When the Twins and Cubs met in July 2025, Minnesota was around .500 on the backs of strong starting pitching from Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez, and the best bullpen in baseball but couldn’t muster enough offense to truly compete. Despite a similar record in 2026, things couldn’t be more different. Lopez is out for the season and the entire bullpen is gone after dealing away 2026 All-Stars Jhoan Duran, Louie Varland, and five other relievers a year ago, while the Twins have one of best lineups in baseball.
What’s different this time around is the direction and vibe of the team. Former Pirates manager Derek Shelton has brought a new energy to the squad that wasn’t always present under longtime manager Rocco Baldelli, which helped the young batters stick out some tough spells early in the season. Since June 12, the Twins are 17-10, fourth-best in MLB, and have won eight of nine series, with the only loss coming against the almighty Dodgers. Of course, the Cubs have the best record in baseball in that same span, but let’s not dwell on that part. Minnesota is right back in the playoff race and has a new controlling owner (albeit from the same Pohlad family) who has made it clear he’s willing to spend money to shore up their major holes.
And those holes are prevalent. The most glaring issue is the bullpen, which makes sense after the 2025 sell-off. Rookie Andrew Morris has been among the best relievers in the sport over the past two months since moving to the bullpen full time. Yoendrys Gomez, claimed off waivers from the Rays in May, has also been very good after tweaking his pitch mix with the Twins. Outside of that, there’s genuinely no one with a semblance of reliability. If they can get to the eighth with a lead, they’re solid, but those middle innings after Ryan, Taj Bradley, and Bailey Ober leave the game are where the Cubs should be able to feast.
On the other side, the Twins are led by Byron Buxton though he may miss this series as he went on the IL right before the All-Star break. Outside of Buck, there are no individual standouts, but pretty much everyone in the lineup has been a solid contributor. The overall numbers are still lackluster with a lot of slow starts, but since June 1, the Twins have 11 players with a wRC+ of at least 100, eight at 120+, and four (Buxton, Trevor Larnach, Victor Caratini, Josh Bell) at 150+. It’s a solid, deep lineup that is very scary when Buck and catcher Ryan Jeffers are healthy.
The main place they’re susceptible is against lefties, which has been an issue for a literal decade. Outside of Buxton and Jeffers, their best hitters are platoon lefties (Trevor Larnach, Kody Clemens) or switch hitters who are significantly worse from the right side (Bell, Caratini, Brooks Lee). Shelton will get aggressive with pinch hitters when lefties come out of the ‘pen, which opposing managers have used to their advantage to get Larnach and Clemens out of the lineup in the middle innings. Though, with the team currently carrying three catchers, that may be less of a strategy over the next few weeks. Either way, I would expect a heavy dose of lefty specialist, ex-Twin, and Minnesota native Caleb Thielbar, which I’m personally very happy about