It’s fair to argue that Laweryson should have been given a shot to face MLB hitters earlier in 2025. While far from a high-end pitching prospect, he allowed just a single run in 7 2/3 innings in his first cup of big-league coffee. A former 14th-round pick by the Twins in 2019, it’s worth seeing whether the strong numbers he put up in a small sample at the end of 2025 can carry over to 2026. He’ll be cheaper than anyone they can find externally, and could become a great story from the late rounds of the draft.

Laweryson lacks the velocity and raw stuff to take over as a high-leverage relief arm. Still, his command and ability to limit homers make him a strong candidate to at least fill out a middle relief role. With a wide-open depth chart, his brief success to end 2025 should be more than enough to earn him a look right away in 2026.

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Travis Adams

Adams was added to the 40-man roster last offseason to serve as rotation depth.

While he did wind up being used in that role eventually, he didn’t impress in it, and the Twins’ rotation depth headed into 2026 makes him unlikely to serve in that capacity again. Adams made the transition to the bullpen in September, and it didn’t go well, but perhaps a full offseason of preparing for relief work can make a difference.

Adams has a strong repertoire to transition into relief work. Unlike Laweryson, Adams can run his fastball into the mid- to high 90s. He also has a six-pitch mix that could easily be trimmed down to feature his changeup and slider, which were his best swing-and-miss offerings. Adams will have to perform much better than he did in 2025 to stick in any role, but it’s fair to wonder whether he has the upside to help fill the massive void left by the trade deadline.

David Festa

A former 13th-round pick, Festa developed into a legitimate starting pitching prospect before his stock came crashing down in 2025.

Poor performance was eventually revealed to be injury-related, as repeated shoulder injuries held him down for much of the year. He struggled to maintain his stuff and consistency for multiple innings at a time. While injury may be the cause, it’s also worth questioning whether Festa’s significant boost in velocity since he was drafted can be maintained in a traditional starting pitching role…

When it comes to stuff, Festa is near the top of the Twins organization at his best. His high-end velocity and pair of off-speed pitches make him a candidate to become a legitimately dominant back-end relief pitcher. Between his injury, the Twins’ need for bullpen help, and their starting pitching depth, a move to a relief role would make a lot of sense.

It’s unlikely we see this transition from day one, as the team always likes to maintain rotation depth, but they shouldn’t be too slow to try Festa in a new role if 2026 doesn’t get out to an encouraging start for him. He’s more than capable of being one of the better relief pitchers on the roster by season’s end.