Starting rotation at least a starting point for Twins rebuild in 2026

PHILADELPHIA – One of the things the Twins wanted to accomplish after their trade deadline selloff was finding an identity they can carry into the 2026 season.

The Twins hope their starting pitching will be a strength of the team. They had the same expectations entering this year, a 92-loss season, but they enter the offseason with eight starting pitchers with major league experience.

It showed in the last week of the season. On their six-game road trip, with six different starters, the group delivered a collective 0.75 ERA over 36 innings with 16 hits, five walks and 47 strikeouts. Zebby Matthews, Taj Bradley, Bailey Ober, Mick Abel and Simeon Woods Richardson all pitched at least six innings and gave up one or zero runs. Woods Richardson gave up one hit in six scoreless innings while striking out nine in Sunday’s 2-1, 10-inning loss to the Phillies.

The question hanging over the optimistic view, of course, is whether the Twins front office will keep that starting group together. Joe Ryan and Pablo López figure to be popular trade targets, especially if the Twins aim to shed payroll.

“It just shows you what we can be,” said Ober, who pitched six scoreless innings in his last start. “If we have everyone healthy, I think there are eight MLB arms that have really nice MLB talent stuff. Not just guys that are going to be up and down, or in Class AAA for a little bit, but guys that can perform and stay in this league for a while.”

The Twins largely kept the same offensive core past the trade deadline besides shortstop Carlos Correa. Outfielder Harrison Bader, first baseman Ty France and utilityman Willi Castro were traded too, but they will become free agents at the end of the season.

Still, they tried to change their identity in the last two months. They ran the bases much more aggressively, stealing an MLB-leading 52 bases since Aug. 20 after manager Rocco Baldelli spoke in a team meeting about pushing themselves more.

Austin Martin emerged as one of the pleasant surprises at the end of the season, and rookie second baseman Luke Keaschall likely secured a starting spot in next year’s plans before his season-ending thumb injury.

The Twins have a wave of prospects, particularly outfielders Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Gabriel Gonzalez, that could contribute to next year’s team.

The gap between the Twins, though, and the top of the division has widened. The Twins finished 18 games back in the divisional race and 17 games out of a playoff spot. They dropped the season series to all four rivals in the AL Central, including the last-place Chicago White Sox.

Plus, the division champion Cleveland Guardians and wild-card Detroit Tigers are well positioned to contend for at least the next few years.

The Guardians had one of the greatest division-clinching runs in baseball history, erasing a 15½-game deficit from July and an 11-game deficit on Sept. 4. Their identity has remained the same for years: Pitching and defense.

All six of the starting pitchers Cleveland used at the end of the season, giving up the fewest runs in the majors in September, are 27 or younger.

Detroit had an ugly finish to miss out on the division title, but the Tigers still won 87 games. And they boast arguably the best farm system in baseball with five prospects on Baseball America’s top 100 list, including two in the top 10.