Reddit AMA: Where do Twins stand as Spring Training nears?

MINNEAPOLIS -- Thursday marks exactly two weeks until the first workout for Twins pitchers and catchers in Fort Myers, Fla. And while the roster is probably not completely finalized just yet, the 2026 Twins are definitely taking shape.

So it seemed time to do another Reddit AMA (ask me anything). What follows is a selection of questions and answers from the session on Wednesday afternoon. Questions and responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

I was surprised by the Pierson Ohl release. He was one of six guys we had that had any MLB relief experience at all. Is there a world now where there isn't at least one spot taken by a complete rookie on Opening Day? -- episu19

I think when you phrase it like that, that's very likely. But I think there was a decent chance of that regardless. The Twins have something like eight starting candidates, plus guys like Marco Raya, Connor Prielipp, John Klein and maybe Kendry Rojas. So there are kind of two things at play here.

One, I do think it's fair to say that moving slowly early in the winter probably cost them when it comes to the bullpen. We don't know who they're going to end up with, we don't know what's out there in trade, and so we don't exactly know what the right side will look like. But given that they've spent some this winter -- I'm aware it's not as much as people would like, but that's a separate question -- I think probably if they'd been cleared to be active a little earlier, the right side of the ‘pen might look different now.

But two, this is also a strategy. They talk about it all the time, taking guys like Griffin Jax, Jhoan Duran, Louis Varland, starting prospects, and turning them into excellent relievers. I think they believe -- and I think they're right -- that part of how you build a good bullpen is by building some of it in-house. So I do expect one or more of those starting candidates/prospects to end up in the bullpen, and not ONLY because they haven't added more.

Unsure if this is going to be in a different thread, but will cover my bases. I was very surprised to see the reports from Ken Rosenthal linking us with Freddy Peralta in the wake of his trade to the Mets.

My questions on this are threefold:

1. Do you get the sense that the Twins are big game hunting on the trade front?

2. If so, do you believe it is more likely to be a bat (like CJ Abrams, Ketel Marte, Brendan Donovan) or a pitcher (like Kodai Senga)?

3. Do you get the sense that the Twins legitimately believe that they are one addition away from contention? -- TheNotoriousJN

1 and 2, no. I would not say "big game hunting." I don't think that's the kind of move they're looking at. I think more likely they're looking for more moves around the edges, particularly right-handed relief help or possibly a defensive shortstop. I wouldn't be totally shocked if they did something bigger than that, but it's not my expectation.

3. Contention? Yes, they do, and I mean ... I'm not sure they're wrong? This is not exactly the 2000s AL East. I don't think it's unreasonable at all to think that if you shore up the right side of the bullpen, this team should be in the mix in the ALC.

Is Trevor Larnach making it to Opening Day with the Twins? -- Steva_twinsfan

This is definitely one of the most interesting questions, because at this moment he really feels kind of redundant. They have a ton of corner outfielders, and now Victor Caratini looks likely to get a good number of ABs at DH vs RHP. I don't know how much trade value he has, but finding some way to flip him for a reliever just makes way too much sense.

Thanks for taking the time today to do this. Who do you think will ultimately be the Twins’ shortstop of the future, Kaelen Culpepper or Marek Houston? -- SoCalCognac

This is a trickier question than I first thought, because I'm much higher on Culpepper overall than Houston. But if the question is more likely to be the shortstop, it's not so black and white.

I do think Culpepper has a very real chance to stick at short, so I don't want to dismiss that. And the real challenge, given the club's current makeup, is that if you move him off short, he's a better fit at third than at second because of his arm. Whereas the one thing everyone is sure about is that Houston is a legitimate shortstop.

So ultimately I think I go with Culpepper, but I can see a world where they're both part of the same infield. And if that happens, Houston is more likely to be the shortstop.

1. What would be your walk-up song?

2. What player(s) are you planning on watching the most in Spring Training? -- ObliqueRehabExpert

1. Hitting: "Touched by the Hand of God" by New Order. Pitching: "Harvester of Sorrow" by Metallica

2. Very eager to see guys like Culpepper, Walker Jenkins, and Emmanuel Rodriguez, but I think the most interesting question for me is the rotation. With Joe Ryan and Pablo López pitching in the World Baseball Classic, it's going to open up innings for a lot of guys -- both the obvious contenders like Zebby Matthews, David Festa, Simeon Woods Richardson, Mick Abel and Taj Bradley, but also Rojas, Prielipp, Andrew Morris, etc. Really eager to see how those guys look.