MINNEAPOLIS -- Last week, we took a look at five big questions surrounding the Twins as Hot Stove season approaches. Now it’s time to get a little more granular.
There’s a real chance the Twins could be a legitimate contender next year, with development in the right places and some thoughtful additions. But there’s also a lot of internal uncertainty.
Here’s a look at five players whose performance will go a long way in determining the kind of year the 2027 Twins have.
This is obviously the big one. With a healthy López, the Twins probably would have been at least a .500 team, playing meaningful games down to the last week of the season. Instead, they did without him from Day 1 due to right elbow surgery.
By all accounts, López’s recovery has gone well so far. He’s expected to start throwing off a mound next month and hopes to have close to a regular Spring Training. It’s unlikely he’ll be at full effectiveness right away. Generally, in a pitcher's first year back from Tommy John surgery, they don’t have their best command. Still, having López back at the top of the rotation would be a huge boost for Minnesota's playoff chances.
And this is the other one. The hope and expectation is that Buxton’s recent right hip surgery will allow him to play unfettered in 2027, putting the lingering hip issues that he’s had behind him. But until he’s on the field and playing regularly, it’s difficult to say.
Buxton had great numbers in the first half, slashing .271/.328/.575 with 25 homers and 45 RBIs en route to his third All-Star Game selection. But in the second half, the discomfort in his hip became too much to manage, and his performance suffered as a result. A healthy Buxton is one of the best players in the game, as well as the Twins’ unquestioned veteran leader.
The Twins saw enough of Walker Jenkins (No. 1 prospect, MLB No. 13) and Kaelen Culpepper (No. 3 prospect, MLB No. 31) in a combined 59 games to have confidence in what they’ll get from them offensively in ’27. Jenkins and Culpepper will likely endure slumps and will have to adjust as the league adjusts to them, but it’s hard not to feel good about what the rookies can offer.
Rodriguez is more of an unknown. The 23-year-old outfielder was in the Majors for only 13 games and didn’t get into the kind of groove that Jenkins or Culpepper did. The other issue with Rodriguez is that he’s out of options, complicating any decisions with him. In short, he’ll be on a Major League roster somewhere, whether it's in the Twin Cities or not, because he probably wouldn't clear waivers.
Rojas showed a great deal of promise over 12 games (four starts) in the Majors, racking up 34 strikeouts over 29 2/3 innings, even though he sometimes had trouble finding the strike zone. What may have been most interesting was that the 23-year-old was more effective as a starter than as a reliever in his limited big league opportunities.
Rojas is likely to be stretched out at the beginning of Spring Training, because it’s much easier to shorten up a pitcher who’s stretched out than vice versa. The hard-throwing lefty is one of the highest-upside pitchers in the organization, and his role could be anywhere from late relief to long relief to the rotation.
Lewis’ batting line for the '26 season -- .227/.287/.380 -- wasn't great. But the 27-year-old mostly stayed healthy, and he was better after being optioned to Triple-A St. Paul in May for 15 games. After he was recalled on June 6, the 2017 first overall Draft pick hit .245/.295/.409 with 21 doubles, 12 home runs, 44 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 94 games.
The question is, what is Lewis capable of? He showed that he still has the ability to produce red-hot stretches, but he also slumped at the plate, even after returning. If Lewis can tap into his strengths more often, he can be an asset at first base. But it’s hard to know what Lewis will do in a full season, and whether he'll stay healthy or not.