The Royals won 40 of the 69 games they were listed as the moneyline favorite last season, achieving a 58% success rate. Their pitching staff ranked sixth in MLB with a 3.74 team ERA.
Laweryson returns to the only organization he'd known until November. Minnesota selected him in the 14th round in 2019 out of the University of Maine. They called him up for the first time last September. The 6'4″ righty made five appearances, allowing two runs (one earned) across 7 2/3 innings. He struck out seven without issuing a walk. Laweryson also pitched well in Triple-A, turning in a 2.86 earned run average while striking out a quarter of opposing hitters.
The Twins have traded infielder Edouard Julien and right-hander Pierson Ohl to the Rockies, according to announcements from both clubs. Minor league right-hander Jace Kaminska and cash considerations are going to the Twins. The Rockies freed up two 40-man spots earlier today by trading Angel Chivilli to the Yankees and designating Yanquiel Fernandez for assignment.
Retired right-hander Ryan Pressly has been hired by the Twins, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. According to Declan Goff of SKOR North, Pressly will be working in player development with both major and minor leaguers. Pressly, 37, just announced his retirement as a player a couple of days ago. It seems he doesn't plan to sit by the fire smoking a pipe and reading the paper. He has quickly launched the next stage of his life with this gig with the Twins.
The Twins have hired recently retired outfielder Michael A. Taylor as an outfield instructor, per Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He won't be a member of the big league coaching staff but will be in camp for several weeks this spring and will visit the Twins' minor league affiliates to work with their up-and-coming outfielders throughout the 2026 season. Taylor, 34, retired following the 2025 season.
The left-handed hitting veteran has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for the banned substance Epitrenbolone, which violates Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. With this suspension, should Kepler sign with a team this offseason, he will miss the first 80 games as well as be ineligible for the postseason. Should Kepler go unsigned this winter, the suspension does not start on Opening Day; it begins when he signs with a new team, should that happen post Opening Day.
Minnesota became sellers at the trade deadline this year as they parted with 10 players from their Major League roster. Among those traded were Carlos Correa, Brock Stewart, Griffin Jax, Harrison Bader, Louis Varland and Jhoan Duran. But now as the Twins look to rebound under new manager Derek Shelton, indications are they will attempt to add to their roster rather than flip remaining trade chips.
Hartwig, 28 this month, has a limited big league track record. He tossed 42 innings for the Mets over the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He allowed 24 earned runs, giving him a 5.14 ERA. He struck out 18% of batters faced and issued walks at a 10.1% rate, both subpar figures, but induced grounders on 46.5% of balls in play. He averaged in the mid-90s with his four-seamer and sinker while also mixing in a cutter, slider and changeup.
Rojas, who came to the Twins alongside outfielder in the trade sending reliever Louis Varland to Toronto, is a 22-year-old southpaw (23 next week) who climbed three minor league levels in 2025, topping out with his first taste of Triple-A work. The Cuban-born lefty breezed through High-A and Double-A before running into some trouble in his first 32 1/3 innings at the top minor league level. He yielded 26 runs in that time (7.34 ERA) and walked 14.7% of his opponents.
Hallberg, 39, heads to the Twin Cities after eight seasons in the Giants organization. He coached and managed in the minor league system for a couple years before joining the MLB staff in 2020. Hallberg has spent the past four seasons as a base coach in San Francisco and interviewed for their managerial vacancy over the 2023-24 offseason. (The job went to Bob Melvin.)
President of baseball operations Buster Posey told reporters this week in Las Vegas during MLB's GM Meetings that Hallberg, his roommate at Florida State, and catching coach Alex Burg were deciding whether to stay with the Giants or purse other options. He's one of those that we'd love to have back, but he has been kind of a popular guy with some other teams, as well, Posey told reporter on Tuesday. We're working through that.
Beauregard makes the jump to the Twin Cities after three seasons with a division rival. He'd been a hitting coach with the Tigers between 2023-25. The 42-year-old had previously been a collegiate hitting coach and a minor league hitting instructor in the Dodgers organization. His stint on A.J. Hinch's staff was his first in the big leagues. Beauregard worked as a co-hitting instructor with Michael Brdar, who'll remain in that role for a fourth season in Detroit.
The now-30-year-old Dobnak was a remarkable story back in 2017-19, going from an undrafted free agent playing in a tiny independent league (and driving Uber on the side to make ends meet) to pitching for the Twins in the postseason in less than two years' time. After pitching for Division-II Alderson Broaddus University in his college days, Dobnak signed with the Utica Unicorns of the United Shore League. He started only six games before the Twins caught a look at him and signed him.
The Twins seem to have winnowed down their candidates for manager to a group of four. Dan Hayes and Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic report that they're still considering Derek Shelton, James Rowson, Ryan Flaherty, and Scott Servais. While Hayes and Ghiroli leave open the possibility the Twins could broaden the field, that seems to be a long shot. All four of those coaches had been tied to the Twins' search, though it hadn't been previously reported that Servais and Flaherty had formally interviewed.
The Twins gutted their roster at the trade deadline, fired their manager after the season and still haven't divulged any information on their new limited partners who bought a heavy share of the club. To call morale "low" among fans would be an egregious understatement, and the looming offseason doesn't offer much reason for optimism. Guaranteed Contracts Other Financial Commitments $30MM owed to Astros through 2028 as part of Carlos Correa trade ($10MM annually)
