MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins closed the year with their clubhouse doors pointed toward 2027, as chairman Tom Pohlad said the club plans to raise payroll and build a roster that enters spring training with October expectations rather than October wishes. Manager Derek Shelton and general manager Jeremy Zoll joined Pohlad on Tuesday to outline an offseason that will include roster spending, a search for new pitching coaches and a handful of important injury recoveries.
The result
Pohlad did not attach a dollar figure to the coming payroll increase, but he again made clear that a payroll near $100 million will not be enough for the Twins to sustain playoff-level baseball. The ownership group, he said, is prepared to give Zoll the resources needed when the baseball department identifies a move that can improve the club.
The message was not simply that the Twins want to contend. Pohlad said the organization began its offseason evaluation Monday and will examine every area of the operation while improving its support for players. The aim, he said, is to arrive next spring with a club for which a postseason berth is a realistic expectation across the room.
One early decision will involve catcher Ryan Jeffers, who is eligible for free agency. Zoll said the Twins have not yet determined whether they will make Jeffers a qualifying offer, though ownership has authorized the front office to do so if it believes that is the right baseball decision.
There was also a medical update on several familiar names. Reliever Jeff Hoffman, sidelined by inflammation in his right forearm, is expected to recover through rest and have a regular offseason. Right-hander Zebby Matthews has a strain in the same forearm area and will seek another medical opinion, but the current outlook also calls for a normal winter of rest and rehabilitation.
Walker Jenkins will have a procedure on his right elbow to remove bone chips and address a bone spur. The Twins expect the young outfielder to be fully ready for 2027. Byron Buxton remains on track to return for the beginning of the 2027 season following right hip surgery. Left-hander Anthony Banda, recovering from surgery on his left lat, is projected to miss roughly the first half of the season and could return around the All-Star break.
Buxton remains at the center
Zoll did not label anyone untradeable, but Buxton remains as close to that category as a player can be. The center fielder holds full no-trade protection and has no interest in leaving Minnesota. Zoll said both sides want to continue together once Buxton completes his rehabilitation.
The front office also does not appear inclined to break apart its young foundation. Zoll said the club will listen broadly, but indicated that it is difficult to envision Jenkins or fellow rookie Kaelen Culpepper becoming trade pieces. The Twins view both as players who can contribute in 2027 and remain part of the plan well beyond it.
A new pitching room to build
The Twins announced Monday that pitching coach Pete Maki and assistant pitching coach Luis Ramirez will not return. Shelton and Zoll have already started discussions about replacements, though Shelton said the search is not centered on finding one particular type of coach.
Instead, the manager wants a staff whose combined strengths can better serve the pitchers on the roster. Shelton said the previous group did not draw enough from the club’s players and that the Twins want to rebuild the department as a whole.
He pointed to the hitting operation as the model. The Twins brought in Keith Beauregard to work with two existing staff members, creating a more complete group rather than relying on one hire to solve every issue. That same broader approach will guide the pitching search as the club works through its candidates.
Ownership’s long view
Pohlad declined to make an absolute declaration that the family will never sell the club, but he described the ownership group as newly energized and committed to a longer horizon. He said he has enjoyed serving as chairman and believes the family’s partners are working well together.
The Twins have substantial work ahead before the next camp opens: spend with purpose, decide Jeffers’ status, get key players healthy and reshape the pitching infrastructure. Pohlad’s promise was that ownership sees that work as more than a one-winter push. The family, he said, intends to be around for the long haul.
