Bell appears set at 1B as Twins' DH has many possibilities

MINNEAPOLIS -- First base has been a revolving door for the Twins in recent years. Assuming Josh Bell starts there on Opening Day in Baltimore, he’ll be the fifth different starter in as many years. However, in each of those years, Minnesota has had a primary first baseman -- or at least gone into the year with that intention.

Designated hitter has been a different story; until late last season, it had been several years since the Twins really had a primary DH. Trevor Larnach’s 300 at-bats in that spot were the most by a Twin since Nelson Cruz in 2019.

Here’s a look at how the two often-connected lineup spots look for the 2026 Twins.

On the 40-man roster: Josh Bell, Edouard Julien, Eric Wagaman, Trevor Larnach
New arrivals: Bell (signed as free agent), Wagaman (acquired in trade with Orioles)
Departures: None
Top 30 prospects: None
The big question: What are they getting in Bell?

In acquiring Bell, the Twins followed a recent pattern: They signed a veteran first baseman with a good clubhouse reputation to a relatively low-cost deal. Bell follows Ty France (2025), Carlos Santana (2024) and, to some extent, Donovan Solano (2023), though Solano’s situation was not exactly the same.

France was solid for the Twins before being dealt at the Trade Deadline, Santana was very good and Solano had a nice year. The question is whether Bell will be closer to France, who posted a 0.8 WAR in Minnesota, or Santana, who came in at 2.5. It’s one of many questions that will determine whether the Twins’ offense bounces back in 2026.

On the surface, it’s fair to have concerns about Bell. He’s a 33-year-old bat-first player who’s been almost exactly replacement level over the past three years. That’s often not a recipe for success. The switch-hitter also struggled mightily against left-handed pitching last year after a career of having a minimal platoon split.

But there are also reasons to be encouraged. Bell’s batted-ball numbers last year were better than they’ve been in years. His average exit velocity, hard-hit rate, expected slugging and xwOBA were all the highest they’ve been since 2021, when he hit .261/.347/.476 for the Nationals. And he came on strong down the stretch in 2025, posting a .257/.331/.486 line from Aug. 1 until the end of the season.

Bell made some changes in his pregame routine during the season and feels that the late-season surge was at least partially a result of that.

“I started hitting a lot more sinkers off the [pitching] machine,” Bell said. “Started using a heavy bat with that. So, just trying to stay underneath the ball, get balls in the air as best I can. Because I hit the ball hard enough, and I have pretty good pitch recognition and don’t chase too much. So when I do make contact, just try to get it in the air. And that’s what worked for me at the end of the year.”

As for his struggles against lefties, he feels that his right-handed swing suffered from playing golf the previous winter, so he cut that out this year.

If Bell can regain the 2021-22 form that his batted-ball data suggest is possible, it would be a huge boost to a Twins team in need of thump.

What else you need to know

As of now, DH looks to be manned primarily by Larnach, who was a somewhat surprising choice to be retained for 2026. It seemed likely he would be nontendered, but instead he was brought back for another year.

Larnach’s days in the outfield are likely mostly over at this point, with the Twins having a surfeit of corner outfielders in the Major League system and in the high Minors. He and Bell are both likely to share some time with trade acquisition Wagaman, who hits lefties well and who the Twins think has more in his bat than he has shown to this point.

In addition, Ryan Jeffers, Matt Wallner and Byron Buxton are likely to make appearances at DH sometimes, giving them a break from their primary positions while still getting their bats in the lineup.