Ober and out? Starter ends '26 season with Twins future uncertain

MINNEAPOLIS – This wasn’t the way Bailey Ober wanted to go into a winter of uncertainty.

Ober capped a tumultuous season with a disappointing final start on Saturday, allowing six runs on 10 hits over five innings as the Twins fell to the Rangers, 6-2, in their second-to-last game of 2026.

For Ober, it was the capper on a strange year, one that saw him pitch brilliantly early before pitching sporadically down the stretch. He finishes the year healthy and with a 4.47 ERA that represents a significant upgrade from his difficult 2025, but he also saw his innings dry up following a midseason injured list stint with right elbow inflammation.

“I felt pretty good for the most part this year,” he said. “Today and the Pittsburgh outing [in May], you take those two games out of the equation and the numbers look a lot different. Just have to battle through even when the plays aren't made, have to find ways to get outs and get out of the inning.”

Saturday was a bit of a microcosm of his season. Ober came out superbly, breezing through the first inning on six pitches and retiring the first five batters in order. Then Texas strung five straight hits together, putting the Twins down 4-1, and that was that. Ober allowed solo homers in the fourth and fifth.

He finished with five strikeouts against one walk, but location mistakes cost him dearly. And though his fastball velocity was up slightly – 88.1 miles per hour on his four-seam, 89.3 on his sinker – Ober must hit his spots to succeed.

“I think he just left some balls in the middle of the plate and got up, and they took advantage of it,” said manager Derek Shelton.

And so as he enters the offseason, Ober knows it’s possible this was his last start in a Minnesota uniform. He’s one of four Twins starters -- along with Joe Ryan, Pablo López and Dean Kremer -- who are entering their final season before free agency. And with a slew of talented young starters pushing them, it’s likely that one or more of those starters will find himself on the trade block.

Ober acknowledged that he’s thought about the possibility that he might be done with the only professional organization for which he’s ever pitched.

“A little bit,” he said. “Obviously not when I'm out there. At the end of it, you never know if it's going to be the last one wearing this jersey. It's out of my control. All I can do is go out there and get outs, and during the offseason just to focus on what I need to do to get better and hopefully come back and be in a good spot for next season.”

The Twins’ usage of Ober after he came back from the IL suggests he might be at the top of the list to be traded. He made 11 starts after returning, and in six of those he pitched on six or more days rest. He made the first relief appearance of his career on Sunday in Anaheim, and then pitched on five days’ rest after that.

He also pitched with a very short leash when he did start, only getting one out after the fifth inning over his final six starts. Ober is likely to receive a raise in arbitration next year over the $5.2 million he made this year, and that doesn’t really square with the way he was used over the season’s final months.

It’s certainly possible he’ll be back. He’d like to be back. But it’s not a given, and so Ober enters the offseason looking to continue moving toward the form he showed prior to 2025, without knowing what uniform he’ll be wearing.

“I feel really good physically,” he said. “I feel like I can keep going. Nothing's bothering me. It's just, figure out the best way to get my body to move in an appropriate manner on the mound.”