This weekend, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported the Minnesota Twins do not anticipate moving Byron Buxton, Pablo López, or Joe Ryan this offseason, intending to contend for a postseason berth in 2026. In the article, Rosenthal noted that club officials believe they have “’mild flexibility’ to make additions,” signaling the front office could have more spending room than previously thought.
Soon after Rosenthal’s piece was published, Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll told reporters at the Winter Meetings on Monday that the club plans on targeting “another bat or two with some thump, some impact, to bolster a group that we’re excited about.” High-cost impact bats like Pete Alonso or Kazuma Okamoto would be ideal candidates for Minnesota’s power-deficient lineup. Even though the front office has seemingly been given some spending room, though, needle movers like Alonso or Okamoto will be too expensive for the Twins.
Given what we can assume are still reasonably snug constraints for a team looking to spend modestly, no other player would fit Minnesota’s needs better than Ryan O’Hearn. Splitting last season between the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres, the 32-year-old hit .281/.366/.437, with 17 home runs and a 127 wRC+ over 544 plate appearances. Earning the first All-Star nod of his career, the left-handed batter performed better in the first half (135 wRC+ over 361 plate appearances) than he did post-trade deadline with San Diego (112 wRC+ over 183 plate appearances). Still, given his three-season span of strong performances (121 wRC+ over 1,406 combined plate appearances), the veteran bat projects to earn his first eight-figure contract this winter. Our top 50 free agents list ranked O’Hearn in the top half, and predicted that he’ll sign for two years and $23 million.
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If Zoll is to be taken seriously, O’Hearn is the most intriguing bat Minnesota could realistically sign to bolster its lineup entering 2026. Posting a 135 wRC+ over 109 plate appearances against same-handed pitching (compared to a 125 wRC+ over 377 plate appearances facing right-handed pitching), O’Hearn excelled as a platoon-proof bat, cementing himself as a cog in the middle of Baltimore and San Diego’s lineups. He hits the ball hard and often, with hard-hit rates over 40% in each year of his career, according to Statcast—and better-than-average strikeout rates in each of the last two seasons.
O’Hearn is also a tremendous defensive first baseman, sporting 6 Outs Above Average (OAA) at the position in 2025. Minnesota has unexpectedly been the gold standard of first base defense in recent history, fielding the last two AL Gold Glove winners at the position in Carlos Santana and Ty France. O’Hearn would possess the defensive skillset necessary to match Santana and France’s performances, if not surpass them. The veteran lefty could also mix in at both corner outfield spots; he played 149 innings in right field and 16 innings in left field in 2025. Given his plus bat, defensive flexibility, and reputation as a beloved clubhouse figure, the Twins would be wise to target O’Hearn, adding a middle-of-the-lineup presence while addressing their most pressing position of need.
Twins Daily’s John Bonnes contributed to the reporting in this piece.