4:30 Update: We are still waiting on Twins news beyond the trade and the Topa contract. we will update this article as soon as we know more.
4:35 Update: Trevor Larnach Tendered, per Darren Wolfson.
4:53 Update: The Twins tendered a contract to all of their arbitration-eligible players. Also, DaShawn Keirsey was released, making him a free agent.
Next Steps: On January 8, if the two sides haven’t reached an agreement, they will submit their arbitration requests. Soon after, if an agreement is till not reached, the case will be heard with an arbitrator who will determine the player’s 2026 contract. It will be either the player’s request or the team’s requested number. Often the sides just meet somewhere in the middle.
Of note, tendering a contract to Trevor Larnach does not guarantee he will be with the Twins in 2026. The front office likely has had enough trade interest to indicate that he could be traded during the offseason. Teams would obviously much rather lose a player, especially a former first-round pick, for something rather than nothing.
Baseball’s offseason can be long and winding, sometimes boring, and other times hectic. For instance, today (at 3pm central time) marks the deadline for teams to tender 2026 contracts to their arbitration-eligible players and pre-arbitration players.
Check back to this article throughout the day to see if the Twins have reached agreements with their arbitration-eligible players or if they will need to exchange values.
Some of those decisions have already been made. The Twins DFAd three relievers, right-hander Michael Tonkin and lefties Genesis Cabrera and Anthony Misiewicz. They each became free agents.
This morning, the Twins traded Saints utilityman Payton Eeles to the Orioles in exchange for catcher Alex Jackson. To make room on the 40-man roster, DaShawn Keirsey was DFAd.
Jackson has played in parts of five big-league seasons and has just over three years of service time which makes him arbitration-eligible for the first time.
Here are the eight arbitration-eligible Twins players with their MLB Trade Rumors 2026 salary projection:
C Ryan Jeffers: $6.6 million (Arbitrary Thoughts)
RHP Justin Topa: $1.7 million (Arbitrary Thoughts)
The Twins had a $2 million team option for Topa that they declined. Adding the $225,000 buyout to his $1.225 million 2026 contract, Topa gets $1.45 million in an awkward total. As for the 2026 contract, his salary will be $1 million with an option for $5 million in 2027 with a buyout at $225,000.
RHP Bailey Ober: $4.6 million (Arbitrary Thoughts)
RHP Joe Ryan: $5.8 million (Arbitrary Thoughts)
OF Trevor Larnach: $4.7 million (Arbitrary Thoughts)
3B Royce Lewis: $3.0 million (Arbitrary Thoughts)
RHP Cole Sands: $1.3 million (Arbitrary Thoughts)
C Alex Jackson: $1.8 million
Again, continue to check back throughout the day for more updates and to discuss.