances across the affiliates. When prospects keep showing they can handle tougher competition, the conversation shifts quickly from development to opportunity, and that is where the pressure starts to build on the players already occupying those spots. Quiones rehab assignment adds another layer to that mix, even if the bigger picture is still unfolding. [Read more 🡒]
Walker Jenkins Decision Will Show Twins Fans What Really Changed
Walker Jenkins is doing everything a top prospect is supposed to do in Triple-A, yet the Twins still have not brought him to the majors. For a club that has already shuffled pieces around by promoting Kaelen Culpepper and adding pitching at the trade deadline, the delay says plenty about where Minnesota is trying to place its bets as the season turns toward the stretch run.
The Twins remain on the outside of the playoff race, which makes every roster decision feel more revealing than routine. Jenkins sits right at the intersection of development, service time and the clubs competitive reality, and how Minnesota handles him from here should tell fans whether the front office is leaning more toward the future or trying to squeeze every last bit out of the present. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Suddenly Face A Big Byron Buxton Decision
Byron Buxtons latest setback has put the Twins right back in familiar territory, waiting on the status of one of their most important players after he was pulled from a game because of discomfort in his right hip. For now, Minnesota has not made any roster moves, and the club was still holding off on a decision as of Wednesday while Buxtons condition is monitored.
The timing adds another layer for a team that has already spent plenty of energy managing health and depth across the roster. Joe Ryan took another step in his rehab by throwing live batting practice, while Vahn Lackey kept making noise in the system with a second straight homer after his promotion to High-A Cedar Rapids, but all eyes remain on Buxton and what the Twins decide next. [Read more 🡒]