The Athletic polled over 11,000 MLB fans regarding the level of optimism they have in their favorite team this season. The publication then ranked all 30 teams by optimism percentage. It's not hard to guess where our beloved Twins landed in the rankings.
Minnesota Twins rank last The Athletic's MLB fan optimism poll
Yep. The Twins ranked dead last in the poll with 4.3% optimism, just behind the Los Angeles Angels (5.7%). Keep in mind that this means fans of the Colorado Rockies, the Washington Nationals and the Chicago White Sox are more optimistic about their favorite team than Twins fans are.
More than 11,000 fans participated in our fifth annual MLB Hope-O-Meter.
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) March 30, 2026
Overall, 72 percent reported they are optimistic about their favorite team this season, compared to 66 percent in 2025. pic.twitter.com/ywvrqQAsGs
I've said many times before that the Twins have the talent to make a surprise playoff run. I've also said that it's unlikely that the Twins make the postseason, as it would require a lot of things to go right that could easily go wrong. And after a 1-3 start, it's difficult not to lean toward feeling pessimistic, even though it's very early in the season.
People can't blame Twins fans for their lack of optimism this season, even though primary owner Tom Pohlad declared "we will be competitive in 2026."
If the Twins had made some big moves during the offseason, such as signing left-handed starting pitcher Framber Valdez, then it'd be a lot easier to be optimistic about the team. It'd show that Pohlad really intends to do whatever he can to make the team competitive. Even signing right-handed starting pitcher Lucas Giolito, who is somehow still a free agent, would show fans that he is serious about his bold offseason statement.
Instead, the biggest move the Twins made this offseason was signing catcher/first baseman Victor Caratini to a two-year, $14 million contract. It wasn't a bad move, but it shouldn't be the biggest move for a team aiming to be competitive after trading nearly 40% of its roster at last summer's Trade Deadline.
The fact that the team mutually parted ways with president Derek Falvey just less than a month before spring training doesn't help fans' optimism level, either. While it may have been the right decision to move on from Falvey, it could've mostly been Falvey's decision to move on from the Twins for all we know. Regardless of whose idea it was to part ways, the timing of the decision indicated instability within the organization.
Hopefully the Twins will surprise everybody and rank near the top in fan optimism next year. But it's hard to imagine that happening.