Coming into the offseason, most expected the Twins to continue their July fire sale that saw them trade 11 players for a combination of salary cap hit, prospects and manageable minor leaguers. Instead, after completing the addition of three new franchises, ownership has given president of baseball Derek Falvey and his staff at least a few resources to add to the payroll. That resulted in the download of the free agent for Josh Bell, Victor Caratini and, more recently, Taylor Rogers. (The last two of those signed had not yet been formally appointed.)
Minnesota is at least headed for a more remarkable turnaround, it seems. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Twins have been among the teams showing recent interest in the Brewers ace now. Freddy Peralta before Milwaukee traded him to the Mets.
Given Peralta’s status as a one-year hire, it’s frankly surprising that it fits. The Twins have made some minor additions but don’t stand as clear contenders, even in the weak AL Central division. That said, Peralta’s $8MM salary will fit even their reduced budget, and the Twins have plenty of young MLB-ready arms and plenty of young pitchers who have already made their MLB debuts or are on the verge of being MLB-ready. Acquiring Peralta would boost Central’s chances. Peralta would have been acquired again at the deadline if the season hadn’t gone his way, and he’s the obvious recipient of a worthy offer that could give the team compensation when he declines.
It’s unclear how aggressively Minnesota pursued the idea, but it’s at least notable that they even looked at the possibility. The trade market has been taken up a lot, especially with MacKenzie Gore off the board in yesterday’s trade with the Rangers, but even the slightest interest in Peralta suggests the Twins could look at other moves on the buyer side of the trade spectrum.
Continuing to reinforce the idea that the next move will be directed towards development, holding Ryan Jeffers In a statement that recently appeared on the Inside Twins program (video link), the managers have been telling him how things are going when they are still looking for Caratini. At first glance, the Caratini signing would appear to make Jeffers, a free agent next winter, a trade candidate. Jeffers suggests that management show him otherwise.
“Before all that, I had conversations [with management telling me] ‘Hey, this could happen,’ and just reassuring me that my role as a guy who’s going to catch more than 100 games is not going to change,” Jeffers told broadcaster John Vittas. I’m excited to get back out there and get a full season. Throughout my career, I’ve split time with a lot of guys, and I’m excited to catch a guy who’s been busy (Carati) the game for eight-plus years and has a lot of experience, won a lot of games and been with organizations that have played great baseball.”
Jeffers, 28, has been one of the league’s best hitters over the past three seasons, hitting a combined .254/.338/.434 (117 wRC+) in 1,264 plate appearances. A fair portion of that time came at the designated hitter while others handled the job behind the plate – the veterans Christian Vazquez again Mitch Garver among them. Jeffers has never caught more than 88 games in a season, but the Twins have said his plan is to be behind the plate more often in 2026.
Caratini, of course, is still seeing more time behind the plate. Even if the plan is for Jeffers to catch 100 to 110 games, that would leave enough time to catch Caratini as well Alex Jacksonwho is also in the 40s and out of minor league options. Caratini has experience at first base and can sign for DH himself, and provides a nice backup for the Twins in 2027 if Jeffers leaves as a free agent. In that instance, Caratini can help serve as a bridge to the top Eduardo Taitthe twins found him last summer John Duran blockbuster with the Phillies.
While the Twins may not be making full contention — they’ll still end up earning more than $20MM shy of last year’s $135MM, roughly — it sounds like there’s still some additions on the horizon. Rogers adds a veteran arm to the bullpen, but there is still room for more additions. Rogers, Cole Sands, Justin Topa again Kody Funderburk they are the only relievers in Minnesota with one year of major league service time.
Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune suggests that Rogers could be the first of many bullpen additions in the near future. Falvey told Nightengale and the others that the twins were talking to many pills. “We’re close to being able to add guys that we think will add experience to that team, but we’re going to need younger guys to step up,” Falvey said.
Twins have at least one contact with a right-handed person Seranthony Dominguez before he received a two-year contract with the White Sox today. The open nature of their bullpen mix will make them an attractive destination for repeat candidates looking for a chance at late-round spots. Speaking of guesswork, the words are similar Michael Kopech, Liam Hendriks, Jose Leclerc again Drew Smith they could see the unstable Twins bullpen as an enticing opportunity to be given a rope to get back on track after recent injury woes. Regardless of the specific guidelines, it looks like Rogers won’t be the only bullpen the Twins make between now and Opening Day.
