Like every MLB team, the Twins will make some roster moves this upcoming offseason. There is an array of relievers on the team that probably won't return since they are only with Minnesota to eat innings at this point in the season, but there are also some household names that might spend 2026 with an organization that isn't the Twins.
3 Minnesota Twins players who won't be back next season
SP Pablo López or SP Joe Ryan
Getting rid of López or Ryan would be a major mistake if the Twins want to make a postseason run next season, but many signs point toward Minnesota parting ways with one of its aces. First off, the Twins reportedly possess upward of $425 million in debt, which led to a massive fire sale at this year's trade deadline that included dealing Correa for presumingly payroll reasons. Additionally, after announcing they were seeking a buyer for the Twins last offseason, the Pohlads decided to retain majority ownership and add two minority investors.
Adding the minority investors will likely help the Pohlads reduce their debt, but it's unclear whether or not the Twins will dedicate more money to free agency as well. Most likely, the Twins will still want to shed payroll further and keep building on their strong farm system, which would come as a result of trading López or Ryan (hopefully not both), especially when a lockout during the 2027 season, which is both López's and Ryan's final year of their current contracts, is becoming increasingly more likely. Keeping both of them would mean the Twins are serious about making the playoffs in 2026, but trading one of them would mean they are not confident in the idea of a postseason berth next season and think a lockout is going to happen.
Both Ryan, who has two arbitration years remaining, and López, who is owed $42.5 million over the next two seasons, would get the Twins significant value in a trade, as both are arguably among the best 15 starting pitchers in the league. Ryan has been worth 5.0 bWAR with a 2.77 ERA and 159 strikeouts in 143 innings over 25 outings this season, and López has been worth 7.6 bWAR with a 3.72 ERA and 493 strikeouts in 440 innings across 75 games since being traded to the Twins after the 2022 season.
Another sign that points toward López or Ryan being traded this offseason is the addition of three starting pitchers, Taj Bradley, Mick Abel and Kendry Rojas, who will likely be in the majors sometime next season if not this year.
INF Edouard Julien
Although one could argue that Julien should provide the Twins with innings in the minor leagues next year in case someone gets injured, there are too many promising infield prospects in the Twins organization that will need Triple-A innings. In the infield, the Twins already have Luke Keaschall, Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis set to stick around, and infield prospects like Kaelen Culpepper, Payton Eeles and Aaron Sabato will also probably be in the big leagues soon.
It's a shame that it appears Julien won't pan out at the big-league level, considering his success during his rookie season two years ago, where he hit .263/.381/.459 for a 134 wRC+ in 408 plate appearances. He just has not been able to perform well enough to stick around in the major leagues over the past two seasons, slashing .197/.287/.321 for a 75 wRC+ in 436 plate appearances amid multiple stints with Triple-A St. Paul.
At this point, it appears Julien will not revive his career, meaning it will be in the best interest of the Twins to move on from him and give innings to other deserving players. Julien would probably benefit from a change of scenery at this point as well.
OF Trevor Larnach
It's not like Larnach is a bad player; he has just been mostly average with the Twins, posting 3.4 bWAR and a 104 wRC+ with below-average defense in parts of five seasons with Minnesota. Additionally, he has two more seasons of arbitration, meaning he is about to get more expensive.
The Twins already have a crowded outfield with Byron Buxton, Matt Wallner, Alan Roden and James Outman, and top outfield prospects Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez will likely make their MLB debuts at some point before the end of next season. Trading Larnach this offseason, or even non-tendering him, would make perfect sense for Minnesota.