2026 Minnesota Twins Payroll Becomes Clearer
The Minnesota Twins were once for sale. Then the Pohlads took them off the market and instead sold their debt. The same penny-pinching owners are in charge, and that means payroll should be expected to decrease in 2026.
Right now the only guaranteed money on the books is allotted to Byron Buxton ($15.1 million) and Pablo Lopez ($21.75 million). They have ten players eligible for arbitration, and bringing some of that talent back will help to fill out the roster.
MLB Trade Rumors has long been the gold standard when figuring out what arbitration salaries may look like. 2026 projections became public on Monday.
Twins arbitration projections paint a picture
Major League Baseball affords a period of time for organizations to keep players under team control. Before reaching free agency, players are granted raises through an arbitration process. Either the team and player can agree on a number, or they go to a hearing. The Twins have ten eligible players this offseason, and MLB Trade Rumors has outlined where they may land.
| Player | Position | Projected 2026 | 2025 Raise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis Cabrera | LHP | $1.4M | $760K |
| Ryan Jeffers | C | $6.6M | $4.55M |
| Justin Topa | RHP | $1.7M* | $1.225M |
| Michael Tonkin | RHP | $1.4M | $1M |
| Bailey Ober | RHP | $4.6M | $3.55M |
| Joe Ryan | RHP | $5.8M | $3M |
| Trevor Larnach | OF | $4.7M | $2.1M |
| Royce Lewis | 3B | $3M | $1.625M |
| Anthony Misiewicz | LHP | $1.1M | $760K |
| Cole Sands | RHP | $1.3M | $778K |
There’s a lot to break down here. Of the ten players up for arbitration, five seem like slam dunks. Royce Lewis, Ryan Jeffers, Bailey Ober, Joe Ryan, and Cole Sands will all be offered contracts. Trevor Larnach seems like a candidate on the fence, and there are a handful of veterans that could easily be replaced with others at the minimum.
Both Jeffers ($6.6M) and Ryan ($5.8M) become serious trade candidates for Derek Falvey with their values creeping upwards. Minnesota already dangled Ryan at the trade deadline, and he pairs with Pablo Lopez as potential salary dumps this offseason.
Larnach is an interesting case. At $4.7 million he’s no longer cheap. With a career OPS+ of just 101, he’s barely been over league averaged, and the power he was drafted for has translated into a single season (2025 – 17) with more than 15 homers.
There are also four relievers among the group. Only Cole Sands has been an above-average option, but the Twins bullpen was torn down to the studs at the trade deadline. How Falvey goes about rebuilding that group remains to be seen.
If the Minnesota Twins keep each of the five expected players, they’d add roughly $21.3 million to their 2026 payroll. Combined with Buxton and Lopez, that would push the overall amount to $58.15 million with seven of the 26 roster spots filled.
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