Being a lifelong Minnesota Twins and baseball fan, this is normally one of my favorite times of year. With Spring Training starting, Twins fans, like all baseball fans, have dreams of their teams being alone at the top in October as World Series Champs. But this year is unlike any other season.
After a lost 2025 season, which led to a jettisoning of half their roster, the firing of manager Rocco Baldelli, and the horrible news that the Pohlad family would retain ownership of the franchise, Twins fans were left down and in the dumps.
It couldn’t get any worse, could it? Well, with lackluster free-agent pickups and the resignation of team president Derek Falvey, the team managed to sink to new depths. As they say, here goes nothing, or at least as far as a $105 million roster will take you. In Part 1, we covered the everyday players. Now, it’s time for the pitchers.
2026 Twins Opening Day Roster Projections
Starting Pitchers
Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods Richardson, Zebby Matthews: The strength of the team. Lopez and Ryan are legit front-line starters, and if not aces, solid number two guys. Ober pitched well for the Twins for a couple of seasons but went awry last season due to injuries and mechanics issues. All signs point to a rebound year for the tall righty. Woods Richardson has been sneaky good the past two seasons and has earned his fourth spot in the rotation.
The sheen of Wood Richardson being a top prospect no longer exists, but with the team collapsing around him in 2025, he acquitted himself well among the ruins, posting a .233 ERA in September. Most have Taj Bradley slotted for the backend of the rotation, but I don’t think he’s going to make it.
He pitched awfully last season, and even though he has more experience than some of his competitors, I believe this is the year that Zebby Matthews puts it all together and rounds out the Twins’ rotation. He has awesome stuff, and I think it’s his time to shine.
If anyone falters or gets injured, there is some enticing young talent to fill the void. The aforementioned Bradley comes to mind, as does the talented but inconsistent David Festa and Philadelphia Phillies import Mick Abel. Marco Raya and Connor Prielipp, the Twins’ eighth and ninth-ranked prospects, are also in the mix and could be called upon as the season progresses. Remember some of these names, as some of these arms will be used to replenish the depleted bullpen.
Relief Pitchers
Taylor Rogers, Cole Sands, Justin Topa, Kody Funderburk, Eric Orze, Travis Adams, David Festa, and Marco Raya: Okay. This is where the parlour games begin. There are a lot of moving pieces here, and some of the names that will make the final cut might not even be on the Twins roster yet. That’s what happens when you decimate your bullpen at the trade deadline and fail to adequately reload. We are fairly certain that Rogers, Sands, and Topa will handle the later innings when the season starts.
The middle innings will be the domain of Funderburk, Orze, and Adams, but this is far from being set in stone. Festa has a mid-90’s fastball but has lacked consistency. His ticket to stick in the Bigs might be in the pen. I am going to take a guess that Raya sneaks in and wins the last spot in the bullpen to start the season. Connor Prielipp, John Klein, and Jackson Kowar are also names to remember for the eighth reliever slot. Keep an eye on this, as it will remain a very fluid situation.
Signs of Hope
At some point this season, top prospects Walter Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, and Gabriel Gonzalez should arrive to help the team and its thin outfield. Jenkins and Rodriguez have been plagued by injuries, which has slowed their progression through the team’s farm system. A bit behind them is Kaelen Culpepper, who has a chance to be Minnesota’s shortstop of the future. New Twins manager Derek Shelton has his work cut out for him, with an injury-prone everyday lineup and a revamped bullpen. Here’s wishing him the best.
