In a recent sit-down with MLBbro.com at Citi Field, Twins right-hander Taj Bradley answered a wide range of topics from his great start to begin the 2026 season to returning to Tropicana Field this weekend to face the Rays, the team that traded him to Minnesota during the MLB Trade Deadline last year.
MLBbro.com: You are having your best season to date. In five starts, you have a 1.63 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 27 ⅔ innings. What are you doing differently compared to the last three years in the big leagues?
Taj Bradley: I think I have a more conscientious way of prepping for the game. So I’m [not only] capitalizing on what I did well, I also put a lot of emphasis on what I need to shape up. Hopefully, I can put it to work in the next game.
MLBbro.com: Before this year’s success, what didn’t work the previous three years?
Bradley: I feel like I wasn’t studying my opponents. I wasn’t looking at certain stats or swing paths. I wasn’t matching my repertoire to the batter.
MLBbro.com: What made you start to do your homework?
Bradley: I feel like you do the same things over and over again and expect a different result. It’s the same. If I want to be better or get to the type of competitor I want to be, I need to change it up a little bit.
MLBbro.com: You said you needed to study more, but what did you do physically to be ready for the season?
Bradley: I went out to Dallas, Texas. I worked out with our strength coach Stephen Hopkins. He is the strength coach for the Triple A St. Paul Saints. I told him, “I’m coming to a new organization and trying to figure out some things. I wanted to work with someone hands on. He showed me more baseball-style workouts – my mobility and strength. It paid a lot of dividends.
MLBbro.com: Did you add a new pitch or eliminate a new pitch in order to have this great year?
Bradley: I didn’t create a pitch, nor did I get rid of anything. I just capitalize on what I already had. Hopkins told me I didn’t need to change anything. Just get better on what I already have.
MLBbro.com: I’ve watched you on TV. You seem so relaxed. I even thought when you joined the team after the MLB trade deadline last year, you looked relaxed.
Bradley: I think it’s how we (get along in) the clubhouse. We have guys here — position players and pitchers – who get together and hang out. So, it’s not coming in with weight on your shoulders wondering what you are going to get through that day. Everybody is there to have fun. This is the most fun I’ve had playing baseball.
MLBbro.com: You were expected to go to the World Baseball Classic and represent Team Mexico. Instead, you decided to stay in camp with the Twins. Why?
Bradley: I felt it was a new organization. We have a manager [Derek Shelton], new teammates and a new catcher in Victor Carantini. There is also stuff I need to learn about myself. In Spring Training, you can come in, run back out and get your ups. That’s what I needed to [do] as a player and competitor. I wouldn’t go back on what I did. I wouldn’t make the same decision twice more.
MLBbro.com: Who do you credit for your success this season?
Bradley: I feel like it’s a number of people. You come in here. We have multiple pitching coaches that I feed off of. I learn from each one of them differently. I talk to them differently. I get different feedback, different advice. You have the players you are playing with. It’s everything. I can’t just credit one person. There are a lot of people who play a role in my success. … I’m getting good energy, a lot of feedback and encouragement to keep going. It comes from a lot of different places.
MLBbro.com: What do you like about Minnesota?
Bradley: The weather. It’s crazy to say. I like dressing in layers. I have thermals everywhere. I sleep in thermals every night – even when it is 90 degrees out. All my clothes are built for the cold. .
Minnesota is a more easy-going town. They have a lot of food places close by. I got into steak while living there. [In the past], I didn’t eat steak. Now I’m starting to like it. I guess the place changed my food patterns.
It’s a sports town. People know you while you are walking. People cheer you on regardless of the situation.
MLBbro.com: Are you into Prince because he was born and raised in Minnesota?
Bradley: Yeah, I’ve seen Purple Rain. I know a few of the songs. My aunt put me on to some of that stuff when I was younger. I tried to get to Paisley Park, but I haven’t been able to go there when I was a visitor. It was always shut down.
MLBbro.com: You will be facing the Rays this weekend. How do you feel about it?
Bradley: It will be weird being on the field in a different dugout. I’m excited to be pitching in Tropicana Field for the first time in a year. I get to face teammates of mine and friends. I’ll just have fun with it.
MLBbro.com: Who is your favorite teammate and what did you like about Tampa?
Bradley: I have a lot of them. Richie Palacios, Chandler Simpson (and) Jonathan Aranda. They were all good guys to hang around with. They were anything but who they were. I appreciate that the most.
Tampa was awesome. They have the beach there. St. Petersburg was a cool place to live. They have good food. They don’t have that fancy stuff for the dress code. That’s what I like. I went to Florida after I left Atlanta. I call it a second home. Now, I’m happy in Minnesota. I like it there.
