Twins to Add Ben Ross, Garrett Acton as Rosters Expand in September

Minnesota will use its two additional roster spots on Ross and Acton, giving both players an opportunity to audition during the season's final month.

Minnesota Twins pitcher Garrett Acton. Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

September 1 for MLB clubs is the day rosters expand from 26 players to 28 players. The Twins are taking that opportunity to add a utility position player, Ben Ross, and a relief pitcher, Garrett Acton to the active roster.

The Twins are expected to announce the moves later in the day on Tuesday. Aaron Gleeman, who covers the Twins, reported the impending moves.

About Ben Ross

Ross is coming up to have a taste of MLB play, which could be beneficial to the future of the Twins' offensive core. This season in Triple-A, Ross has a .249 batting average with 15 home runs, 55 RBIs, and a .811 OPS. The surface numbers on Ross are solid and are promising.

home run into the cornfield 🌽

Twins prospect Ben Ross starts the MiLB at Field of Dreams game with a bang! pic.twitter.com/K4pRdVswei

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) August 11, 2026

One concern Twins fans should have about Ross are the strikeouts. In 354 AAA at-bats, he's struck out 114 times, compared to only taking 12 walks. When players make the jump to the big leagues, those numbers typically jump even more, which should be notable for the Twins and their fans.

The Return of Garrett Acton

Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Garrett Acton and catcher Ryan Jeffers. Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Twins are also recalling Acton, a right-handed relief pitcher, to help aid the struggles of the Twins bullpen as of late. Acton was up with the Twins earlier this season, posting a 2.70 in 6 2/3 innings of work. It's an incredibly small sample, but he was effective.

Acton features a fastball and slider combination with good numbers under the hood, including a 32.1% strikeout percentage. What could be concerning for Acton is the below-average walk rate he's posting at 10.7%. So much of what success for him should look like is throwing strikes.

That was not Acton's first taste of an MLB mound, however, with him seeing action in 2023 with the A's and 2025 with the Rays. There will likely be open spots in the Twins bullpen following this season, so this could be an audition for him.

At this point of the season, the Twins need innings eaters. They need someone who's going to be efficient and effective and, perhaps most importantly, eat innings.

The Twins now have a core of three offensive rookies in Ross, Kaelen Culpepper, and Walker Jenkins who are all getting valuable MLB playing time as the Twins fall out of the playoff race. They are making what would normally be unimportant games in September really important because they are not getting thrown in the fires of a major playoff race but rather a softer landing that lets them experience their first taste of being an MLB player.