It’s over. The Twins’ playoff dreams are completely and utterly dead.
There was hope after a mid-August sweep of the Braves, but the Twins then lost seven of eight games to fall back to eight below .500. They responded with three wins a row to create just a flicker of light but have since lost five of their last seven. At 69-77, the Twins would have to finish 12-4 just to go 81-81. They’d likely need to go at least 13-3 to overcome their 4.5-game deficit in the wild card standings.
While mathematically possible, nothing about a Twins team that has gone 13-22 since August 1 suggests there’s any remote possibility of such a run. Minnesota’s playoff odds, according to multiple projection sites, are just above two percent.
With that being the case, the Twins should be looking towards the future. It probably won’t happen, but they should make several call-ups from Triple-A ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Guardians. The focus should be on giving some guys a taste of MLB experience and seeing what they can do in the big leagues before the offseason begins.
If I were general manager Jeremy Zoll and had full approval from ownership to make roster moves, here’s what I would do.
Promotions
- OF Emmanuel Rodriguez
- OF Hendry Mendez
- 1B Aaron Sabato
- RHP Marco Raya
I’d also like to see Mendez, the Twins’ No. 8 prospect, get a shot. At just 22 years old, he’s hit .286 with a solid .800 OPS in his first 71 games of Triple-A action. Aaron Sabato, the Twins’ first-round pick in 2020, has launched 23 home runs for the second straight season and deserves to make his MLB debut, even if he’s unlikely to be a big part of Minnesota’s future.
There’s less intrigue on the pitching side in St. Paul, but let’s get Raya another opportunity after he pitched six innings for the Twins this summer. He’s riding a six-inning scoreless streak with the Saints and has real MLB bullpen upside despite poor overall numbers at Triple-A.
DFA or option
- C Alex Jackson
- UTIL Ryan Kreidler
- UTIL Ben Ross
- LHP Taylor Rogers
Starting lineup
In addition to cutting a few veterans, we’re also going to take some guys out of the lineup. (Again, this is unlikely to actually happen, but this is what I would do). Here’s what the lineup looks like against a right-handed pitcher:- Luke Keaschall, DH
- Brooks Lee, 3B
- Kody Clemens, 2B
- Ryan Jeffers, C
- Kaelen Culpepper, SS
- Walker Jenkins, CF
- Emmanuel Rodriguez, LF
- Aaron Sabato, 1B
- Hendry Mendez, RF
The Twins outright benching guys like Bell, Lewis, and Larnach seems unlikely to happen, but there’s a very reasonable case for it. While Bell and Larnach have been productive this season, they’re proven commodities who aren’t key members of the Twins’ future core. Lewis hasn’t been good enough to include him in that group, either.
Royce Lewis can’t be handed a starting job on next year’s Twins team.This plan would shift the focus for the Twins to the future. It would reward some prospects who have had strong Triple-A seasons by giving them a taste of the big leagues. It’s probably not going to happen — but it should.
We’ve now got a multi-year sample size that says he’s a .300 OBP, .700 OPS guy, which isn’t good enough for a first baseman. There’s no real reason to think 2023 Royce is ever coming back.— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz)
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This story was originally published by on Sep 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a