Still Missing: Minnesota Twins Defense
The Minnesota Twins’ home opener is today, against the Tampa Bay Rays. They pulled out a victory on getaway day in Kansas City to avoid a sweep.
But the Twins have stumbled out of the Opening Day gates with a 2-4 record, and already, their season feels on the verge of spiraling. Of course, Minnesota’s slow start isn’t surprising, after the Pohlads cut another $30 million from player payroll during the offseason, fresh off a 72-90 record in 2025.
During Spring Training, new skipper Derek Shelton tried to assert more of a classic “defense and fundamentals” approach, in hopes that the 2026 Twins would beat themselves less often than Baldelli’s teams did.
There were video clips shown [during Twins spring training] in team meeting that highlighted mistakes costing teams in the postseason. There was a lot of talk about “winning the drill” or “winning the bullpen.”
“Little things can determine games,” Shelton said. “Over the course of the last few years, we’ve seen little things determine games at the highest level in October. We wanted to make sure that from Day One that we got back to focusing on those things with really good intent.”
Star Tribune (Feb. 27, 2026)
Defensive struggles continue for the Minnesota Twins
Realistically though, we shouldn’t be surprised. This is just a watered down version of the same Twins we watched limp to the regular season finish line last fall. And that team was terrible defensively.
How bad were they? The 2025 Minnesota Twins finished with -46 DRS (defensive runs saved), good for 29th in Major League Baseball.
So how did the reconstructed Twins front office address their defensive deficiencies this offseason? By inserting even less defense into the starting lineup. The result: A -6 DRS through the first half-dozen games (27th in MLB).
| Rank | Team | DRS |
|---|---|---|
| 27th | Minnesota Twins | -6 |
| 28th | Cincinnati Reds | -7 |
| 29th | Chicago White Sox | -9 |
| 30th | Philadelphia Phillies | -9 |
The Twins can say they want to play better defense, but this is the reality.
— Ted (@tlschwerz) March 26, 2026
Martin doesn't round the ball, he doesn't make a hard throw, and he throws it in to the wrong base giving up another 90 feet. pic.twitter.com/eN2i4WPS3P
It’s early so defensive metrics are volatile. But entering today’s home opener, the Minnesota Twins are also ranked 27th in the MLB in defensive efficiency (.660), and below average in every other defensive statistical category.
The defensive problem in Minnesota is less about coaching and more about their roster of less capable defenders. Until the Twins front office is interested in playing better defense, it won’t much matter what the managerial staff is pushing in the clubhouse.
Twins just don’t have enough capable defensive talent
Carlos Correa was dumped for nothing at last year’s trade deadline, and they’ve felt his absence defensively more than anything. His replacement, Brooks Lee, just is not a good defender (-1 DRS), and even changes to his physique aren’t likely to make significant differences.
Meanwhile, Austin Martin has been playing left field and catcher Victor Caratini has replaced Gold Glover Ty France at first base, despite entering the season with just 43 starts there previously. And it hasn’t been pretty…
Why is Caratini playing first base? Because the Twins signed Josh Bell to play there over the offseason. Unfortunately, he’s started all five games as the designated hitter because he is a butcher in the field, posting -4 DRS in 2025, and a -9 DRS in 2024.
The Twins were going to play better defense this year because Derek Shelton wanted Tom Kelly principles in Spring Training…#NoPlaceLikeHere pic.twitter.com/wYXcemCpJr
— Ted (@tlschwerz) April 2, 2026
The Twins defense… pic.twitter.com/wtFeHIIi4F
— Ted (@tlschwerz) March 30, 2026
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