The Weekly Nutshell:
What can you even really say at this point. The on-field results are beyond ugly. The team itself looks despondent and the fanbase has all but checked out, with Target Field sitting emptier than ever before while local sporting crowds readily shift their attention to football. 

I get that the Twins are a mere shell of their former selves, roster-wise. I get that by now, losing is more helpful than winning in the grand scheme. But good lord man. This is hideous, shameful baseball. The offense continues to sputter along in a hapless daze while the pitching staff blows late leads day after day. Those of us still watching are searching desperately for signs of hope but finding little to cling onto. 

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 9/1 through Sun, 9/7
***
Record Last Week: 1-6 (Overall: 63-80)
Run Differential Last Week: -20 (Overall: -83)
Standing: 4th Place in AL Central (18.5 GB) 

Game 137 | CWS 6, MIN 5: Ober Struggles, Comeback From Twins Falls Short

Game 138 | CWS 12, MIN 3: Replacement-Level Relievers Rocked in Blowout Loss

Game 139 | CWS 4, MIN 3: Funderburk and Topa Blow Two-Run Lead in Ninth Inning

Funderburk, Topa: 1 IP, 3 ER

Game 140 | CWS 11, MIN 8: White Sox Rally Late to Complete Humiliating Sweep

Game 141 | KC 2, MIN 1: López Pitches Well in Return, Offense Comes Up Empty

Twins hitters: 1-8 RISP, 8 LOB

Game 142 | KC 11, MIN 2: Royals Jump All Over Ryan on the Way to Lopsided Win

Game 143 | MIN 5, KC 1: Ober Excels as Twins Snap Six-Game Losing Streak

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NEWS & NOTES

Sidelined since June 4th by a teres major strain, Pablo López made his return to the Twins rotation on Friday night following a relatively lengthy rehab stint at Triple-A. Facing the Royals in Kansas City, he looked mostly like himself, pitching six strong innings with just two runs allowed. Good to have Pablo back.

Twins fans haven’t gotten much respite in this second half, but at least they got a little bit when Noah Davis was outrighted to Triple-A in order to make room for López. The bar is pretty low in terms of pitching performance on this depleted staff, but again … good LORD man. Davis now has a 9.53 career ERA in 62 major-league innings after surrendering nine earned runs on four homers in five innings spread across two stints with the Twins. 

David Festa won’t make it back this year. His shoulder issue flared up again as he tried to ramp up for a late-season return, and now he has ominously been slated for a visit with Dr. Keith Meister, signaling a fairly high level of concern. If Festa needs surgery, it will likely cost him some if not most of next season while drastically dampening his long-term outlook; shoulders are tough. 

Ryan Jeffers absorbed a couple of tough blows behind the plate on Thursday and was initially diagnosed with a head contusion. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. was swapped out from the roster for Jhonny Pereda to add catching depth as the Twins evaluated their starting backstop. On Sunday the Twins moved Jeffers to the 7-day concussion injured list, replacing him on the roster with outfielder Carson McCusker. Also on Sunday, reliever Brooks Kriske was designated for assignment, with Pierson Ohl returning to the bullpen in his stead.

HIGHLIGHTS

Amid the wreckage of last week, there were a few notably strong performances, so let’s talk about them. Cole Sands was dominant against the White Sox on Wednesday, striking out four over two perfect innings to protect a slim lead before his bullpen-mates blew it in the ninth. He added 1 â…“ innings of scoreless relief on Sunday. Sands has a 17-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 11 â…“ scoreless innings in his past nine appearances, and is coming to very much resemble the dominant version of himself who broke through in a relief role last year.

This is a legitimately critical development. Sands was Minnesota’s fifth or sixth option out of the bullpen for much of this season, but now is now thrust into being its de facto leader going forward. In order to have any chance of fielding a competent relief corps next year, the Twins are going to need Sands in top form. Right now we are seeing it.

Taj Bradley‘s top form has been elusive of late, which is part of the reason Tampa was willing to part with him in a trade that helped dismantle the bullpen around Sands. Bradley was sent down to Triple-A by the Rays earlier this season, and was pitching there before Minnesota acquired him in exchange for Griffin Jax. 

In his Twins debut on August 24th, Bradley got knocked around by the White Sox for seven earned runs with only one strikeout in five innings. He rebounded with a good start against San Diego last weekend, and then added another encouraging showing on Thursday in a rematch against the White Sox. The results were hardly great — 5 IP, 4 ER — but Bradley was far more impressive in this one, striking out seven with only one walk. 

 

Bradley’s numbers in his short time with the Twins are not outstanding (7.20 ERA, 4.01 FIP) nor are his overall stats in 369 big-league innings: 4.80 ERA, 4.33 FIP. But in a game like this, you can’t miss the upside and imminent potential in his arm. Bradley will turn 25 next spring and has what it takes to plug in as an inexpensive mid-rotation fixture for several years.

Zebby Matthews also pitched very well against the White Sox, holding them to one run over six innings on Wednesday, and Simeon Woods Richardson enjoyed a bounce-back outing a day earlier (5 IP, 2 ER, 7 K). Looking forward, it’s easy enough to feel quite good about Minnesota’s cost-controlled starting pitching depth, even with the unfortunate Festa news. Elsewhere the vibes are less good.

LOWLIGHTS

What did we as Twins fans do to deserve being subjected to this bullpen? It has unsurprisingly been the worst in baseball since the front office traded their top five relievers at the deadline, and this past week we got a full dosage of the ramifications. Against the White Sox, home fans watched a collection of non-major-league talents cough up late leads over and over again. I know the Twins aren’t trying to lose, per se, but if they were, how different would it look?

Twins pitchers gave up 30 earned runs on 46 hits and nine homers in four games against the White Sox, who are heading toward 100 losses. Justin Topa surrendered a one-run lead in the eighth inning on Monday and took the loss. Thomas Hatch was blasted for five earned over two innings in Tuesday’s blowout defeat before Davis came in and yielded three more. Kody Funderburk and Topa combined to blow a two-run lead in ninth on Wednesday. Travis Adams was shelled for four earned runs in one inning on Thursday, wiping out another multi-run lead. Hatch gave up four earned runs in three innings on Saturday, and Kriske yielded a couple more as a parting gift.

You might say, who cares. None of these guys, sans Adams and maybe Topa or Funderburk, have much chance of playing any role in the 2026 bullpen. But that’s kind of the problem! We’re not even seeing potential contributors audition here in the waning weeks of a lost season. The few that are, like Adams, look bad! I tried mapping out a roster for next season and it’s very hard to even theorize a bullpen composition, because there are so few credible options at the moment. 

 

The outlook for the offense feels more set-in-stone, but that’s not necessarily a good thing. For better or worse the Twins are probably going to bring back a large portion of the position-player regulars who are currently flailing away and losing games day after day.

I’m wondering if that’ll include James Outman. Seemingly the club has to stick with him for more than six weeks after giving up two-plus years of (albeit an injury-prone) Brock Stewart for him. But it was difficult to comprehend what the Twins saw in Outman when they acquired him, and it’s even harder now. He looks horrendous. He went 1-for-18 in seven games (four starts) last week and is now hitting .148 with zero home runs in 59 plate appearances as a Twin. Yet another brutal first impression from a trade deadline addition, which is a trend only Bradley has mildly been able to buck. 

Brooks Lee is much more important than Outman to the team’s future, which is why it’s even more disappointing to see his bat tailing off again following a brief hot streak. Lee went 5-for-23 with a double and an RBI, and is batting .193 with two extra-base hits since his one-week power flurry in mid-August. Those bursts of production, while somewhat promising, have been too rare and fleeting to inspire a great deal of confidence. For the most part, Lee continues to look overmatched against MLB pitching. Regardless, he’s all but assured of the starting shortstop job next season.

TRENDING STORYLINE 

J.J. McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings are set to face off against Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears in a season-opening divisional showdown on Monday Night Football! Two young quarterbacks with much to prove will be looking to get things started the right way for a pair of teams with high-variance outlooks, both kicking off their seasons under the bright national lights.

I’m just kidding, this isn’t turning into a Vikings column. But, that does sort of hint at the trending storyline surrounding this Minnesota Twins team in my mind: dying fan interest. People were already tuning out from this product even before the NFL season began, and Target Field promises to be all the more quiet and empty for the final remaining home stand, which starts next weekend.

It’s only reasonable and expected that sports fans are widely checking out from the Twins right now. I just find myself worrying a great deal about the go-forward. The depressing attendance totals for the White Sox series don’t even fully encompass the state of affairs, because those were inflated by an existing season ticket base that is certain to dry up in the coming offseason. 

It’s a bleak time. Watching the Minnesota Twins, the worst team in MLB since the All-Star break, get their brains beat in by horrible competition, with a roster that offers little hope of improving enough to be competent next year — that’s really all I can bring myself to think about. I appreciate that the people reading this column still care. I myself will be following this team to the bitter end. But aside from us sickos, the Twins are making it extremely difficult for anyone to care and invest their energy, time, or money. Maybe in these final weeks and the coming offseason they can find something to spark a light of any kind. But the leadership of this wayward organization aren’t giving us any reason to believe.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Twins take their final trip out west to face an Angels team that is more mediocre than terrible. That puts them several notches above Minnesota in terms of caliber, so I anticipate a series loss at minimum. Next weekend the Twins return home to take on an Arizona team the could be described similarly. 

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1: TWINS @ ANGELS — RHP Simeon Woods Richardson v. TBD
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2: TWINS @ ANGELS — RHP Zebby Matthews v. RHP Kyle Hendricks
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3: TWINS @ ANGELS — RHP Taj Bradley v. RHP Jose Soriano
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5: DIAMONDBACKS @ TWINS — RHP Brandon Pfaadt v. RHP Pablo Lopez
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6: DIAMONDBACKS @ TWINS — RHP Ryne Nelson v. RHP Joe Ryan
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7: DIAMONDBACKS @ TWINS — RHP Nabil Crismatt v. RHP Bailey Ober