What will Twins’ rotation look like come 2027?

This is the first in a series of five stories examining some of the biggest questions facing the Twins this offseason.

The Twins enter this offseason with an enviable amount of starting pitching depth, boasting eight starters who have major league experience under team control for 2027 and a rotation that could be headed by a pair of all-stars.

Of course, the Twins also felt strongly about their rotation depth a year ago, too, only to see it quickly erode. Pablo López and David Festa never threw a pitch last season, Mick Abel didn't pitch after April, and underperformance led to them to move on from Simeon Woods Richardson in May.

With López, Joe Ryan, Taj Bradley, Bailey Ober, Dean Kremer, Connor Prielipp, Zebby Matthews and Abel all under team control for 2027, the Twins have a number of decisions to make this winter.

Will they trade from this group? And by the time they break camp, which five starters will crack the rotation?

The first four in that group will all be free agents at season's end, which seems to make it more likely the Twins trade some of that depth to bolster other areas of the roster.

"It's definitely something we'll want to assess," general manager Jeremy Zoll said. "And, in a perfect world, if you can take areas of strength and exchange those for areas of weakness and build a better club in aggregate, that's what we're trying to do, and that'll be on our minds."

Ryan, an all-star in July, could be a candidate, though with one year left on his deal — and coming off a tough second half derailed in part by a glute injury — his trade value isn't what it once was.

Ober, due a raise to around $6.9 million in arbitration, per MLB Trade Rumors estimates, could be another trade candidate. Though he bounced back somewhat from his career-worst 2025 season, his diminished velocity and strikeout rate could lead to him being an odd-man out in the rotation in 2027.

He could also potentially be a non-tender candidate.

Complicating a potential trade is the near-certain lockout, which would go into effect when the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires in early December and could influence how teams approach the offseason trade market early.

"It's a lot less clear how the trade market will operate in November," Zoll said. "In normal offseasons, you kind of can bounce back and forth between free-agent discussions and trade discussions, but I don't know how active markets will be in November on the trade front — for guys that that are expiring after 2027 or not."

There also are natural questions concerning López and Abel, both of whom are returning from season-ending elbow surgeries. López had his ulnar collateral ligament repaired in February, and Abel had an arthroscopic surgery in July.

Bradley, named the Twins' pitcher of the year after posting a 3.73 ERA across 31 starts and recording 205 strikeouts, will have a spot in the rotation, as should Kremer, acquired in a midseason trade. Prielipp established himself this season and looks as if he could be a potential long-term piece.

Abel showed flashes of his promise after beating out Matthews for a rotation spot at the beginning of this season. Matthews did as well, though he also struggled with consistency.

The Twins will have plenty of time to sift through their options between now and spring training but at a baseline, like where they're starting from.

"Starting pitching depth … feels really, really encouraging as a starting point," Zoll said. "That might create (trade) opportunities for us. It might. But we also know you can never have too much starting pitching."