Everyone On Minnesota's 40-Man Should Play In the Majors By Season's End

It’s still a month away until MLB rosters expand from 26 to 28 players in the clubhouse, but the Minnesota Twins will likely have a revolving door of players coming in and out of the clubhouse over the last two months of the year.

Trading away 40% of the active roster over three days has infuriated fans and shocked the clubhouse. Still, it opens the door for players who wouldn’t otherwise have a major-league opportunity. For example, Ryan Fitzgerald and Pierson Ohl never played in the majors until this season. Ohl is a 25-year-old rookie, and Fitzgerald is 31.

While the Twins may use them as bench players and relievers right now, they’ll get playing time in games. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli always finds ways to empty his bench. Brooks Lee won’t be playing every game at shortstop for the rest of the season, and Fitzgerald is the next best defender at the position behind him.

Ohl made his MLB debut this last Tuesday, but he looks to be a part of Minnesota’s bullpen on his second stint with the team. He’s already proven he can be effective. During his first major league inning, he struck out the side against the Boston Red Sox.

However, the Twins rushed Ohl to the majors due to their lack of pitching depth with starters Pablo López and David Festa on the injured list. Even after activating Bailey Ober from the IL in Cleveland this weekend, the Twins still might need another starter they acquired at the deadline to come up for the series against the Detroit Tigers.

Simeon Woods Richardson had stomach issues, so the Twins scratched him from his original start on Sunday and pushed him back to Wednesday. José Ureña made the start in his place Sunday, but there’s no word if either one of Minnesota’s new acquisitions, Taj Bradley or Mick Abel, needs to start in Detroit on Monday. If they do, expect Ohl to take their place.

James Outman, Carson McCusker, and Jhonny Pereda are the other 40-man players providing enough depth to help this team from a complete collapse for the second year in a row. The Twins only have one right-handed hitting outfielder on the active roster, Austin Martin. Buxton will reinforce that position at the plate whenever he returns from the IL. Still, at some point, they will need a second, maybe even third right-handed hitting outfielder in McCusker.

However, McCusker hasn’t been hitting all too well since they optioned him back to Triple-A on May 29. He’s hitting .173/.255/.376 with nine home runs and 25 RBI in 194 plate appearances over the last two months. McCusker is a long shot to return to the team, but they’ll need an additional right-handed hitting corner outfielder if one of their new acquisitions, Outman or Alan Roden, doesn’t perform well.

However, out of all the players on the 40-man roster, the Twins are least likely to call up Jose Miranda, Marco Raya, and Emmanuel Rodriguez between now and September 28.

Rodriguez has been out for a few weeks with a right oblique strain and isn’t expected back on the field until September at the earliest. If he returns within the presented timetable, he’ll only have three weeks of the Triple-A season left to play. He also hasn’t been performing all too well when healthy, putting up a .273/.423/.430 slash line with five home runs and 27 RBI in 51 games.

Even if he returns and performs at the plate, it’s unlikely the Twins will have room for him to play with their additions of Roden and Outman. They’re both left-handed-hitting outfielders that appear to be ahead of him on the depth chart, making his MLB debut more likely for 2026.

Adding Abel and Bradley pushed back Minnesota’s need to rush Raya up to the majors. He has turned things around considerably from a bad start to the season, where his ERA climbed into double digits. Still, he’s regressed over his last three starts, allowing 18 hits, 10 walks, and 13 runs in 13 innings while only striking out 12.

Raya is only turning 23 this week, giving him plenty of time to end his season on a high note. The Twins don’t need to rush him to the majors before he’s ready.

Finally, Miranda hasn’t played well enough to return to the majors. In 63 games with the Saints, He’s hit .201/.268/.305 with five home runs and 21 RBI in 261 plate appearances.

The numbers are far from what the Twins had been hoping for back in April, when he was optioned back down, and even if Miranda ends the season on a high note, many other players will likely surpass him for their first or second chance back in the majors.

Payton Eeles could earn a spot over Miranda. Eeles has been one of St. Paul’s better hitters over the last month with a .303/.382/.404 slash line, two home runs, nine RBI, and seven stolen bases.

He’s still building power back up from an offense following off-season knee surgery to address a cartilage issue. Lee is the only player who plays three infield positions regularly on the active roster right now. Therefore, adding Eeles can provide more positional flexibility on the infield.

It’ll still be a few days before the Twins need to make their next roster move, but don’t be surprised if familiar or new names travel back and forth on the St. Paul to Tagert Field shuttle bus, emptying the farm system to end the season on a better note.