Tim Meyer: Twins’ late fade hurts, but 2027 is starting to look interesting

Tim Meyer is a Duluth architect and community builder. Reach him at tim.meyer@meyergroupduluth.com

The Minnesota Twins are running out of September, and another season that once carried legitimate postseason possibilities is rapidly becoming a study in what might have been.

Minnesota entered Wednesday at 69-77, six games behind Chicago in the American League Central and well below the position it occupied earlier this summer. The White Sox have moved to the top of the division at 75-69, with Cleveland still very much in the race. Chicago has handled Minnesota particularly well down the stretch, including a 10-1 pounding Sunday that underscored how quickly the Twins’ postseason hopes have deteriorated.

This was not how the Twins intended September to look.

Management made a legitimate effort to strengthen the roster around the trade deadline, particularly on the pitching side. Minnesota added veteran relievers A.J. Minter, Tommy Nance and Jeff Hoffman and acquired right-hander Dean Kremer from Baltimore. The moves addressed obvious weaknesses in the bullpen and rotation and suggested the Twins believed they still had enough roster strength to make a run.

It hasn't happened.

Injuries have once again consumed too much of the season. Pablo López has missed the year following Tommy John surgery. David Festa underwent shoulder surgery and is expected back in 2027. Mick Abel has spent much of the season sidelined by elbow inflammation. Joe Ryan recently returned from the injured list, while Byron Buxton has again been unavailable because of a hip problem.

There is no reason to sugarcoat the result. Minnesota's pitching has been inconsistent, its bullpen has had ugly stretches, and a team built to remain in contention has instead spent September trying to stay relevant.

But there is another side to this season, and it may ultimately become more important than the collapse itself.

The 2026 Twins may be stumbling toward the finish line. The 2027 Twins, however, are beginning to take shape.

Luke Keaschall has developed into one of Minnesota's most dependable young hitters, batting .276 with a .369 on-base percentage through Wednesday. Brooks Lee has produced 23 home runs and 79 RBIs while hitting .250, giving the Twins legitimate run production from a player who still figures prominently in their future. Kody Clemens has supplied unexpected power with 25 home runs and 73 RBIs, while veteran Josh Bell has driven in 85 runs with 18 homers.

Those aren't insignificant numbers on a losing team.

Lee, in particular, has begun turning potential into production. A 23-homer, 79-RBI season from a young infielder provides something Minnesota badly needs: another dependable run producer who doesn't have to be projected three years into the future.

Clemens has done much the same. His .238 batting average won't command headlines, but 25 home runs will. The Twins have spent too many seasons waiting for promising hitters to become productive major league players. Lee and Clemens are producing now.

Then there is Kaelen Culpepper.

The 23-year-old shortstop has made an immediate impression since his August promotion. Culpepper was batting .299 with three home runs and 10 RBIs through Tuesday, providing enough offensive production and defensive promise to make the Twins wonder whether their long-term answer at shortstop may already be on the roster.

That would be an enormously important development.

Walker Jenkins remains the bigger prospect name, but his first exposure to major league pitching also provides a reminder that prospects rarely arrive fully formed. Jenkins was hitting .138 with one home run and five RBIs through Tuesday. Nobody should make a career judgment from fewer than 40 plate appearances, but neither should the Twins pretend the transition will automatically be seamless. His talent remains considerable; the next step is turning it into major league production.

The encouraging part is that Minnesota no longer needs every young player to become a star immediately.

Keaschall can hit near the top of the order. Culpepper may have seized shortstop. Lee has demonstrated run-producing power. Clemens has become a legitimate home-run threat. Royce Lewis still carries middle-of-the-order ability when healthy. Ryan Jeffers remains an important piece behind the plate. Trevor Larnach provides another left-handed bat.

And then there is Buxton.

Minnesota's relationship with Buxton has always required two calculations: how good he is when he's playing and how often he can actually play. At his best, he remains one of baseball's most dynamic center fielders. He has 25 home runs and an .830 OPS this season despite appearing in only 93 games.

The Twins can no longer construct a roster assuming Buxton will play 150 games. They should construct one in which a healthy Buxton becomes a major advantage rather than an absolute requirement.

That is where Jenkins eventually could become especially valuable.

The pitching outlook carries the same combination of promise and uncertainty.

A healthy López changes the rotation immediately. Ryan gives Minnesota a proven right-handed starter. Abel remains an intriguing young arm if his elbow problems are behind him. Festa is expected back in 2027 after shoulder surgery. Taj Bradley and Zebby Matthews give the Twins additional starting depth.

There is enough there to envision a competitive rotation.

There is not enough there to simply assume one.

López will be returning from major elbow surgery. Festa will be returning from shoulder surgery. Abel already has dealt with elbow inflammation. Betting an entire season on everybody returning healthy would be exactly the kind of wishful roster construction that has burned Minnesota before.

The Twins should enter the offseason believing they have a foundation, not a finished product.

That distinction matters.

They need another reliable starting pitcher. They need bullpen depth. They need to decide which deadline acquisitions are worth retaining. They need enough position-player depth that the inevitable injuries to Buxton, Lewis or somebody else don't send the lineup into another prolonged offensive retreat.

Most of all, ownership needs to recognize the opportunity.

There is a difference between recklessly spending money and supplementing a young roster at precisely the right moment. If the Pohlad ownership group is willing to invest around Keaschall, Lee, Culpepper, Jenkins and the existing pitching core, Minnesota could enter 2027 with considerably more than vague optimism.

The 2026 season may ultimately be remembered as another opportunity squandered. September has exposed too many weaknesses, and the Twins have nobody to blame for their place in the standings but themselves.

But this does not look like a roster requiring another demolition.

It looks like one requiring health, two or three smart additions and an ownership group willing to finish the job.

That's why Twins fans can be disappointed with 2026 without being discouraged about 2027.

The Homer Hankies aren't coming out this September.

There is at least a reasonable chance they won't remain packed away much longer.