Grady Sizemore Says Twins Plan to Stay Aggressive on Basepaths in 2026

Sometime last August, the Twins' coaching staff decided to make a change. Under Rocco Baldelli, Minnesota had regularly finished dead last in MLB in stolen bases. But in a lost season, the Twins chose to modify their approach and get aggressive on the basepaths for the first time in years.

The results were somewhat shocking. The roster wasn't suddenly faster after the trade deadline; they moved two slower players (Carlos Correa and Ty France) but also two speed threats (Willi Castro and Harrison Bader). But the mentality and plan were different, and the steals started to come in bunches.

Over the first four months of last season, the Twins had 55 steals, which was tied for 24th-most in the league. It had been business as usual for a team that was always in the bottom eight in steals under Baldelli, with four last-place finishes (2019, '20, '22, '24) in seven seasons.

Over the final two months? The Twins stole 59 bases, which was one behind the Mets for the most in all of baseball. 36 of those came in September, when Minnesota had seven more steals than any other team. Perhaps most impressively, the Twins didn't sacrifice efficiency with more volume. In fact, the opposite happened. They were 55 of 75 on steal attempts from March-July (73 percent) and 59 of 73 in August and September (81 percent).

Matt Wallner | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

This year brings a new coaching staff, with Derek Shelton replacing the fired Baldelli as manager and bringing in mostly new assistants. But it sounds like the approach might carry over from one year to the next. That's what new assistant Grady Sizemore — who will coach baserunning and outfielders and serve as the team's first base coach — said in an interview this week.

"Absolutely, the plan is to take opportunities and be aggressive," Sizemore said on the Inside Twins show. "Building off of where they finished last year, that was a change they wanted to make. Be aggressive, let's try to create pressure on the defense and look for opportunities. We're gonna continue with that, we're gonna try to look for any advantage we can on the bases and make that be an X-factor for us, or something that separates us and helps us create offense."

Heading into the 2026 season, the Twins haven't exactly gotten any faster. Their three most prominent position player additions thus far (Josh Bell, Victor Caratini, and Eric Wagaman) are certainly not known for their speed.

But stealing bases — or taking extra bases, like going from first to third on a single — isn't all about speed. Timing, footwork, and anticipation can make up for a lot. The way the Twins finished last season is proof of that. So is Josh Naylor, who stole 19 bases in 54 games with the Mariners after being traded last year, despite having third-percentile sprint speed.

"There's a lot you can do on the bases, it's not all about speed and that kind of thing," said Sizemore, who finished the 2024 season as interim manager of the White Sox. "There's different things you can do, no matter how fast or slow you are, you can be a good baserunner and look for any opportunity. So we're gonna continue that and push that and have that be a big message coming into camp."

Grady Sizemore | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Byron Buxton, who does possess elite speed, will always be the Twins' biggest steal threat when healthy. He led the team with 24 of them last season and wasn't thrown out a single time. Luke Keaschall, who had 14 steals in 49 games as a rookie, could have a big year in that department. It'll be interesting to see if Royce Lewis continues to run after stealing 12 bags in 2025, nine of which came in September. Any number of other players, including big guys like Matt Wallner, could mix in some steal attempts here and there.

The Twins' aggressiveness on the basepaths made the end of last season more interesting. And if they keep that approach up from the jump in 2026, it could be a weapon that helps them score runs and win games.

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