Robert Chou
[ad_1]
BALTIMORE – Looking for an offensive spark, the Minnesota Twins are promoting Trevor Larnach and sending Matt Wallner back to Triple-A St. Paul.
Because right now?
Wallner had trouble making contact, let alone producing early in the season. He has struck out in more than 50 percent of his plate appearances to start the season and routinely looked overwhelmed. The outfielder had just two hits in 25 at-bats this season, one of which was a home run off a position player on Saturday against the Detroit Tigers.
The Twins likely hope a restart will be helpful for Wallner, who played a pivotal role in helping them win the American League Central in 2023. Wallner hit 14 home runs in 254 plate appearances last season.
This isn’t the first time Wallner has started the season on a prolonged slump. Wallner was 8-for-53 with 26 strikeouts to start the 2022 season in Double-A before turning around and ascending to the majors in September to make his MLB debut.
What does this mean?
After Wallner and Alex Kirilloff moved above him on the depth chart, and with prospects Emmanuel Rodriguez and Gabriel Gonzalez on deck, it seemed pretty clear that the Twins would leave Larnach this winter and give him a chance elsewhere. For whatever reason, the swap never went through and now Larnach has another chance.
Larnach began the season on the disabled list with a toe injury and only returned to action over the weekend at Single-A Fort Myers, making 14 plate appearances.
Larnach, a first-round pick in 2018, has had plenty of moments since arriving in the majors in 2021, racking up 20 home runs in 693 plate appearances. Larnach was in the Twins’ Opening Day lineup last season and got off to a decent start, driving in 26 runs with a .754 OPS through mid-May before being placed on the disabled list with pneumonia.
Wallner stepped in when Larnach was on the injured list and became red-hot, effectively allowing him to leapfrog his teammate on the depth chart. Throughout his career, Larnach has struggled with off-speed pitches at the major league level. Over the course of his career, he has struck out 233 times in 693 plate appearances.
(Photo of Matt Wallner after a strikeout: Reed Hoffmann/Associated Press)
[ad_2]
News Source
