What went right—and wrong—for the Minnesota Twins before the All-Star break
Somehow, the Minnesota Twins are relevant coming out of the All-Star break. Not only that, they’re currently playing some of their best baseball of the season.
The Twins are 48-49 and in the postseason mix in a middling American League after falling to a season-worst eight games below .500 a month ago.
Byron Buxton and Joe Ryan’s second consecutive All-Star campaigns drove much of the Twins’ pre-break success. Taj Bradley’s development has been key, too. But many other developments made the Twins interesting.
On the other hand, the Twins are only playing .495 ball. The roster remains flawed. Ecstatic as the team’s diehard fans might be, they probably shouldn’t start patting each other’s backs quite yet.
With that in mind, here’s a look at what went right and wrong before the All-Star break.
The good
• In November, it was widely speculated that Trevor Larnach’s time with the Twins was ending. Through parts of five seasons, the 2018 first-rounder produced a 102 OPS+ and was far from a bust. But Larnach was competing for time with fellow left-handed-hitting corner outfielders Matt Wallner, James Outman and Alan Roden, and Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez appeared close to ready. Allocating $4.48 million for Larnach didn’t make much sense.
Well, we were all wrong.
Larnach entered the All-Star break hitting .289/.379/.441 and Baseball Reference ranks him third among Twins position players with 1.3 WAR. He’s got a 1.063 OPS with runners in scoring position and a .965 OPS when hitting leadoff.
Larnach also embodies the team’s all-for-one mentality, accepting his role in a platoon and trying to build his routine around that role.
• Is there a better find than unofficial closer Yoendrys Gómez? If so, it’s Andrew Morris. There is no .500 in sight without these two relievers.
Featuring a fastball and a sweeper, Gómez has a 1.71 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings and has converted all 10 save tries for the Twins.
Morris is soaring since pitching in shorter relief stints. He’s throwing 100 mph and is putting hitters away with a nasty cutter, posting a 2.37 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings since May 9.
One year after being fired as Pirates manager, first-year Twins skipper Derek Shelton, right, was named to the AL All-Star coaching staff. (Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)
• Manager Derek Shelton stressed good communication with players. He’s doing it well and it’s paying off.
The Twins are better because Shelton’s coaching staff has convinced players to move around over time, improving baseball’s second-worst defense. Luke Keaschall, Kody Clemens, Royce Lewis, Austin Martin, Brooks Lee and Ryan Kreidler all have improved after switching positions and are saving pitchers runs.
Players also routinely cite their trust in the coaching staff’s plan.
• Clemens is the poster child for a group of opportunists making the most of newfound chances with the Twins. He’s improved his OPS versus southpaws by 140 points over his career mark, continues to hit with runners in scoring position and is a clubhouse leader.
What’s been even more impressive is how Clemens effortlessly moves around the field. He’s been a plus defender at first base, second base and in center and right field, too, producing 7 Defensive Runs Saved overall.
• The decision to sign Victor Caratini for $14 million over two years was justified the instant Ryan Jeffers broke his hamate bone on May 18.
The Twins snuck Alex Jackson, who is earning $1.35 million, through waivers at the end of spring training. Keeping him and Caratini allowed the Twins to go 24-22 without Jeffers, who’s having a career year at the plate.
Caratini produced an .861 OPS over 36 games while Jackson produced a .729 OPS, a tick above league average.
Even with Jeffers back, the Twins are keeping all three catchers because it’s easier to hide a third backstop on a 13-man position player roster.
The bad
• While open tryouts and figuring it out on the fly yielded roles for Morris and Gómez, the bullpen has nearly sucked the life out of this team. Remember the April home series against Cincinnati when the bullpen blew two winnable games? Or the May walk-off in Pittsburgh? The Kansas City series in June was no picnic, either.
The lowlights from this patchwork group are plentiful.
Through 97 games, the Twins bullpen’s 5.19 ERA ranks 29th of 30 teams; its minus-0.72 Win Probability Added is 22nd. Eric Orze walked too many batters. Taylor Rogers is struggling against right-handed hitters. Justin Topa had an 8.05 ERA. Liam Hendriks and Andrew Chafin didn’t even make it through the door.
Injuries slowed Cole Sands, Marco Raya, Garrett Acton, Cody Laweryson and David Festa.
The rest are an army of waiver claims and faceless relievers.
• Not that Carlos Correa was good (he produced minus-11 DRS in 2025 for the Twins), but finding a suitable defender at shortstop has been difficult. Brooks Lee and Tristan Gray are a combined minus-15 DRS at shortstop this season.
Keaschall was minus-6 DRS at second base, which prompted a move to the outfield. Lewis was minus-1 DRS at third, resulting in a switch to first base. Meanwhile, Lee was shifted to third base.
Only after sliding Kreidler in at shortstop more often with Clemens moving to second base did the Twins begin to clean up their mess. Before that, the infield was a sieve that led to far too many runs for pitchers.
• After another early-season slump, Matt Wallner’s future with the Twins may be as uncertain as ever. Not only did Wallner hit .167/.259/.292 in 34 games before being demoted, but he produced minus-8 DRS in only 284 innings in right field, the second-worst showing by a right fielder this season behind Colorado’s Tyler Freeman (minus-9).
Wallner’s doing as he should at Triple-A St. Paul, hitting .266/.355/.560 with 15 home runs in 47 games. But Roden was promoted over Wallner earlier this month and Jenkins is saving fainting kids and hitting .373/.417/.642 with 10 extra-base hits across the minors since returning from a left shoulder sprain on June 13.
A streaky hitter, Wallner typically breaks out in the summer and has had success in the majors, as evidenced by his career 128 OPS-plus entering this season. Whether his next chance will come with the Twins or another major-league team isn’t clear.
• It’s understandable why the Twins gave Outman a chance after he was reunited with new Twins hitting coach Keith Beauregard. The two previously worked together in the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system when Outman was on the rise.
Tasked with a difficult role, Outman never got going, and, because of injuries to every single player who would have replaced him, was on the roster too long. Over the last two seasons, he’s struck out 121 times in 284 plate appearances for the Dodgers, Twins and Tigers.
• Could key injuries across the minor leagues have been any more untimely?
Any one of Roden, Jenkins or Rodriguez, who’s out at least another month with a torn ligament in his left thumb, would have been promoted to take over for Wallner or Outman if healthy.
Roden tore the labrum in his non-throwing shoulder in April. Jenkins suffered a Grade 2 AC joint sprain in his left shoulder in May. Rodriguez was about to be promoted in May when he dove into first base and tore his thumb.
Whether they’d have promoted Kaelen Culpepper to play shortstop isn’t certain. But Culpepper suffered a glute injury in June about the time they were considering a promotion, and after briefly returning, was placed back on the injured list with the same injury.
Throw in Festa’s shoulder injury preventing him from potentially pitching out of the bullpen, and the organization’s minor-league injuries have proven costly.