Sunday, October 18

Now that everyone has had a couple of weeks to decompress following an eventful, interesting, but ultimately unsuccessful Twins season, here are five questions facing the team going into the winter.

What are they going to do about catcher?

This is first, but probably not exclusively, a question about Ryan Jeffers.

The Twins have not yet disclosed whether they intend to tender a qualifying offer to Jeffers, though general manager Jeremy Zoll said that if the club decides that’s the correct baseball decision, he will have the authority from ownership to do so. Still, Jeffers is intent on at least seeing what’s out there on the market as a free agent.

And while the Twins could sign him, it is likely to be a competitive market, and they need to be thinking about potential Plan B's. Victor Caratini is a good second catcher but not the person you want as your No. 1. And while Vahn Lackey appears to be moving quickly, he’s not a 2027 solution.

That means looking outside. The free-agent market is thin and, aside from Jeffers, is headed by Tyler Stephenson and Carson Kelly, so this may be a need to address via trade.

Who will be in the rotation?

This one is more of a good problem. As of now, the Twins have at least eight, and probably nine, candidates for the starting rotation next season -- Taj Bradley, Joe Ryan, Pablo López, Dean Kremer, Bailey Ober, Connor Prielipp, Zebby Matthews, Mick Abel and perhaps Kendry Rojas. And while you could’ve said the same at this time last year, the established depth is greater.

But the specific aspect that makes a trade more likely this winter is that four of those pitchers are coming up on free agency. Ryan, López, Kremer and Ober are all eligible for free agency following 2027, and it’s highly unlikely that the team will want to go into next winter facing the loss of four-fifths of its rotation. So between the needs elsewhere and the logjam, it’s very likely the club will look to move at least one of those veteran starters.

Who will be in the outfield?

It’s a somewhat similar issue here: too many players. Byron Buxton is coming back from injury, but if he’s healthy, he’s the center fielder. Then you’ve got top prospects Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez, who both impressed in their first tastes of the Majors. Trevor Larnach had a strong year. Alan Roden showed he can hit. Austin Martin is still here, and Gabriel Gonzalez is knocking on the door. Matt Wallner is still on the 40-man roster, though he’s almost certainly played his last time in a Twins uniform.

Quite obviously, even with the DH spot, you can’t play all those guys at once. So there will be some pressure to move from another area of strength to shore up other parts of the roster. Larnach seems like a candidate to be traded, given his rising salary and the club’s preference for more athletic players.

How does Royce Lewis fit in?

Lewis stayed healthy this year, but his offensive performance was highly inconsistent. He was torrid for a while after being recalled from Triple-A, but he finished with a .227/.287/.380 slash line that’s not up to snuff for an everyday big league first baseman.

The problem for Lewis is that’s about the only spot that’s available. Kody Clemens has pretty clearly established himself at second, and Brooks Lee has clearly claimed third. That leaves first. If the Twins aren’t convinced there’s more in Lewis’ bat, they may look to move him.

What’s the payroll?

Well, this is the big one, isn’t it? Chairman Tom Pohlad has said at every opportunity that he intends to spend, most recently using the phrase “invest meaningfully” in the 2027 payroll. The question is what exactly that looks like. Understandably, neither he nor Zoll has identified a specific target number, but until we have a read on what the expected payroll range looks like, there will be some uncertainty as to how aggressive the front office can be.

The Twins announced the annual Diamond Awards winners this week, and you can see the full list here.

The Twin Cities BBWAA chapter votes on most of these awards. So I wanted to let you know about a couple of my personal choices.

I didn't vote for Clemens as MVT, not because he didn’t have an excellent year -- he did -- but because I thought someone else was more valuable. Bradley got my vote not only as top pitcher but as most valuable player on the roster, because there is no specific requirement that the winner has to be a hitter.

The other one I wanted to highlight is Buxton for the Bob Allison Award, which is officially defined as going to the Twins player “who exemplifies determination, hustle, tenacity, competitive spirit and leadership both on and off the field.” But it’s more generally the leadership award.

And that’s why Buxton was an easy choice. Manager Derek Shelton repeatedly described the 2026 Twins as “Buck’s team,” and it was easy to see that on a daily basis. Buxton clearly stepped up into a more prominent clubhouse role this year. So many times I saw younger players gathered around his locker after a game, asking him questions or just talking. It wasn’t just lip service from Shelton -- this was Buxton’s team.

I’m coming to you from New York, where I’m pitching in on postseason coverage. And when I come to New York, one of my first stops is the great St. Kilda Coffee. As a shoutout to one of my favorite establishments, here are five songs I’ve heard there this week.

• Jackson Browne, “Somebody’s Baby”

• Warren Zevon, “Lawyers, Guns and Money”

• Justin Townes Earle, “Can’t Hardly Wait”

• The Stone Roses, “I Wanna Be Adored”

• The Smiths, “How Soon Is Now?”

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