Many speculated that the Twins would continue where they left off from last summer's trade deadline fire sale this offseason. However, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal recently reported Minnesota plans to keep Byron Buxton, Joe Ryan and Pablo López, all of whom have been mentioned in multiple trade rumors all offseason, for 2026.
At the Winter Meetings, Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll made it clear where the Twins are headed, expressing the team's desire to rebuild the bullpen and add a power bat. According to The Athletic's Dan Hayes, the Twins have already checked in on a few free-agent sluggers.
Twins checked in on first basemen Rhys Hoskins, Ryan O'Hearn, Josh Bell
Hayes wrote that Minnesota is exploring the mid-tier free agent first base market and has $20 million to spend this offseason. The team has already checked in with free-agent first basemen Rhys Hoskins, Ryan O'Hearn and Josh Bell.
Hoskins, 32, slashed .237/.332/.416 (108 OPS+) with 12 home runs in 90 games with the Milwaukee Brewers this past season. He missed six weeks due to a left thumb strain, then moved to a bench role upon returning due to trade-acquisition Andrew Vaughn's surprising offensive resurgence. Hoskins, who bats from the right side, posted -0.2 bWAR in 131 games with Milwaukee in 2024 and missed the entire 2023 campaign. Before that, he hit .242/.353/.492 (125 OPS+) in parts of six seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies.
O'Hearn, 32, had the best season of his career in 2025, hitting .281/.366/.437 (125 OPS+) with career-highs in homers (17) and RBI (63). The lefty first baseman began the year with the Baltimore Orioles before being traded to the San Diego Padres in July. He started his career with the Kansas City Royals in 2018. He struggled to stay in the Major Leagues before joining the Orioles in 2023.
Bell, 33, hit .237/.325/.417 (110 OPS+) with 22 homers and 63 RBI with the Washington Nationals this past season. The switch-hitter made his MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016. He played five years with the Pirates and has since played for the Nationals, Miami Marlins, Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.
If the season began today, Kody Clemens would likely be the Twins' starting first baseman. Sure, he surpassed expectations upon being acquired by Minnesota last season, but he still was an overall below-average player. He deserves to be on the roster, as he can play corner outfield and second base in addition to first base, but he should mainly be a bench player if the Twins are serious about competing. Signing Hoskins, O'Hearn or Bell would signify the team is serious about making a postseason run in 2026.
Of course, signing someone like Pete Alonso would've been a better way to signify they're serious about returning to playoff contention. But someone of Alonso's caliber is unfortunately out of the Twins' price range. Minnesota can still make a playoff run, as its starting rotation has two aces and plenty of depth, and a healthy Byron Buxton, Luke Keaschall and Royce Lewis could lead a very formidable lineup. Not to mention, highly regarded prospects Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kaelen Culpepper should be ready to make the jump the big leagues at some point in 2026.