The Minnesota Twins finished the 2026 season with a 77-85 record, good for third in the AL Central, eight games behind the Cleveland Guardians, who went on to the AL Championship Series before losing to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Since then, most of the offseason talk around the team has centered on catcher Ryan Jeffers. On Nov. 2, three days after the Twins let Josh Bell walk to free agency, they gave Jeffers a qualifying offer, which he plans to decline per reports. Minnesota’s starting catcher now has until 3 p.m. CT Tuesday to accept or reject the one-year, $23.15 million deal.

Meanwhile, the GM Meetings wrapped up in Las Vegas this week. There, MLB insider Bob Nightengale (USA Today) came away pretty convinced that Tom Pohlad plans to pay off his promise and spend some serious cash this offseason.

Minnesota Twins telling the league they plan to spend

During an interview with the Foul Territory Podcast on Thursday Nightengale said that the Twins are telling everyone who will listen that they’re going to spend money this winter, adding that they would love to bring Jeffers back, which has been reported by multiple outlets already.

“I know Scott Boras and stuff has already talked to the Twins, and then the Twins, up and down, say, ‘We’re going to spend money. Don’t laugh. We’re going to spend money.’ They love to have Jeffers back … But I think Jeffers feels like, hey, in this marketplace, it’s a weak free agent class. You know, I can get at least a three or four year deal. So, you know, it’s not going to be at 23 million a year, but no reason why it can’t be between 15 and 20.”

Nightengale wrote the same thing in his USA Today column Thursday night. He reported that the Twins “told agents that they plan to spend money this winter, and that includes bringing back free-agent catcher Ryan Jeffers.”

That column also quoted GM Jeremy Zoll: “We have made it clear that we’d love to have him back.” Nightengale had already listed the Twins with the San Diego Padres on Tuesday as teams that “vow to spend” in free agency.

Zoll told reporters in Las Vegas the Twins have “real genuine interest” in a reunion. He also said the Twins have to be ready, from a payroll and roster standpoint, for Jeffers to accept the qualifying offer, according to Aaron Gleeman.

Tom Pohlad promised the Twins would meaningfully invest

The spending talk started at the team’s year-end news conference on Sept. 29. Tom Pohlad, the Twins’ chairman and CEO, said the club intends to raise payroll for 2027 but stopped short of naming a number, according to MLB.com.

“I have said over and over that a $100 million payroll or anything close to that is not sufficient to be consistently competitive and in the playoffs, and so we intend to take the offseason and meaningfully invest,” Pohlad said.

He added that if Zoll has conviction about a move that improves the roster, “this ownership group is prepared to support him with the financial resources he needs.” Pohlad also said the goal is a roster next spring “where making the playoffs isn’t a hope, it’s the expectation that everybody agrees is realistic.”

That promise comes a little over a year after the Pohlad family called off a sale of the team in August 2025. The Twins added limited partners Glick Family Investments, George G. Hicks and Wild owner Craig Leipold that December, and Tom Pohlad succeeded his brother, Joe, in day-to-day oversight of the organization.

At the time, Pohlad said the new money would let the Twins “pay off a significant amount of debt, and that will allow us to reinvest in this team when the time is right.”

Where the Twins’ payroll stands heading into MLB free agency

Minnesota’s 2026 payroll allocations totaled $115.7 million, which ranked 22nd of 30 teams, according to Spotrac. MLB Trade Rumors has the Twins’ year-end 2026 payroll at $109.7 million.

The 2027 books already carry some big numbers. Pablo López is due $21.5 million, Byron Buxton $15 million, Jeff Hoffman $11 million and Victor Caratini $6.5 million. The Twins also still owe $11.33 million in retained money on Carlos Correa.

Spotrac has Minnesota’s 2027 allocations at $131.9 million, 18th in MLB, with arbitration estimates included. MLB Trade Rumors has the Twins’ 2027 payroll at $124.5 million so far.

Zoll said Jeffers and Bell becoming free agents is “a real loss to our offense.” He added that the Twins “want to find a way to continue to supplement the offense and put the position player group in the strongest position we can.”