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Twins reach all-star break right in middle standings
Twins reach all-star break right in middle of standings
Betsy Helfand, Pioneer PressSun, Jul 12, 2026·3 min readIn the days and months after Tom Pohlad took over as the face of Twins ownership in December, he vowed that Minnesota would be competitive in 2026.
Working with its lowest payroll in years, with a roster that had been ripped apart months earlier at last year’s trade deadline, Pohlad brushed aside outside preseason predictions that were down on the Twins. He said he believed the team would exceed those expectations.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Twins hit the all-star break on Sunday 48-49 on the season after a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels in the series finale at Target Field, on pace to top most preseason projections.
They sit three games behind the division-leading Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians and are tied for the third wild card berth in the tightly-packed American League.
“People are becoming everyday players. Everybody is having their routines and roles and everything like that,” said starter Taj Bradley, who threw seven innings of two-run ball Sunday. “It’s all coming together, finding a piece to the puzzle.”
The Twins’ offense has been among the best in baseball, leading the AL in runs scored. Their defense has been a work in progress, shaky particularly in the beginning but getting better after a number of position changes mixed in throughout the first half.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTheir bullpen has been among the worst with a collective earned-run average near the bottom of the majors. But rookie Andrew Morris, who recorded a two-inning save Sunday, and early May pick-up Yoendrys Gomez have emerged as late-inning options.
Their rotation, anchored by all-star Joe Ryan, has been somewhere in the middle, despite a rash of injuries that began in spring training with Pablo López, the club’s highest-paid player, suffering a season-ending injury.
The net result is a team with an important few weeks ahead.
The Twins made one move to address their bullpen this week, trading a catching prospect to Toronto for reliever Tommy Nance. It was a move that sent a message within the clubhouse that the Twins are going to “solidify areas that we feel are weaknesses,” manager Derek Shelton said.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhen they return from the all-star break, they will have five series ahead of them that will determine their direction.
“The difference between where we’ve been and where we’re going is, I think, the barometer in the past has been ‘Let’s just try to be competitive,’ ” Pohlad said. “The barometer for success going forward is ‘Let’s win a championship.’ And that’s going to require us to make decisions, whether it’s at a trade deadline or in the offseason, that look probably pretty different than decisions we would have made in the past.”
What that actually looks like at the deadline — and how aggressive the Twins could be — seems highly dependent on how the next couple of weeks play out.
The Twins got a big two-run double from Ryan Jeffers and two runs batted in from Trevor Larnach to top the Angels on Sunday and win their eighth series of their last nine.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIf they can stay within striking distance, the rest of the season could be very interesting.
“We believe in who we are and the brand of baseball that we play,” Jeffers said. “We’re learning, we’re evolving. There’s constant shuffling in the infield. We’re trying to learn our identity, and I feel like over the last couple of weeks, we’ve really figured that out.”
He won’t play in the game, but Byron Buxton will still savor All-Star experience