9:39 AM: The 2026 salary for 2026 will be $5.5mm, via bobby febongale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He also gets a $250K signing bonus, and there is a $1.25mm buyout on several picks.
9:15 AM: The Twins are a free agent first baseman Josh Bell Reportedly agreed to a one-year, $7mm contract that includes a mutual option for the 2027 campaign. The instrument is represented by Boras Corporation.
Bell, 33, has the lowest batting average of his entire MLB career, except for a poor performance in the 2020 campaign. From time to time, the former Pick and the Top prospect looked to the CUSP to emerge as a star-level slugger – especially in 2010 and 2021 – but he never produced as strong as one would expect from a hulking 6’3″, 260-pound First Baseman.
That’s because of the penchant of the slow-hitting iron to hit the ball into the ground. Despite his big and obvious frame and raw power, Steeler has struggled to maintain a swing that allows him to lift the ball. He has cut his unpopular standard in recent times, to be fair; Last year 45.7% of 45.7% was the lowest level of his career, before Mark only 44% that he posted during the 37th campaign.
When the iron lifts the ball, it does so with great authority. Statcast ranked his 96.4 mph exit velocity on liners/fly-balls 25th among 251 eligible pitchers. Bell’s single power (slugging percentage minus alighting average) of .507 on fly-balls is not elite but is north of the .436 league average. He hit 22 shutouts this past season and has 26 homers in 162 games over the past seven years — despite his layoff. It has long been thought that if an iron could lift Roughly the BALL, he would become a top slugger, but six teams have now tried to get him to do it regularly and have been unable to make it happen.
The end result is often more than average – not a specific case. Bell Hit .237 / .325 / .417 This past season with the Nationals. His 10.7% walk rate was north of average and in line with his career 11.2%. His 16.5% double-hit rate is second in his career. Bell had some issues with his right-handed swing last season but has traditionally been a solid presence from both sides of the bowl (although he has produced better from the left side). His exit velocity is 90.4 mph
The Twins and their fans can find some hope in Bell’s 2025 season trajectory. He was one of the top scorers in the league until the end of April, but he bucked this slump with a big showing in May. He took it back in June and launched a terrific product in the last three months of the year. Arranged next to the Plate of the first 125 of the first time of the season (where he has a 50% average of 50%, he should be noticed), he hit .2782 /. In 250 plate appearances from July 2 on, he hit .284 / .371 / .486 (with List-Ball Rate sitting at 42%).
That will be the kind of production twins hope for in 2025. Bell figures to be the first baseman for new manager Derek Sherek, who was briefly covered by Pittsburgh. Like many groups, the twins do not have a designated hit, so the metal could get a look there, too, if the twins want to free up some initial time to get Edouard Julien or Kody Clemens listed there. Some additional DH responses to the metal will help the team defensively; He posted strong marks early back in 2021-22, but the bell has been peppered with runs saved — runs saved and saved again — no more than average over his previous outing in the wild. He is not a good defender.
Even with those defensive stops, Steeler adds a legitimate bat in the middle of Minnesota’s order. He is a solid defender, appearing in 91.5% of his teams’ contact games and his first games as a full-time player. That’s a better average than 148 games a year, and it’s reasonable to expect at least 20 home runs based on his record, which is 25 to 30 years old and not out of the question in terms of heavy weight yards.
The instruments join Byron BuxtonBreakout rookie Luke Keaschall and the hunter Ryan Jeffers In the upper half of the Twins they will trust you to get better results from the skills but they are not compatible with the smaller hitters Royce Lewis, Matt Wallner, Brooks Lee and (if not purchased) Trevor Larnach. Hopes are high Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kaelen Culpepper can force their way into the mix for the coming season. Alan Roden We’ll get another chance to prove triple-triple-production can play in the majors, too.
The signing of the metal only reinforces the fact that despite the fire sale stopped, the twins intend to add back to 2026 the works Dexwerations Derek Falvery plans to hold stars like buxton, Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez rather than trading. The Twins are reportedly being bought in the middle of the free agent market at the start of the market, and will use one of the modest budget spots that ownership has given them to add some lower costs.
Bell adds $5.75mm to the 2026 payroll, raising the Twins just north of $100mm in the process, per rosterRersource. The exact salary target is still unknown, but falvey, gm Jeremy ZOLL and the rest of the front office should still have a little help to deepen the bullpen and possibly the bench. Given that the Twins sent an impressive prospect at the July deadline, it seems only fair that they’ll bring in more arms (even if they just add one with a November acquisition Eric Orze from Tampa Bay).
Overall, Payrolls will still be down significantly from last year’s opening day mark of $142mm opening and certainly from the franchise-record $153mm. Major additions to the football side should not be expected. If the Twins are going to compete next season, it will be because of big moves to homegrown talent like Lee, Keaschall, Jenkins, Roden, Taj Bradley, Mick Abela and others. If they don’t say anything about the competition of the Al Contineritive Central, then for players like Bell and any future bullpen acquisitions can appear as trading chips alongside Ryan, Lopez, and Jeffers and others.
ESPN’s Jeff Paran first reported that the two sides had agreed to a one-year deal with an option. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported a $7mm guarantee.
