There are a lot of question marks regarding the Twins and the direction that the team chooses to go this offseason. On the one hand, the team held an all-out fire sale at the trade deadline, dealing its five best relievers as well as its shortstop in Carlos Correa. On the other hand, it's plausible to look at what remains and see pieces of a roster that could be competitive in 2026. One piece of the 2026 team that wasn't touched at the 2025 trade deadline was the starting rotation, despite speculation that the team was in trade discussions regarding All-Star starter Joe Ryan. Now, as the offseason begins, there is leaguewide speculation that the Twins could listen on and perhaps even deal one or both of Joe Ryan and Pablo López. Whether that will truly happen remains to be seen, but there's certainly the possibility that the Twins' rotation looks a lot different on Opening Day than it does right now.
What would a dream rotation look like for the Twins in 2026?
Just for quick clarification, I'm dreaming of a Twins team that competes in 2026. Some may be dreaming of a rebuild and a rotation full of young, unproven starters for the upcoming season. Not me. I'll be operating here under the dangerous and perhaps unrealistic assumption that the Twins intend to be competitive in 2026, and that their offseason will be carried out in accordance with that goal. That would be the dream.
1. Joe Ryan, preferably extended
If we're dreaming, which we are, then Joe Ryan has to be a Twin in 2026. The 29-year-old is coming off the best season of his career, one that saw him throw a career-high 171 innings, total 194 strikeouts to 39 walks, and post a career-best 3.42 ERA. Ryan was selected to the American League All-Star team for the first time in his career and was the team's most reliable starter for the entirety of the season. Two years away from reaching free agency, it would make sense to open extension discussions now, and getting Ryan locked into the long-term rotation would be a step in the right direction for the Twins to get back into contention. If the team is going to compete in 2026, it feels like Ryan needs to remain a member of the starting rotation.
2. Pablo López
Since he was acquired by the Twins prior to the 2023 season, Pablo López has been one of the most important members of the team both on and off the field. On the field, López was an All-Star in 2023, took a slight step back in 2024 but was still very solid, and then unfortunately battled injuries for the majority of 2025. López started just 14 games this season, but did so to the tune of a 2.74 ERA in 75.2 innings with 73 strikeouts. Off the field, López is well-known as an incredible teammate and clubhouse presence, and has been the Twins' nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award in each of the past two seasons. Losing him would be a tremendous hit to both team morale and the overall on-field product. It's imperative that the Twins keep López around and pencil him into the 2026 rotation.
3. Bailey Ober with his velo back
Reminder, we are dreaming here. It feels incredibly unlikely that the Twins would sell low on Ober coming off of a very disappointing season, especially considering how good he was from 2021 to 2024. That means that, whether fans like it or not, he's likely penciled into the 2026 rotation with the Twins banking on him bouncing back. That's not a bad bet by any means, as Ober was one of the league's more consistent mid-rotation arms for multiple years prior to this past season. In 2025, however, Ober saw a large dip in velocity, and a dip in results followed. Whereas in 2024 Ober averaged 91.7 MPH on his fastball, he averaged just 90.3 in 2025 and oftentimes saw his fastball sitting in the 88-89 MPH range. Ober missed about a month in the middle of the season with a hip injury, and alluded to hip and knee ailments leading to inconsistencies with his mechanics. Ideally, Ober can spend the offseason getting healthy and refining his mechanics in order to recapture the pitcher that he was from 2021 to 2024 and become an impactful member of the rotation once again.
4. Dustin May on a one-year deal
If the Twins are going to make a free agent addition to the rotation, it's probably not going to be an expensive one, especially if they decide against trading Joe Ryan and Pablo López. Dustin May would be a perfect fit. He's coming off of his first healthy season in a long time, and while it was great to see him healthy again, the results weren't as expected. The 28-year-old posted a 4.96 ERA in 132.1 innings with the Dodgers and Red Sox, and now enters free agency with some uncertainty around whether or not he can recapture the version of himself that was present earlier in his career. A one-year "prove it" type of deal makes all the sense in the world for May, who is still young enough to get a long-term deal if he were to have a good 2026 season.
5. Choose your character: young starter edition
If the Twins were to hold onto Joe Ryan, Pablo López, and Bailey Ober, while also signing Dustin May, that would leave one rotation spot open. In the land of dreams, we are leaving that rotation spot open for one of the Twins' young and promising starting pitchers. The leading candidates to grab the last spot would likely be Zebby Matthews and Simeon Woods Richardson as things stand now, but others would include Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, David Festa, Andrew Morris, and Connor Prielipp. We've seen the Twins enter the season with an abundance of starting pitching depth in past years, such as in 2023 when they opted to have a relatively proven Bailey Ober begin the season in Triple-A. Starting the year with just one rotation spot open for the plethora of young starters would allow for great competition in Spring Training and in Triple-A to start the season, and would also give the Twins depth in case of an injury to one of their primary starters. It would also allow for the potential conversion of one or more of these young starters to the bullpen, which is currently perhaps the biggest area of need on the team after the trade deadline.