The Twins spent much of the season trying to chase down the Cleveland Guardians and the Chicago White Sox in the standings. They were unable to, and as a result have watched from afar as their two division foes have duked it out for a trip to American League Championship Series.
The Twins wanted to play meaningful games in September this season, but after hanging tough for five months, a sharp nosedive late killed their playoff hopes. They finished 77-85 and in third place in the AL Central.
But they also didn’t feel as if they were too far away, and at the team’s official post mortem this month, team owner Tom Pohlad set the bar a little higher.
“Our goal this offseason is to field a roster next spring where making the playoffs isn’t a hope, it’s the expectation that everybody … agrees is realistic,” he said.
Here are five reasons why the Twins are optimistic about a better 2027 season:
Rotation depth
Twins starter Taj Bradley claps for his defense after completing the top of the first inning of the Twins’ 11-1 victory over Detroit on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, at Target Field. Bradley allowed only one run on four hits in seven innings. (Abbie Parr / Associated Press)
The Twins’ rotation took a hit on the first day of full-squad spring training workouts when Pablo López walked off the mound during the middle of his live batting practice session with elbow soreness. Days later, the Twins announced he would undergo surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament and miss the entire season.
Mick Abel, who won a spot in the rotation in spring training, looked good before suffering an April injury that required season-ending elbow surgery. They’re expected to be healthy by spring training, re-joining a rotation pool that includes all-star Joe Ryan, team pitcher of the year Taj Bradley, Dean Kremer, Bailey Ober, team rookie of the year Connor Prielipp and Zebby Matthews.
Of course, there’s no such thing as too much starting pitching depth, as the Twins saw this year, and the Twins may even deal from that group to address other areas of the roster. But as they enter the offseason, that rotation depth figures to be an advantage.
“It’s been so fun to see each and every one of those guys show … what they have and the ones that were acquired, show the team and show us why the team went out and got them,” López said.
Young core
Minnesota outfielder Luke Keaschall celebrates his RBI double in the sixth inning during a baseball game against the Athletics on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (Alan Greth / Associated Press)
It’s possible they all might have arrived sooner if not for injuries, but in the last weeks of the 2026 season, Twins fans got a chance to look at three of the organization’s top prospects — and had to like what they saw.
Kaelen Culpepper, Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez each had moments in the waning days of the season that showed why the Twins are so excited about their futures.
“There should be some excitement with this young group,” manager Derek Shelton said. “When you have multiple young players that are exciting, and do things that are going to help us win games, it’s nice to be able to get them on the field together.”
In addition to the three rookies, Luke Keaschall, who finished his second major league season, is just 24 and was progressively better after a tough April. Third baseman Brooks Lee, in his third year in the majors, had his best season to date, hitting 24 home runs, coming up with a number of clutch hits and excelling after a position switch.
Simply put, there’s plenty of young talent to put on the field around veteran all-star center fielder Byron Buxton, who will be back on the field after having hip surgery in September.
Bullpen foundation
Jeff Hoffman of the Twins reacts after striking out the side in the ninth inning of Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif. (Nicole Vasquez/Getty Images)
The Twins detonated their bullpen at the 2025 trade deadline, shipping away their top five relievers. They did little to address the bullpen last offseason, making only one major league signing, but throughout the course of the 2026, they found different ways to upgrade the group.
Though both ran into some trouble near the end of the season, Yoendrys Gómez and Andrew Morris spent chunks of the season as the Twins’ top two relievers. The Twins acquired A.J. Minter, now a free agent, before the trade deadline, as well as Jeff Hoffman and Tommy Nance, the latter of whom should both be back. Hoffman had a 2.50 ERA after the trade, striking out 27 batters in 18 innings and could slide in as the Twins’ closer.
There’s still work to be done to improve the group, but the Twins will be starting from a much more solid foundation than they were a year ago.
Defensive improvement
Twins third baseman Brooks Lee reacts to his first-inning double against the Detroit Tigers during Tuesday’s game in Detroit. (Paul Sancya/Associated Press)
The Twins were not a good defensive team in 2026. By Defensive Runs Saved, they were 28th of 30 teams in the majors. But things shifted considerably when the Twins made a couple of adjustments. Moving Lee from shortstop to third base, and Keaschall from second base to the outfield, upgraded the defense considerably.
Lee was among the best fielders at third base, and Keaschall looked increasingly more comfortable in the outfield, particularly in right. Jenkins and Rodriguez should often flank Buxton in the outfield and improve the Twins’ athleticism overall, and shortstop Marek Houston, one of the best defenders in the Twins’ minor league system, could reach the majors next season.
“We wanted to get better defensively, and we still have a ways to go,” Shelton said. “And we want to get more athletic. When you add Walker into that mix, you add (Rodrigues) into that mix, Keaschall as athletic as he is, Kaelen as athletic as he is, those are really good things that I think are important for us.”
Higher payroll
Minnesota Twins vice president and assistant general manager Jeremy Zoll talks as new manager Derek Shelton is introduced during a baseball news conference, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Minneapolis. (Abbie Parr / Associated Press)
It’s no secret that the Twins’ payroll has been on the decline over the past few seasons. But after taking on some additional salary at the trade deadline, Pohlad has given indications that fans should expect it to continue to rise.
“I have said over and over that a $100 million payroll or anything close to that is not sufficient to be consistently competitive and in the playoffs, so we intend to take the offseason and invest meaningfully,” he said.
Pohlad didn’t give an indication of where exactly the Twins might take their payroll, but he did say that if general manager Jeremy Zoll has conviction about a move he believes will improve the roster, ownership would be “prepared to support him with the financial resources he needs.”