The 2026 Minnesota Twins have already had a chaotic season. May is about to end, and you never know what you’re going to get with this team.
To quickly summarize the first two months of this season, it ultimately breaks down to the depth of the starting pitching, the pitchers who have outperformed expectations, and the big demotions.
Starting pitcher injuries
The injury bug struck the team early and often when it came to high-leverage starting arms.
It started before the season even went underway when Pablo López went down with a shoulder injury. Minnesota’s ace was unable to pitch a meaningful game before losing his season to a UCL tear that required surgery.
Furthermore, a shoulder injury sidelined David Festa before the season started. Festa was already healing from Botox injections that he received in September to help with a compressed nerve.
Festa is one of Minnesota’s most promising young pitchers, and he has been trying to further prepare himself for the 2026 season. However, he has faced continuous setbacks and further complications with his shoulder, leading to an unknown timeline for when he can resume activities.
Mick Abel is also out with right elbow inflammation. Of these first three, Abel is the only one to have pitched during the 2026 season. Before going to the IL, he was posting competitive numbers, going 1-2 over 20 innings and a third, with a 3.98 ERA and 23 strikeouts and 10 walks in 4 games.
Taj Bradley has just recently returned from a pectoral injury that saw him miss 17 days. Thankfully, the team was able to get Bradley back after just about three missed starts. He has been one of Minnesota’s more consistent arms all season.
Although he took no time off, Joe Ryan suffered a scare during a start on May 3, after only facing two batters. In what is now being called elbow soreness, Ryan felt enough pain to remove himself from the outing. However, after a clean MRI, he bounced back and made his next start.
While these injuries have affected the team, the Twins have persevered and found some diamonds in the rough.
Pitching prowess
The injury bug has raised questions about the depth of the starting rotation, but the players have shown they are up for the challenge.
Ryan’s ability to be an ace in the wake of López’s injury isn’t a surprise. Instead, the surprise may be the consistency with which he is doing it. He’s posting the best ERA of his career and is allowing the least amount of hits and home runs per nine innings. Although it is early, Ryan has the opportunity to build a career season if he stays healthy.
Bradley came into the season with some doubts about his command. He has arguably been the second-best pitcher on the team behind Ryan. Bradley is having a career year, posting season-best marks in ERA, WHIP, hits per nine innings, and HR per nine innings. At this rate, the Twins still have one of the best one-two punches in baseball, further covering for the injured ace López.
Before the season, Bailey Ober’s velocity was a concern, and to some, it still is. However, after his start on Tuesday, May 12, he silenced some doubters. He pitched a two-hit complete game on just 89 pitches, the first since Ervin Santana in 2017 and 16th in Twins history.
The younger players have also gotten in on making key starts and showing their dominance. Connor Prielipp and Zebby Matthews are giving Twins fans hope for the future as they continue to put up great outings every time out.
The bullpen has also been electric as of recently, being one of the best bullpens in May. They also set a franchise record with 11 different pitchers recording a save this season. The record is 17, set last season by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Even though some of their pitchers have shone on the mound, others have had less success, leading to additional developmental time.
Big demotions
Pitching has rightfully taken most of the headlines all season. Still, there has been some massive news throughout the lineup.
Royce Lewis and Matt Wallner’s careers have mirrored each other over the last few months. The Twins sent Wallner to Triple-A a week ahead of Lewis, but both are undergoing a reset in the minors.
It’s a setback for both players. However, it’s arguably most disappointing for Lewis, Minnesota’s first-overall draft pick in 2017. Lewis looked like a foundational player in 2023 and has floundered since.
Meanwhile, Wallner’s play on the field and at the plate had declined, and it became harder for the Twins to justify playing him over impact players like Austin Martin. While both are hoping to return to the majors in 2026, the squad’s current construction is giving fans hope, and the hype around younger talent playing alongside them in St. Paul could pass them on the depth chart if they don’t turn things around.
The Twins also demoted Simeon Woods Richardson on the pitching side. After starting the season as a starting pitcher, he was becoming a liability on the mound with a league-worst ERA. With no other options at this time, the team decided that it was in the best interest to move him to the bullpen.
The Twins are chaos
This 2026 Twins team is very intriguing.
In a season that had very little hype coming in, they have made Twins baseball not just interesting but a team to get invested in. While the injured pitchers, their ace backups, and massive demotions have garnered headlines, they are making an early statement and could be buyers at the trade deadline.
As Forrest Gump once said, “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” I think that also applies to the Twins team.
