The Weekly Nutshell:
This was not a winning week for the Twins. They’ve had only one of those since the All-Star break, all the way back at the start of August. But it wasn’t a losing week, and we’ll take that. Minnesota went 3-3 and finished on a high note, sealing a series victory over a quality opponent with a crisp 7-2 triumph over the Padres, fueled by stellar performances from their All-Star starting pitcher and center fielder.

The game outcomes might not matter, but it’s still preferable to see the team play well versus being subjected to sloppy, lifeless, loser baseball. We did see some of the latter this past week, but it was offset by some big moments and memorable milestones. That’s really you can ask for at this point, especially when the guys driving the success are largely factors in the plan going forward.

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 8/25 through Sun, 8/31
***
Record Last Week: 3-3 (Overall: 62-74)
Run Differential Last Week: -6 (Overall: -63)
Standing: 4th Place in AL Central (17 GB) 

Game 131 | TOR 10, MIN 4: Ryan Struggles Again, Twins Flattened by Superior Jays

Ryan: 5 IP, 6 ER

Game 132 | MIN 7, TOR 5: Late Home Runs Spark Comeback Victory in Toronto

Wallner: Go-ahead HR in 9th inning

Game 133 | TOR 9, MIN 8: Bullpen Blows Late Lead, Four Homers Not Enough

Cabrera, Tonkin: 1 IP, 3 ER

Game 134 | MIN 7, SD 4: Bottom of Order Steps Up, Matthews Pitches Well

Twins 6-9 hitters: 8-13, 4 RBI

Gam 135 | SD 12, MIN 3: Competitive Game Unravels in Disastrous Seventh Inning

Abel: 1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER

Game 136 | MIN 7, SD 2: Twins Cruise to Series Win Behind Ryan’s Excellence

Ryan: 7 IP, 0 R, 8 K

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NEWS & NOTES

Simeon Woods Richardson was activated from the injured list on Wednesday to start the series finale in Toronto. It was his first major-league appearance in a month after Woods Richardson was sidelined by a digestive issue that sapped his weight and strength. His return did not go smoothly, as the Blue Jays jumped all over him for three homers in forced him out in the fourth inning. 

Pierson Ohl was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move, but we’ll likely see him back up with the Twins before the season is over.

HIGHLIGHTS

Last year, much was made of Byron Buxton surpassing the 100-games-played threshold for just the second time in his career. This past week he passed that number again, much more quietly, which goes to show how much a healthy Buxton has suddenly become the norm. Hitting home runs? That’s typical too, and Buxton drilled four more in five games to set a career high with 29 on the season. 

Stealing bases successfully is also routine for Buxton — second base, anyway. On Friday he stole third base for the first time in his career, becoming the first Twins player in more than a decade to notch 20 homers and 20 steals in a season. (Brian Dozier last did it in 2014.) Buck is now 21-for-21 on stolen base attempts. On top of all that, he added another play to his defensive highlight reel in center, laying out for a fantastic grab in right-center on Saturday night.

 

Buxton’s spectacular showing has been a welcome exception to the misery of this 2025 Twins season, but as I’ve often said, it also kind of adds to the lament because he deserved a better team. For now, the best we can hope is that he’ll be surrounded by one next year, and the search is on for encouraging signs as we navigate the final month of the schedule.

We got some of those from the offense this past week, which has been an unfortunate rarity. Matt Wallner heated up with a big series in Canada, homering three times and driving in six. He stepped up with a game-winning three-run blast in the ninth on Tuesday. Trevor Larnach went 6-for-12 with three RBIs and just one strikeout. Luke Keaschall homered twice, doubled and stole a base. All of these guys figure to be key factors for the 2026 lineup, so you really want to see them carry some positive momentum into the end of the campaign.

Another guy we are watching closely here in the second half: Austin Martin, who is finally starting to make something out of the opportunity to show he belongs. Martin’s never going to hit for much power and he’s pretty much ruled himself out as an up-the-middle defender, so in order to carve out an MLB role he’s got to show he can get on base, make things happen with his legs, and play good defense in left field.

Martin checked all those boxes last week, starting four times and going 6-for-13 with five walks, a double and three steals in what may have been his finest week as a big-leaguer thus far. He lifted his batting average from .228 to .271, boosting his OBP all the way up to .363. That will definitely play. I’d love to see Martin playing everyday down the stretch and maybe even batting leadoff. Why not?

It wasn’t necessarily as meaningful in terms of future implications, but Mickey Gasper‘s magical moment on Tuesday was undoubtedly one of the brightest spots of the week and the second half. With the Twins down one in the ninth inning against Toronto, Gasper led off with his first career MLB home run, tying the game and setting up Wallner’s go-ahead shot later in the inning. 

 

Gasper’s homer came as part of a 3-for-4 game as starting catcher. He’s been seeing plenty of action behind the plate with Christian Vázquez sidelined, and it’s not inconceivable he could be auditioning for a similar type of role next season, given the lack of any obvious succession plan at catcher. Gasper’s OPS still sits at .485 even after the breakthrough, so there’s much more work to do. But could a strong month of September write him into the 2026 plans, or at least get him a spring training ticket?

On the pitching side, Kody Funderburk is trying to write his way into next year’s plans. In the wasteland that is Minnesota’s post-deadline bullpen, Funderburk has been a clear standout, with zero earned runs allowed in 14 August appearances. He allowed just two hits over 3 â…“ innings last week, picking up his first save of the season on Tuesday. Along with Cole Sands, who also had a sparkling week on the mound — 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 7 K, 1 BB — that’s the base for building a relief corps next year. It’s not much but it’s what they’ve got. 

LOWLIGHTS

It’s pretty safe to say Brooks Kriske and Génesis Cabrera will not be a part of the 2026 bullpen picture. At least I sure hope not. We saw the downsides of Minnesota’s patchwork staff on full display in a couple of their losses last week: On Tuesday, Cabrera combined with Michael Tonkin to blow a two-run lead in the eighth, and on Saturday both Cabrera and Kriske took part in a late-game meltdown that saw San Diego pile up 12 runs after the fifth inning.

Cabrera has been charged with multiple runs in four of his six appearances as a Twin, posting a 12.00 ERA. Kriske coughed up seven earned runs in two innings last week, inflating his ERA with Minnesota to 13.00. These are not the kinds of numbers you want to see. But also, like I said, they’re not gonna be around next year, so at the end of the day, who really cares.

The performance that opened the floodgates on Saturday’s collapse was more concerning than fringy seat-fillers getting lit up on the mound. Mick Abel entered in the sixth inning of Saturday’s game, with the idea being that he would piggy-back behind starter Taj Bradley and ideally take it the rest of the way. While Bradley was able to bounce back from an ugly Twins debut, tossing five innings of one-run ball against a good Padres lineup, Abel was … not able. 

He struggled through a 39-pitch sixth inning and then couldn’t record a single out in the seventh before getting pulled, finishing the day with six earned runs allowed on seven hits and two walks in one inning plus. Through two appearances with the Twins since being acquired in the Jhoan Durán trade, Abel has given up 11 earned runs in four innings, and he has allowed 17 of the 29 batters he’s faced to reach via hit or walk. 

 

It’s worth emphasizing that Abel just turned 24 earlier this month and has less than 30 innings of MLB experience. While the front office has pumped him up as major-league ready, he remains somewhat of a work in progress, adapting to a new organization to boot. And in Saturday’s game he was coming out of the bullpen for the first time, adding another disruptive element.

Still, with all that being said, yikes. It doesn’t get much worse than this in terms of results on the mound. The quality of his stuff is evident, but Abel is clearly having a hard time commanding it, executing pitches and controlling at-bats. He was optioned back to Triple-A after Sunday’s game. You wonder what the vision currently is for his role next year.

A similar question could be asked regarding Woods Richardson, who gets some slack for his rocky outing this past week after the long hiatus but also hasn’t been all that effective in general. Through 227 MLB innings he has a 4.43 ERA and 4.56 FIP. There’s nothing all that wrong with a cheap, average back-end starter but at some point the Twins are going to need to commit to a relief development path for some of the many mid-20s arms in their mix, whether that’s in September, next spring, or in-season. I’m not really sure if Woods Richardson’s arsenal is a good candidate for leveling up in relief but, maybe worth a shot?  

TRENDING STORYLINE

On Monday, with the calendar flipping to September, MLB rosters expand from 26 to 28, so the Twins will have an opportunity to add two more players for the final four weeks. Actually, three, with Abel being demoted on Sunday. Presumably they’ll add a hitter and two pitchers. Who might we see?

The bland and boring move would be calling up another auxiliary seat-filler like Noah Davis. The more exciting move would be turning to someone like Marco Raya, who at least offers a semblance of intrigue and future potential, though he hasn’t been good in the minors this year. On the position-player side we could see a functional addition like DaShawn Keirsey Jr., or we could dream on something like an Emmanuel Rodriguez September showcase. (Highly unlikely given that Rodriguez is currently at Single-A rehabbing from another injury.)

Adding to the roster-juggling dynamics, the Twins are going to need to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Pablo López, who made his final rehab start with the Saints on Sunday night (5.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 7 K, 1 BB). I would think Cabrera and Kriske have put themselves on the chopping block with their performances. We’ll find out soon enough.

LOOKING AHEAD

If you want to see some winning baseball at Target Field before the year is over, this coming week will be your best chance, with a four-game series against the White Sox. The rest of the opponents visiting in September (D-backs, Yankees, Guardians) will offer a considerably steeper challenge. For whatever it’s worth, the Twins really need to take three of four from Chicago in order to have much hope of avoiding a 90-loss season. Next weekend they head to Kansas City for a showdown against the second-place Royals.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1: WHITE SOX @ TWINS — TBD v. RHP. Bailey Ober
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2: WHITE SOX @ TWINS — RHP Davis Martin v. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3: WHITE SOX @ TWINS — RHP Yoendrys Gomez v. RHP Zebby Matthews
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4: WHITE SOX @ TWINS — RHP Shane Smith v. RHP Taj Bradley
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5: TWINS @ ROYALS — RHP Joe Ryan v. TBD
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6: TWINS @ ROYALS — RHP Bailey Ober v. RHP Michael Wacha
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7: TWINS @ ROYALS — RHP Simeon Woods Richardson v. RHP Michael Lorenzen