After rallying to win games six and seven and becoming the first repeat champions since the 2000s Yankees, the baseball world is out to take down the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers. The work begins now in the offseason.
It’s still unclear what the Minnesota Twins plan to do this offseason. They have the core talent and financial flexibility to compete for a playoff spot again in a weak division, but Derek Falvey and Co. may opt to go a different route after back-to-back disappointing seasons in the wake of 2023’s achievements. There’s also the Pohlad factor as both managing owner Joe Pohlad and Derek Falvey have been non-committal on a payroll figure for 2026. Whatever route the Twins choose, it’s bound to be an eventful offseason.
November 6: Free Agency Begins
Technically, free agency is already underway, but players aren’t eligible to sign with new teams until November 6th. Players on the 40-man roster are also eligible to be traded again. Players and teams with contract options must also make those decisions by this deadline.
Twins Players Impacted: Justin Topa ($2M club option for 2026)
- Topa carries a $2M club option with a $225K buyout if the option is declined. With Topa projected to make around $1.75M in arbitration anyway, it’s likely the Twins pick up Topa’s option to keep his veteran presence in an inexperienced bullpen.
November 10-13: GM Meetings
There won’t be as much player movement in these initial gatherings as in the Winter Meetings in December, but the groundwork for future moves is often laid here. Regardless, this is around when the dominoes begin to fall and teams start to zone in on their targets for this offseason.
November 18: Roster Protection Deadline
By the 18th, MLB teams will have to add players to the 40-man roster if they want to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. The Twins have quite a few interesting players who could be added before the deadline.
40-Man Locks
- Gabriel Gonzalez, OF
- Hendry Mendez, OF/1B
- Connor Prielipp, SP
- Andrew Morris, SP
- Kendry Rojas, SP/RP
Coin Toss
- Kyler Fedko, OF/1B
- Kala’i Rosario, OF
- Andy Lugo, UTIL
- Cory Lewis, SP
- CJ Culpepper, SP
Other Notable R5 Eligible Players
- Ricardo Olivar, C
- Aaron Sabato, 1B
- Tanner Schobel, SS
- Danny De Andrade, SS
- Jose Olivares, SP
- Darren Bowen, SP
- Alejandro Hidalgo, SP
The Twins currently only have 2 open 40-man roster spots, but can easily create 5-7 more by non-tendering/DFA-ing players like Genesis Cabrera, Thomas Hatch, Michael Tonkin, and Jose Miranda.
November 21: Non-tender Deadline
Speaking of non-tendering, teams must decide whether to offer contracts to their arbitration-eligible and pre-arb players by this date. You don’t have to agree to a specific contract, just tender a contract with the final figure to be decided at a future date either via negotiation or the arbitration process. There’s typically of flurry of deals around this date for teams that prefer not to settle salaries in court. The Twins announced deals with all of their arbitration-eligible players on the deadline last year.
Arbitration-Eligible Twins
All estimates are via MLB Trade Rumors.
- Genesis Cabrera: $1.4M (non-tender candidate)
- Ryan Jeffers: $6.6M
- Justin Topa (only if contract option declined): $1.7M
- Michael Tonkin: $1.4M (non-tender candidate)
- Bailey Ober: $4.6M
- Joe Ryan: $5.8M
- Trevor Larnach: $4.7M (non-tender candidate)
- Royce Lewis: $3M
- Anthony Misiewicz: $1.1M (non-tender candidate)
- Cole Sands: $1.3M
December 7-10: Winter Meetings
Everyone gather ‘round the robust kingdom of Orlando, FL and get those checkbooks out. The busiest week of the offseason will undoubtedly bring a slew of moves, particularly from higher profile free agents. Teams that miss out on the big ticket players will start moving to the trade market, meaning this could be where we start hearing rumors about Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez, and Ryan Jeffers, among others.
December 9: MLB Draft Lottery
The Twins have been the beneficiaries of lottery luck in the past, allowing them to jump up the rankings and draft Walker Jenkins and Brooks Lee over the past three years. This season, they’ll hope lady luck is in their favor again.
All teams that miss the playoffs are eligible for the lottery with the worst teams having the best chance of landing the top pick in the draft. Thanks to CBA-regulated competitive balance measures, the Rockies, Nationals, and Angels are all ineligible for top 10 picks, giving the Twins the second-best odds to land the #1 pick in the 2026 draft, trailing only the Chicago White Sox. You can see the full lottery odds below.
White Sox (.370) — 27.73%
Twins (.432) — 22.18%
Pirates (.438) — 16.81%
Orioles (.463) — 9.24%
A’s (.469) — 6.55%
Braves (.469) — 4.54%
Rays (.475) — 3.03%
Cardinals (.481) — 2.35%
Marlins (.488) — 1.85%
D-backs (.494) — 1.51%
Rangers (.500) — 1.34%
Giants (.500) — 1.01%
Royals (.506) — 0.84%
Mets (.512) — 0.67%
Astros (.537) — 0.34%
Rockies (.265) — ineligible
Nationals (.407) — ineligible
Angels (.444) — ineligible
December 10: Rule 5 Draft
Players eligible who weren’t protected by the previous deadline will be entered into the Rule 5 draft. Each team will have the opportunity to select unprotected players in reverse standings order, with the draft continuing until no players are selected in a round. Anyone selected in the Rule 5 draft must remain on the 26-man roster for the duration of the 2026 season or be offered back to the original organization. The Rule 5 draft marks the end of the Winter Meetings
January 15: International Signing Period Begins
Everyone’s favorite 16-year-old Dominican prospects are once again eligible to sign with teams. Most of the top prospects have already agreed with their future teams by the time the period opens, but every once in a while a renowned Japanese or Korean prospect will force themselves to the US ahead of their expected timeline and throw a wrench in teams’ plans. (See: Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki)
Other Notable Dates
- November 10-13: award winners announced
- November 18-20: Owners meetings in NYC. Commissioner Rob Manfred typically speaks to the press and reveals how much he hates baseball.
- December 7: Veterans Committee Hall of Fame announcement
- December 15: Closing of 2025 international signing period
- January 21: BBWAA Hall of Fame announcement
- February 11: pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training
- March 5-17: 2026 World Baseball Classic
- March 25: Opening Night for Yankees @ Giants
- March 26: Opening Day for everyone else
