In some ways, it was an offseason of upheaval for the Twins. Executive chair Joe Pohlad was replaced by his brother, Tom; president of baseball and business operations Derek Falvey left the organization and after nine seasons at the helm; manager Rocco Baldelli was fired and replaced with Derek Shelton.
In other ways, much remains the same. Little was done, for example, to a roster that underperformed in the first half of the season and limped to the finish line after a trade deadline sell-off.
Minnesota Twins vice president and assistant general manager Jeremy Zoll talks as new manager Derek Shelton is introduced during a baseball news conference, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
As spring training officially kicks off in Fort Myers, Florida, on Thursday, there are still plenty of questions to be answered in the six weeks leading up to Opening Day. Here are five.
How will the rotation shake out?
With eight potential starter options, how the rotation shakes out will be one of the more interesting storylines to follow in camp. Atop the rotation, the Twins have right-handers Joe Ryan and Pablo López, a pair of all-star starters who will be gone for much of spring training while competing in the World Baseball Classic. A return to form for Bailey Ober would do wonders for the Twins, who are relying upon the veteran to look more like the pre-2025 version than last year’s iteration.
Behind that trio, the Twins have a number of arms vying for innings. Simeon Woods Richardson is out of options and coming off a strong finish to last season. Taj Bradley, who like Ryan and López will pitch in the WBC, has spent much of the past three seasons pitching in the majors. The Twins also believe strongly in the futures of young starters David Festa, Zebby Matthews and Mick Abel, each of whom have at least some major league experience.
How many starters will transition to the bullpen?
This goes hand and hand with the first question, as it’s possible that the Twins try to test out a starter or two who don’t make the rotation out of camp in the bullpen. They also have prospects who have yet to reach the majors such as Connor Prielipp or Marco Raya, with whom they could go this route.
It has been a common path, and some of the Twins’ best relievers of late — Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax and Louie Varland, for example — were converted starters. At the beginning of camp, the Twins will stretch their starters out, so this is something to keep an eye on toward the middle of camp.
“(We’re) going to … work through conversations later on as need be once we have as good a handle as possible on our situation with the state of the bullpen and the best opportunities to put everyone in the best position for success,” general manager Jeremy Zoll said.
Will there be more additions?
Zoll has said the Twins still plan to add to the bullpen — the only free-agent addition thus far has been a reunion with Taylor Rogers on a one-year deal — and it’s certainly possible the Twins can still accomplish that. In recent years, moves have come later and later. Rogers himself was traded right before Opening Day in 2022.
“In the past, you would use report date as, ‘Alright, we’re down in camp and ready to go,’ ” Zoll said. “I think we’ve become accustomed to knowing things could pivot and change.”
Zoll’s comment came Tuesday, a day after Philadelphia Phillies team president Dave Dombrowski said he was anticipating more trade activity than usual during spring training because the free agent market developed late this winter. If that’s the case, the Twins could be among the active teams.
Who will be pitching late in games?
The Twins are expected to carry eight relievers on their Opening Day roster; what that will look like is anyone’s guess right now. Over the course of the next six weeks, the Twins will need to choose relievers and settle on roles for each.
Rogers has experience closing, though at 35, he’s not the same pitcher as he was when he converted 30 saves for the Twins in 2019. Justin Topa might get a chance at some eighth- and ninth-inning opportunities, and so might Cole Sands. But neither has a ton of closing experience, and how the Twins will allocate those innings will be something to watch this spring after they traded away a stable of late-inning arms.
What will we learn about the new coaching staff?
While the roster may look similar to last year’s, the coaching staff sure doesn’t, and spring training should reveal some insights into how Shelton’s crew might operate.
Gone is Baldelli, who managed the team for the past seven years and in his place Shelton, who served as the Twins’ bench coach in 2018 and 2019 before leaving to manage the Pittsburgh Pirates.
While some coaches kept their jobs, including pitching coach Pete Maki, the Twins did turn over much of their staff. New additions include former players LaTroy Hawkins and Grady Sizemore, as well as bench coaches Mark Hallberg and Mike Rabelo, major league field coordinator Toby Gardenhire and new lead hitting coach Keith Beauregard.
Shelton gathered his staff after TwinsFest and said they spent about two and a half days together. He also hosted the group for a staff Super Bowl party.
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