Should Twins Extend Luke Keaschall?

The Minnesota Twins didn't have the season they hoped for this year with them finishing 77-85 overall and third in the AL Central while missing the MLB playoffs for the third-straight time since 2024.

However, this year showed that they have a second baseman in Luke Keaschall worth building around in the years to come.

Keaschall wrapped up the 2026 season leading the Twins with a team-best .282 batting average, 149 hits and .781 OPS while launching 10 home runs through 152 games of action.

With him being eligible for arbitration in 2028, the decision on Keaschall's future should be straightforward for general manager Jeremy Zoll given his current trajectory as well as owner Tom Pohlad promising to bump up the team's payroll.

An increased budget for 2027 and beyond should give Zoll the support he needs to extend not just Keaschall but the rest of Minnesota's core including right-handed ace Joe Ryan.

While the Twins have other younger bats like Brooks Lee, Royce Lewis and Trevor Larnach, Keaschall stands out the most with his veteran-like confidence in the batter's box and defensive versatility. 

Even though he's usually manned second base, Keaschall has made appearances in center field to fill in for Byron Buxton who typically plays there. Given Buxton's well-documented struggles with his right hip that resulted in him getting season-ending surgery, keeping Keaschall around long-term should provide a reliable insurance option for the 32-year-old in the event he were sidelined once again.

Keaschall went out in decent fashion, going 4-for-5 at the plate and scoring three runs on Sept. 25 during the Twins' last series of the season against the Texas Rangers. Even when he failed to record a hit in the team's final game, he still set up his teammates for crucial opportunities with two walks.

He had a similar performance on Sept. 16 in the team's 5-4 extra-inning victory over the New York Yankees, going 3-for-5 and scoring a pair of runs to help conclude a 13-inning stalemate. 

Besides his excellence on the field, Keaschall has also brought a sense of life to the Twins' locker room, keeping the team grounded and resilient even after a slow start to the year that turned into an improved latter half of the season.

For being as young as he is, Keaschall showed that he's already got what it takes to succeed both as a Twin and a major-leaguer.