The Minnesota Twins front office surprised many late Friday afternoon when news broke that they had tendered a contract to outfielder Trevor Larnach. Larnach looked like the biggest name among arbitration-eligible players to be non-tendered and enter the free agent market.
But that didn’t happen, and now Larnach is set for an estimated $4.7 million salary for 2026 per MLB Trade Rumors. It’s not the most expensive arbitration salary on the team, but for the Twins, who are estimated to have a $96 million payroll in 2026, it takes up around five percent of allocated funds.
While Larnach avoided free agency for this off-season, it’s still likely the Twins will trade him this off-season, because they have a plethora of left-handed hitting corner outfielders on the 40-man roster. Minnesota has six left-handed hitting outfielders on the 40-man, including Larnach, with their top prospect, Walker Jenkins, waiting in the wings at Triple-A.
Minnesota’s front office appears to favor Matt Wallner and Alan Roden for starting roles early in 2026, while James Outman will serve as the primary backup to Byron Buxton in center. Emmanuel Rodriguez and Hendry Mendez will start their 2026 seasons in the minors. Still, if Rodriguez is healthy and performing well, he will find a way to crack the active roster and earn playing time with the Twins.
With how everything is shaking up on the depth chart with the five other left-handed corner outfielders, Larnach doesn’t seem to have a spot for regular playing time, aside from the DH spot. Now with a set salary for 2026, Larnach may be easier to move in a trade than he was before the non-tender deadline on Friday.
While he set a career high in games played, 142, which led the team in 2025, Larnach still put up slightly below league-average numbers with a 99 OPS+, a .250/.323/.404, 17 home runs, 60 RBI, a 9.3% walk rate, and 21.5% strikeout rate all made out to a 0.1 bWAR.
Those numbers will not yield a massive return in any trade for Larnach. Still, the best comparable trade the Twins have made in recent history, in terms of what they could get for him, is when they traded Nick Gordon for Steven Okert in spring training 2024.
The Twins need bullpen help this year. Even after adding Eric Orze last Tuesday, they still have half the spots to fill in their bullpen next season. Larnach can net a return of a reliever a half or full step up from Steven Okert when Minnesota acquired him. He posted a 5.09 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 35 ⅓ innings over 44 appearances in 2024.
The only problem is finding the right trade partner. The Twins must find a team in great need of corner outfield help, which few teams are in short supply of, and an excess of relievers. However, the Colorado Rockies could fit the bill.
Coming off their worst season in franchise history with a 43-119 record, the Rockies won’t be contenders next season. Still, they have a few relievers that other teams would be interested in acquiring for their bullpens, and give them a premium in return for those arms.
Victor Vodnik, 26, was one of their younger relievers who had a breakout year in 2025. He posted a 3.02 ERA in 52 relief appearances. Surprisingly, he had better numbers at Coors Field (1.33 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 27 innings) than he did on the road (4.94 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in 23 ⅔ innings). Vodnik will only be 27 next year and is still a year away from arbitration. He still has plenty of upside with a fastball that averages 98.7 MPH and a high 54.3% ground ball percentage against hitters, up 11.3% from the league average 43% GBP.
The Twins would likely get a reliever like Vodnik and a player to be named later, or cash, in return for Larnach. Plus, solving his splits between home and away will be a project for Pete Maki and LaTroy Hawkins to work on as they sort out their bullpen for 2026.
It’s still going to be a long off-season for the Twins, despite a couple of early trades. However, fans should expect the Twins to move Larnach at some point before spring training, given how he’s fallen out of their short and long-term plans. The best fans can hope for in a trade is that he brings back a valuable reliever to help bolster the depleted bullpen.
