There's plenty of excitement surrounding the Minnesota Twins these days. General manager Jeremy Zoll sent a win-now message by acquiring pitchers Jeff Hoffman, A.J. Minter and Dean Kremer before last Monday's trade deadline. The club lost four games in a row to begin August, but bounced back with a comeback victory against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night. The Twins are just half a game back of the Texas Rangers for the final Wild Card spot.
To add to the excitement surrounding the club, the Twins officially promoted one of their top prospects to the big leagues.
Twins promote Kaelen Culpepper to big-league roster
The Minnesota Twins have officially promoted top shortstop prospect Kaelen Culpepper to the majors, the team announced. Culpepper is the Twins' No. 2 overall prospect and MLB's No. 29, according to MLB Pipeline.
Culpepper is batting seventh and playing shortstop for the Twins' series opener against the Brewers in Milwaukee on Friday night.
In 74 games with Triple-A St. Paul this season, Culpepper has slashed .271/.367/.478 with 14 home runs, 46 RBI and 17 stolen bases.
Twins option Tristan Gray to make room for Kaelen Culpepper
As expected when the news broke that Culpepper is headed to the majors, the Twins removed infielder Tristan Gray from the 26-man roster. Gray is headed to Triple-A St. Paul and is keeping his spot on the 40-man. Minnesota designated minor-league right-hander Taylor Rashi for assignment to clear a spot for Culpepper on the 40-man roster.
Twins officially place Joe Ryan on IL, recall Zebby Matthews
The Twins placed right-handed starting pitcher Joe Ryan on the 15-day injured list with a left glute strain. Right-hander Zebby Matthews has taken Ryan's spot in the rotation.
We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/lnTNCnOYBF
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 7, 2026
It was obvious something wasn't right with Ryan after the All-Star Break. The 30-year-old ace entered the break with a 2.85 ERA in 110 1/3 innings. In his three starts after the break, Ryan has allowed 17 runs (16 earned) on 25 hits and two walks over 15 1/3 innings. In his first start after the break, Ryan allowed six home runs, the most in a single outing in franchise history, to the Cleveland Guardians, a team not known for its power.
Meanwhile, Matthews gets another opportunity to prove himself. Minnesota optioned Matthews to make room for Kremer, but now Matthews is back in the rotation. Matthews is 4-8 with a 5.22 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 81 innings across 14 starts with the Twins this season.
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