Should the Twins continue their pursuit of starting pitchers after whiffing on Freddy Peralta?

Twins fans were quite happy with the team’s starting rotation entering the 2026 season.

Joe Ryan, Pablo López, Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods Richardson, Zebby Matthews, Mick Abel and Taj Bradley are expected to make up one of the stronger staffs in the American League. This was enough to satisfy the fandom, but recent reports of the Twins showing interest in Freddy Peralta may have opened a can of worms.

Would the Twins ever land him? Probably not, but the fact that they checked in with him has fans thinking — and possibly wanting — more out of this pitching staff. It was a thought that didn’t exist a week ago, but now that we know the organization was trying to give extra impetus, should we hope for more? Should the Twins try looking for a new starting pitcher?

The Minnesota Twins offseason takes a sudden turn with interest in starting pitching

Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but Freddy Peralta was easily the best “available” starting pitcher based on 2025 production – and the Twins shockingly threw their hat into the ring for him. Peralta was eventually traded to the New York Mets in an unsurprising move, so every team should continue wishing for a new starter. Looking at the free agent pool, Framber Valdez, Zac Gallen, Nick Martinez, Chris Bassitt and Zack Littell are all still on the market.

It’s almost easy to forget that Valdez and Gallen signed long-term deals with Minnesota, but the other three offer some intrigue. Bassitt and Martinez are in their mid-to-late 30s, so a short-term deal for a solid middle of the rotation could be a nice play. But Littell is the real ‘hidden gem’.

At 30 years old, Littell has DFAd and traded several times in his career. Teams don’t seem to value him much, so that could mean he isn’t offered a seismic deal this offseason. If the Twins were truly interested in strengthening the rotation, reuniting with Littell could be the perfect move. He has recorded a mid-afternoon ERA for the past two years.

Littell also offers another view of the hill. The right-hander has an elite walk rate with his slider and splitter being his most used pitches.

Will Minnesota actually continue to search for a new starter? The odds are low, but the showing of interest in Peralta suggests the club wants to build. We’ve reached a boring point in the offseason, just before the pitchers and catchers report, so all we can do now is wait and hope your favorite team does a final roster patch. We’re all for the Twins trying to make the team better, and maybe they’ll pull through.