The Minnesota Twins are trying to make a statement in the American League. A team that usually plays well early on in the season has not made a playoff run in quite some time. The Twins are usually toward the middle of the pack in the league, but they contain a roster with some talent, worthy of competing.
In a recent NY Times article, the Twins have shown signs of wanting to remain a competitive team, rather than selling off players to rebuild. There are three crucial players that Minnesota aims to keep.
“The Twins do not anticipate moving center fielder Byron Buxton or right-handers Joe Ryan and Pablo López, according to league sources briefed on their plans. Minnesota’s goal is to keep those players, build around them and compete in 2026.”
Joe Ryan has been a trade candidate since the last MLB Trade Deadline. There are many teams that would want him on their roster. Ryan had an incredible 2025 season. In 30 starts, Ryan ended 13-10, with a 3.42 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and had 194 strikeouts. He finished in the top 20 in all of those areas. The Twins decided to hold on to Ryan after many talks of potentially trading him last season.
Byron Buxton is the team leader. He's been in Minnesota since 2015 as the center fielder. Injuries have always gotten in the way of Buxton, but believe it or not, he played more games in 2025 than at any point in his career outside of 2017. He played 126 games, which was the second most to his 140 in 2017. His 35 home runs and 83 RBIs were career highs.
Pablo Lopez has been an elite pitcher for most of his career. Injuries only allowed him to pitch in 14 games last year, but he ended with a 2.74 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. These are three very talented players who would require a large package to trade for.
