Nick Nelson

It's early spring training. It doesn't really matter. Still, you don't *love* to see it.

Suns out, snow's melting, and the Yankees are absolutely clobbering Twins pitching. Now it really feels like baseball season.

Twins Daily 2026 Top Prospects: #16-20 Today we start countdown of the Twins Daily Top 20 Prospect rankings. Find out who ranks 16th through 20th.

We're doing our annual spring top 20 Twins prospect down at @twinsdaily.com

Yesterday, @SethTweets wrote up our choices for 16-20: twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/...

Today, I've got 11-15: twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/...

The Pros and Cons of 4 Different Twins Lineup Permutations With their current personnel, the Twins need to accept the drawbacks of any lineup they run out.

How might the Twins lineup come together against RHP and LHP this season? Is there a way to optimize for both offense and defense with the current roster makeup?

New @twinsdaily.com: twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/...

Minnesota Twins 2026 Position Analysis: First Base As usual, the Twins are turning to outside help at first base. The outlook isn't great.

Next up in the @twinsdaily.com position analysis series: first base.

Once again the Twins are turning to outside help at a position where they've oddly been completely unable to develop their own talent. twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/...

Twins hitters I am especially high on this year:

Lewis - I'm buying into the health and offseason work

Wallner - Took his lumps, now time to click. 40+ HR??

Buxton - Obvious reasons

Clemens - Idk why, I just find myself believing

Minnesota Twins 2026 Position Analysis: Catcher What should fans expect from the catching position this year as Ryan Jeffers approaches the likely end of his Twins career?

Each spring I put together a series of in-depth breakdowns for each position on the Twins roster.

Today we kick things off with a look at catcher, where the end of an era meets a new future roadmap.

twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/...

Can Austin Martin Become a Trusted Center Field Option for the Twins? Can he show major improvement following a rough debut in the Twins outfield?

The key question for Austin Martin this year, same as last year: Do the Twins trust him in center field? If yes, I think he makes the Opening Day roster. If no, I doubt it.

Last year, Martin played pretty regularly for the Twins post-deadline but didn't appear in CF after 8/15.

From last January:

Things have changed greatly in less than a month's time!

Updated guess at Opening Day bullpen for Twins:

Hendriks, Sands, Rogers, Chafin, Topa, Orze, Banda, Festa

Don't wanna overreact but Twins pitchers are looking REALLY good in early spring action and that is very encouraging to see. Mick Abel cooking against Detroit today.

Good showing from the Louie Varland return package in today's Twins ST game against the Braves.

Kendry Rojas: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K

Alan Roden: 2-for-3 with a grand slam

Joe Ryan Scratched From First Spring Start with Back Tightness Joe Ryan was scratched from his first spring start, but initial indicators don't sound overly serious.

Quick writeup on Joe Ryan being scratched from his first spring start with lower back tightness. The takeaway for now: don't panic.

@johnbonnes.bsky.social is on the scene and we'll have more info and updates at @twinsdaily.com as they become available. twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/...

Pablo López Injury Swings the Door Wide Open for Mick Abel The Pablo Lopez injury is a huge loss for the Twins, but could clear a path for one of their most exciting young arms.

With Pablo Lopez going down for the season, Mick Abel has a clear runway to take hold of a rotation spot.

New @twinsdaily.com: twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/...

Been a long offseason but we made it folks. Baseball is back tomorrow as the spring exhibition schedule gets underway. 5 weeks to Opening Day.

I don't expect the Twins to be good, but I know I'll have a lot of fun watching and writing about them. See you at the ballpark!

Finding Solace in the Wake of Pablo López's Bad News Losing Pablo López might, ironically, improve the chances of keeping him in a Twins uniform long-term.

If you're looking for some silver linings in the wake of yesterday's devastating news about Pablo Lopez, here's what I've got: twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/... @twinsdaily.com

This Andrew Chafin quote 😂

"I know how to get guys out and the computer doesn't understand."

via the great @danhayesmlb.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/705...

True. That's why I feel like a somewhat team-friendly contract extension could appeal to him right now. Security and peace of mind as he faces a lot of uncertainty.

Solace in the Lopez news, I guess, is that the Twins weren't gonna be good this year anyway. Hopefully he comes back strong in 2027 for a more developed team, and maybe a favorable extension could even be in play.

Pablo Lopez is an unbelievably likable player in addition to being probably the team's best & highest-upside player. This news just really sucks. Quite the early spring buzzkill.

After going thru some injury issues in MIA, Pablo Lopez didn't miss a start from 2022-24.

But last year: 3 starts then hamstring injury -> 8 starts then teres major strain -> 3 starts then forearm injury

Now he's come up with elbow soreness in his first live BP of spring camp.

Tom Pohlad on whether the Twins would be willing to take on money in a trade after swinging and missing on Framber Valdez: "One hundred percent, one hundred percent."

Tom Pohlad has a chance to do the funniest thing.

Not great

Bench Role, DFAd, or St. Paul: Analytically Breaking Down Tristan Gray’s Player Profile Acquired from the Boston Red Sox in mid-January for catching prospect Nate Baez, Tristan Gray joined his third organization in two months, becoming a member of the Minnesota Twins. The 29-year-old ent...

Good piece here from @codyschoenmann.bsky.social on Tristan Gray, who's one of the more interesting journeymen vying for a shot with the Twins this year: twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/... @twinsdaily.com

I go to Rockies games and Pirates games, and the experience/atmosphere are amazing. I'm jealous. People turn out for bad teams because those are baseball towns with vibrant fan bases. MPLS is far from that, but step 1 is getting people out to the park.

I can give the Twins some grace as they navigate a transitional period in terms of leadership, competitiveness, strategic vision ... IF they are investing in connecting with the fans in other ways; making Target Field a great place to go even when the baseball's pretty bad.

Watching the Twins franchise lose its buzz and relevance in the local sports market has been even more upsetting to me than the team's spiraling performance, though it's obviously not unrelated. Right now they're rock bottom. Attendance last year showed that.

While the on-field product is troubling, I have to give Twins immense credit for their efforts to bring fans back to the ballpark.

Twins Pass and pregame drink/snack deals are legitimately cost-effective ways to enjoy live pro baseball at a time where everything's so expensive.

One thing that grabs my attention here is the note about Brooks Lee focusing heavily on improving his left-handed swing. The switch-hitter's LH side was largely his strength as a prospect, but he batted .220 last year.

Report From The Fort: Five Spring Training Tells We’re still a week from Grapefruit League games, but that’s not too early to start talking about what we want to watch. Any value in watching spring training games isn’t in looking at players’ stats. ...

Five important spring training "tells," as outlined by @twinsdaily.com s own @johnbonnes.bsky.social (Full article for caretakers only.) twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/...

Somewhat surprising nugget: Lewis traveled to Houston frequently over the winter and always stayed with Carlos Correa, whom he's clearly still close to. Doesn't exactly line up with the concocted narrative that Correa was some toxic clubhouse cancer.