We are now a week from the Major League Baseball trade deadline. The Minnesota Twins parted out nearly half of their roster and the Pohlad family forced Derek Falvey to effectively wave the white flag on the season.
Of course that doesn’t mean the Twins can just forfeit the rest of their games, and Rocco Baldelli will need to field a lineup the rest of the way. An off day on Thursday separates Minnesota’s return from a road trip, and they’ll welcome the Kansas City Royals over the weekend.
It’s unlikely the MN Twins continue to win series against top-tier teams like they did this week against the Detroit Tigers. While the wins and losses may not matter, there is plenty to keep track of down the stretch.
What holdovers decide to show up?
The Minnesota Twins watched Carlos Correa ask out at the first opportunity after begging for a lesser position. Griffin Jax followed his lead when he saw the carnage unfold around him. Byron Buxton showed up to display he’s still here and still cares. Who’s going to join him?
Minnesota shook up the core in trading Correa and their trio of controllable relievers. Trevor Larnach, Matt Wallner, Ryan Jeffers, Austin Martin, and Bailey Ober are still here though.
The three outfielders are all former first round picks who have yet to establish much of anything. Larnach owns a 99 OPS+ this season, and 101 OPS+ for his career. Average is absolutely the way to put his production, and the defense leaves plenty to be desired. Martin doesn’t look the part of an outfielder at all, but he’s not an infielder either.
Wallner has been the best of the bunch, but his profile is entirely slug-related, and that has seen his OPS+ dip to 116 this season (from 138 career). He needs to show an ability to find the production that resulted in a .251/.366/.500 batting line over his first 169 games.
The Minnesota Twins aren’t moving on from either Jeffers or Ober, nor should they. However, can either be more than just a guy? Jeffers has been fine, but has seriously defensive limitations. Ober pitched hurt, but hasn’t looked right for long stretches when healthy either. This group has lots of questions to answer.
Is a starter emerging from the MN Twins depth?
Coming into the season the Minnesota Twins starting rotation looked like a strength because of their depth. That depth was quickly exposed after injuries to Pablo Lopez, Bailey Ober, and Zebby Matthews forced decisions to be made.
Simeon Woods Richardson has been fine (4.24 ERA 4.71 FIP) if not unspectacular. Neither Matthews or David Festa (who is now hurt) have cemented themselves as real rotation options though. One or both need to take steps forward the rest of the way and get their ERA’s out of the 5.00’s.
Travis Adams and Pierson Ohl have pitched in bulk roles, and we have yet to see Andrew Morris from Triple-A due to injury. If someone from this group can turn opportunity into something they can build on next season, that would be great to see.
It’s also plausible that debuts from prospects such as Cory Lewis, Marco Raya, or even Connor Prielipp happen before the end of the year.
How does Rocco Baldelli manage the Minnesota clubhouse?
As much as new owners may want to bring in their own front office, a new front office may want their own manager. Derek Falvey and Thad Levine exhibited these feelings when canning Paul Molitor to bring in Rocco Baldelli.
Baldelli had his 2026 option exercised already, but he must show control of the clubhouse the rest of the way. With a significant amount of talent turnover, the skipper needs to be a steadying presence.
Thankfully Baldelli has the support of not only his staff, but Byron Buxton as well. That should help to get the younger or less experienced players on board. Still, as much as the Twins results may not matter, it can’t look like the team gave up on their manager if he intends to stick around.
Where does MN Twins Byron Buxton finish in MVP race?
As things stand, Byron Buxton’s 3.9 fWAR ranks 6th among hitters in the American League. He is currently on the injured list with a rib cartilage issue, but should be activated over the weekend.
If Buxton can get in another 15 games, he’ll play more than 100 games in consecutive seasons for just the first time in his career. If he does play in more than 100 games, real votes in the MVP race are a reality.
Right now Buxton owns a .282/.343/.561 slash line with 23 home runs. He’s five shy of tying his career-high in dingers, and he continues to play an exceptional defensive centerfield.
There’s no reason to believe Buxton will actually win the award. That said, he has millions on the line in contract incentives for a finish in the top ten. He has never previously placed above 16th. A top-ten finish would be reflective of both production and availability.
Does a new pen arm exist for the Minnesota Twins?
The biggest hit from the MN Twins trade deadline came in the bullpen. Derek Falvey traded five of the eight relievers available to Baldelli, and they also represented the top options.
A bad team doesn’t really need a closer, but it would be ideal to see more high-leverage talent step up. The Twins developed Louie Varland internally and inexplicably sent him to Canada. There’s really no immediate building blocks to point out as being left.
Can Kody Funderburk stop bouncing back and forth, rid the 6.10 ERA, and show some of his Triple-A promise? Cole Sands is now the elder statesman of the group. Can he take another step forward and be the guy? There will undoubtedly be more talent called up from Triple-A, maybe one of them sticks.
The Twins also took fliers on Thomas Hatch and Brooks Kriske. If they can be more than deck chairs on the Titanic, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.
For a team 6.5 back in the division and equally as far for the Wild Card, the postseason isn’t going to be a thing. How they learn and develop, rather than wasting the time, certainly is though.
