What could Twins’ lineup, pitching staff look like on Opening Day 2027?

It’s now been a full week since the Twins’ stunning trade deadline fire sale. Opinions vary quite a bit on the team’s decision to sell off as many parts as it did, but the optimistic view is that the Twins’ future outlook is now stronger than it was before the deadline. They’ve got plenty of work to do to rebuild the bullpen, sure, but most of the major-league core remains in place, and the farm system has some intriguing new talent to add to a strong group of prospects that was already in place.

The rest of this year is about evaluation, and it’s unclear if the Twins will have the pieces to be competitive in 2026, either. So let’s take a look forward and project what their roster could look like on Opening Day in 2027. We’re not going to come up with any hypothetical trades or free agent signings, even though those are a significant part of roster building. For this exercise, we’re only going to use players who are currently in the organization (they don’t necessarily have to be under contract in 2027 at this moment). Let’s dive into it.

Note: Player ages, listed in parentheses, are how old they’ll be on June 30, 2027

Lineup

David Reginek-Imagn Images

Luke Keaschall, 2B (24)
Byron Buxton, CF (33)
Walker Jenkins, LF (22)
Royce Lewis, 3B (28)
Matt Wallner, DH (29)
Kaelen Culpepper, SS (24)
Emmanuel Rodriguez, RF (24)
Ryan Jeffers, C (30)
Kody Clemens, 1B (31)

This lineup includes six players currently at the big-league level and three of the Twins’ top prospects. Rodriguez is at Triple-A, and the only question with him is if he can stay healthy. Jenkins and Culpepper are lighting it up at Double-A and may end up in St. Paul before 2025 ends.

The catcher position is up in the air. Jeffers is a free agent after 2026, so I’m projecting he’ll get a new deal and stick around until Eduardo Tait (20 years old in 2027) is ready to go. First base is another one that’s unclear. Maybe Lewis or Keaschall end up there? For now, I’m gonna say the Twins bring back Clemens and make him part of their future. Aaron Sabato could also potentially be in that mix.

Bench

Alan Roden, OF (27)
Gabriel Gonzalez, OF (23)
Brooks Lee, IF (26)
Ricardo Olivar, C/OF (25)

There are tons of other names who I could’ve put here. James Outman will be in the outfield mix if he hits enough. Maybe Edouard Julien or Austin Martin stick around (though that seems unlikely). Current Triple-A bats like Payton Eeles, Kyler Fedko, Sabato, and Carson McCusker are possibilities. All kinds of younger prospects — Kyle DeBarge, Billy Amick, and Hendry Mendez among them — could emerge. And that’s all without considering any additions. It’ll be fun to see what happens.

Starting rotation

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Joe Ryan, RHP (31)
Pablo Lopez, RHP (31)
Zebby Matthews, RHP (27)
Taj Bradley, RHP (26)
Mick Abel, RHP (25)

This obviously assumes that Ryan and Lopez aren’t traded before the 2027 season. Matthews, Bradley, and Abel have all shown enough upside to think that they have a real chance to be long-term pieces of the Twins’ rotation. But there will be plenty of competition here. Bailey Ober and David Festa can’t be ruled out. Among prospects, Kendry Rojas and Marco Raya might have the best chance to earn a spot here, but guys like Andrew Morris, Cory Lewis, C.J. Culpepper, and Ryan Gallagher also have a shot.

Bullpen

Cole Sands, RHP (29)
Justin Topa, RHP (36)
Connor Prielipp, LHP (26)
Travis Adams, RHP (27)
Pierson Ohl, RHP (27)
John Klein, RHP (25)
Garrett Horn, LHP (24)
Cory Lewis, RHP (26)

This is the hardest area to predict, given that the 2025 bullpen was ripped to shreds. Honestly, I was just kind of throwing names at the wall there. Sands is under contract for a while, but Topa (or perhaps Michael Tonkin) would need to be re-signed. Prielipp could be a starter, but his stuff would be nasty out of the bullpen. There are truly all kinds of pitchers in the Twins’ system who could wind up as effective relievers if they don’t pan out as starters. Identifying those players is one of the big tasks for this front office moving forward. Relievers can always be acquired via trade or free agency, as well.