Alan

Roden

Roden performed admirably in the Grapefruit League with a .310 average and .774 OPS, but he has an option year left, while James Outman does not, so Outman wins the final outfield spot to begin 2026.

Roden entered camp as a long shot to make the Twins, but he’s 7-for-14 with a homer in his five official games and there was no letup in the unofficial one today. That he bats left-handed makes him a poor fit with Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner already due to start in the outfield corners, but the Twins could have Larnach do more DHing if they want to make room for him.

Roden is 3-for-4 with a grand slam in two games, good for a .750/.833/1.500 line. Last year, he hit .407/.541/.704 in Grapefruit League action to win a roster spot on the Jays. Not much good happened after that, though. Roden is at a disadvantage as he contends with James Outman for a spot on the Twins bench, since Outman is out of options and is the superior center fielder. Roden might be a better left field option than Trevor Larnach, but Larnach is locked into a job and Roden’s left-handed bat wouldn’t make a ton of sense behind two left-handed corner outfielders in Larnach and Matt Wallner, at least not unless the Twins decide to stick Larnach at DH primarily.

That the Twins retained Trevor Larnach and added Josh Bell and Victor Caratini over the winter would seem to leave their younger outfield types with little opportunity to crack the starting lineup this spring. Roden, though, overcame similar circumstances to make the Jays last spring. He wound up disappointing and getting moved in the Louis Varland deal, but his on-base skills make him interesting, especially if he shows a little more power.

Roden was transferred to the 60-day injured list over the weekend after suffering a ligament sprain in his left thumb. There should be an official timetable from the club at some point soon, but we’re anticipating he’ll be ready for spring training.

Roden will miss the remainder of the season after being diagnosed earlier this week with a ligament sprain in his left thumb. The 25-year-old rookie came over from the Blue Jays at last month’s trade deadline.

Roden hits the shelf after suffering a thumb ligament sprain during Thursday’s loss to Detroit. The 25-year-old rookie is likely facing a multi-week absence, but there isn’t an official return timeline yet from the Twins. There should be some clarity on his status at some point in the coming days.

The 25-year-old outfielder aggravated his jammed left thumb when he slid (unsuccessfully) into home plate during the 10th inning of Thursday’s loss to the Tigers. He’s considered day-to-day.

Buxton missed 15 days with rib-cage inflammation. It’s best to activate him immediately in fantasy leagues, but he probably will get more off days than usual down the stretch, what with the Twins simply playing out the string. Carson McCusker was demoted, and Austin Martin and Alan Roden could see less playing time with Buxton back. It’s also possible one of those two could head back to Triple-A once Matt Wallner returns from the paternity list.

Larnach remains on the bench for the third consecutive contest since being scratched from Wednesday’s lineup with left side soreness. It’ll be rookie Alan Roden and Carson McCusker filling in at left field and DH, respectively, on Saturday night in his place.