The Minnesota Twins finished the 2025 season with a 70-92 record, which marked their worst campaign since 2016 and represented a massive fall from the team that won the AL Central just two years ago.<\/p>\n
After ownership essentially forced a salary dump at the trade deadline that saw 11 players leave the 40-man roster, the Twins now sit with one of the lowest projected payrolls in baseball heading into 2026, and the state of their contracts shows a franchise in transition.<\/p>\n
Starting pitcher Pablo Lopez<\/a> carries the largest salary on the roster at $21.75 million for 2026, and he has one more guaranteed year after that at $21.5 million through 2027.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n When healthy, Lopez showed he can still pitch like an ace, posting a 2.74 ERA across 14 starts in 2025 before injuries cut his season short.<\/p>\n Center fielder Byron Buxton<\/a> follows at $15 million, which is part of a seven-year, $100 million extension he signed before the 2022 season that runs through 2028 and includes a full no-trade clause.<\/p>\n The Twins also have $10 million in dead money for Carlos Correa on the books after trading him to Houston at the deadline, and they will owe him $10 million each year through 2028 as part of the $33 million they retained in the deal.<\/p>\n That blank space could actually end up being the third-highest “salary” on the 2026 payroll if the team continues cutting costs.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Joe Ryan<\/a> might be the best value on the entire roster after putting together a career year in 2025 where he went 13-10 with a 3.42 ERA and 194 strikeouts across 171 innings.<\/p>\n He earned his first All-Star selection and is projected to make less than $6 million in arbitration, which makes him a steal for a pitcher who performs like a top-of-the-rotation arm on the open market.<\/p>\n Catcher Ryan Jeffers<\/a> is another strong value at a projected arbitration number under $7 million, as he provides solid production at a premium position.<\/p>\n Buxton showed why the Twins locked him up when he finally stayed healthy enough to play 126 games in 2025, which was his second-highest total ever behind his 140 games in 2017.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n He clubbed a career-high 35 home runs, drove in 83 runs, slashed .264\/.327\/.551<\/a>, and won a Silver Slugger award, which proved that when he is on the field, he is still one of the most dynamic players in baseball.<\/p>\n