Austin Martin Has Solidified Himself as an Integral Member of 2026 Minnesota Twins

[jorgenswest]

I just watched many of his defensive plays this year. In total he looks good. There were probably 3 balls he missed that 75% or more would get. He also was split on some 50/50 balls. You can still see last year too. I think it is a big step forward. I think he will take another step forward next year.

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, Otaknam said:

Martin and Clemens have both shown that they have a role with this team, capable of playing multiple positions to fill in as needed. So some positive news in an otherwise lost season. 

Except Martin and Clemens won't be playing to fill in as needed. They will play everyday.

[RpR]

1 hour ago, jjswol said:

The man can hit but on the bases and in the field he is very suspect.

Go Go Gomez II.

[LA Vikes Fan]

3 hours ago, rdehring said:

Will agree with both the article and those criticizing Martin's play.

I see a lot to like from what he can do well, hit for average and get on base with some speed both in the outfield or on the bases.  Unfortunately, as several of you pointed out his running decisions and outfield routes leave a lot to be desired.  Can he get better with experience, certainly.  Will he?  That remains to be seen, although I expect it is likely. 

Like many of you, I expect Larnach to be part of a trade over the winter to bring in a player to fill one of the Twins many holes.  I also don't see Jenkins being at St. Paul much later than May 1, if at all.  So the position the Twins have for Martin is that #13 bench spot who can play several positions reasonably well.  Will he be that player?  

I agree with this take. Martin has hit .282/.378/.376, 116 wRC+, since returning to the Twins. That is NOT a below average MLB hitter or mediocrity as some have called him. That is a starting MLB player on any team in the Majors, usually hitting in the 1, 2, or 9 hole.  I agree that his defense in LF and his baserunning have been spotty but I also think we need to give him credit for improvement in both areas, particularly in LF. Unlike a guy like Larnach or Wallner, Martin has the raw athleticism to get better in the OF and the speed to be a real threat on the bases. I don't understand why you guys just want to write him off as though he'll never improve. He might not improve, but there's at least a 50/50 chance he will get better, and I'll take an average to above average fielding, speedy LF who hits .270-.290 with a .360 plus OBP at the top of my lineup every day of the week. IF/when Emma and Jenkins are ready, they play RF with Wallner moving to 1B or DH, or Maritn slides to the 4th OF spot. 

I hope Martin's last 100 ABs are real. If they are, Martin is next year's leadoff hitter with Buxton 2, and Keashall 3 in the everyday lineup. If Wallner could just hit .240 plus and strike out 25-28% of the time (or less), now you have a LH #4 hitter to break up the righties and you can find a 5 and 6 hitter between Jeffers, Lewis, and a DH or 1B.  Lee hits 8 and whoever is left hits 7 and 9.  That lineup steals a lot of bases and moves to at least the middle of the pack in runs scored, which is a major improvement from this year. Add in a solid to very good starting rotation and you have a .500 team or slightly better team. You then have to find a solid bullpen and that is a long way from this bunch we have now. No question that's a lot of IFs to contending next year but half the fun of being a sports fan is imagining how those IFs can come together for your team.  It's a lot easier to imagine when you have Lopez and Ryan to lead the rotation. I really hope that's the case in 2026. 

[awmonahan]

They certainly need to give him more run, through the end of this year. I'm not sure their developmental team or lineup approach has done him favors, as he's tried to crack the team in the majors. It would be cool to watch him seize a role, based on a larger sample size. 

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

I want Martin to be successful, but while he is improving, he still seems to be prone to really boneheaded play, especially on the basepaths.  To call him a super-utility player in the mould of Willi Castro seems a stretch

Willi Castro was famously boneheaded

[LA Vikes Fan]

46 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

Except Martin and Clemens won't be playing to fill in as needed. They will play everyday.

I think you're right about Martin's likley playing time, but I think his last 100 ABs if repeatable make him an above average starting OF.  We don't know if he'll do that, but he's shown some real improvement this year. Let's not forget he has only 321 MLB Abs (365 PAs) and is hitting at .262/.336/.358 overall, .284/.382/.375 in 88 ABs (102 PAs) for 2025. That 2025 guy starts on 90% of MLB teams, and the overall stats are of a good 4th OF on a good team playing 3-4 days a week.  

Clemens is a nice story but you're absolutely right, not an MLB starter. He's a bench guy at best and only that if we think he's competent as a backup 2B, 1B and OF. Not good enough if he can only play 1B. We'll know everything we need to know about the team if we break camp with Clemens starting at 1B. 

[SF Twins Fan]

I can see Martin starting the season on the MLB roster, hopefully not as a starter, but as a 12 or 13th man on the roster.  However, by mid-season I expect some of the other prospects to pass him by.

I think Jenkins will start the season with the Twins and assuming health, Buxton will be in center field.  Roden has hit at every level he's played at except MLB and I think he'll eventually figure it out.  Add in Fedko, Gonzalez, and Rodriguez, all of whom I think will be better than Martin, and I think Martin will find limited playing time by the all-star break.

Other than 1st base I think the infield is pretty well set going into next season.  At least with players the front office will want to play to determine keeping them or not.  Keaschall, Lee, and Lewis will be given every opportunity to hold down their positions.  Culpepper could be added into the mix by midseason as well.

The Twins desperately need a legit 1st baseman.

[jmlease1]

I think the headline here has probably overclocked where expectations should be set for Martin going forward. "Integral member" suggests that a) he's going to be a starter in 2026, and 2) that he'll be a significant part of the success or failure of that team as a player that will be counted on to really produce. I think that's probably aiming a little high for what Martin's role will be and should be, unless he keeps improving and heads more towards his ceiling as a player.

I've been trying to think of reasonable Twins comps for Martin, and here's where I landed:

• Floor: Bobby Kielty (inconsistent hitter who got on base and could play a few spots in the OF; good enough to be a backup for several seasons by overstretched as a starter)
• Ceiling: Shannon Stewart (speedy OF who got on base a lot, hit pretty well and was best in LF; zero all-star appearances but a couple of seasons where you could make an argument and generally was a solid starter for 6+ seasons)
• Possible: Matt Lawton (speedy OF who got on base a lot but wasn't outstanding enough as a defender to play CF and didn't have enough pop to really play RF, but was a decent starter for several seasons)
• Possible: Dan Gladden (inconsistent hitter but good OF with solid speed and almost no pop)

I think Martin can be better than Kielty (there's more speed and upside defensively), but it's probably a reach to get to Stewart. But if he's a Gladden or Lawton...that's a very useful player, even if they're not a star.

We'll see. He's been doing much better this season, battling for walks and showing improvement in the field; even with some shockers on the bases, he's also shown upside there. I'm not ready to call him "integral", but part of fielding a good team is not giving innings to bad players and raising the floor. I think we'll have to look to guys like Jenkins to raise the ceiling, but if Martin can raise the floor by being a Matt Lawton? That will make a difference.

[Schmoeman5]

4 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Regarding Martin’s utility, he really isn’t that versatile. He plays left field and could start in center or second base for a day or two. That doesn’t compare with Castro’s six position versatility. The combination of Clemens and Martin might equal Castro.

Martin has hit better since his recall and I will accept that his defense has improved. I’ve seen him make a year’s worth of outs on the bases, so I can’t see him as a base running asset. 

Castros versatility was overrated. You could put him all over the diamond. Which position did he excel at? He made bad mistakes as well. So since he's gone, Martin is the comparison. Castro was good on the bases in 23. He had his share of gaffes too.

[HerbieFan]

I love Luke Keaschall.  But he isn't exactly a Gold Glover at 2B....at this point anyway.  But are were 100% sure that defensively they wouldn't be better off with Martin at 2B and Keaschall in LF?  Keaschall did play some OF in the minors.

[LambchoP]

Martin doesn't have the defensive versatility to be a Willi Castro utility guy. I'd put Martin in left field and MAYBE center field in a pinch. He has made improvements with the bat. No power to speak of, but if he can hit for a high avg and get on base a lot, he could steal bases and score runs at the top of the lineup. Just needs to work on base running and not make so many mental mistakes. Solid 4rth OF I would say....

[sweetmusicviola16]

Martin has earned the chance to play everyday for the rest of this season. He's outperformed most of the rest of this shipwreck over the last month. I believe he is a player but I believe he also needs to earn it. But he has earned September playing time. 

I concur with some others, this is the kind of player people have been clamoring for. Now when he is here he gets picked apart. What I do disagree with from the article is that Martin will do best with having a regular position to play at. I don't see him as some sort of super utility player. 

[rdehring]

3 hours ago, ashbury said:

Hurricane Hazle maintained better numbers than Martin's in 155 plate appearances.  So I'll join you in waiting a bit before declaring Martin integral to anything. (Who writes these headlines? ClickbaitBot2.0? The word "integral" wasn't mentioned in the body of the article.)

He's striking out less and walking more.  Power's about the same as last go-round, which is to say still nearly nothing.  I don't feel confident with his defense anywhere on the field, but the summary on b-r.com is less dire than last year so maybe I'm slow to adjust my perception.  Baserunning is at best a work in progress. He's scored 11 runs this year and driven in 2 so if you extrapolate to 600 PA he's the second coming of Luis Arraez, i.e. not the run-scoring engine you might imagine from the on-base percentage.

All in all, he's earning another chance.  Maybe by the time he's achieved free agency in 2031 he'll have turned himself into an asset. 😀

Are you referring to Hurricane Bob Hazle with the Braves?  When was it, late '50's?  Recall he was on fire hitting around .400, before he ran out of season.  Never did anything after that.  Sure was a headscratcher.  

[rdehring]

2 hours ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

I agree with this take. Martin has hit .282/.378/.376, 116 wRC+, since returning to the Twins. That is NOT a below average MLB hitter or mediocrity as some have called him. That is a starting MLB player on any team in the Majors, usually hitting in the 1, 2, or 9 hole.  I agree that his defense in LF and his baserunning have been spotty but I also think we need to give him credit for improvement in both areas, particularly in LF. Unlike a guy like Larnach or Wallner, Martin has the raw athleticism to get better in the OF and the speed to be a real threat on the bases. I don't understand why you guys just want to write him off as though he'll never improve. He might not improve, but there's at least a 50/50 chance he will get better, and I'll take an average to above average fielding, speedy LF who hits .270-.290 with a .360 plus OBP at the top of my lineup every day of the week. IF/when Emma and Jenkins are ready, they play RF with Wallner moving to 1B or DH, or Maritn slides to the 4th OF spot. 

I hope Martin's last 100 ABs are real. If they are, Martin is next year's leadoff hitter with Buxton 2, and Keashall 3 in the everyday lineup. If Wallner could just hit .240 plus and strike out 25-28% of the time (or less), now you have a LH #4 hitter to break up the righties and you can find a 5 and 6 hitter between Jeffers, Lewis, and a DH or 1B.  Lee hits 8 and whoever is left hits 7 and 9.  That lineup steals a lot of bases and moves to at least the middle of the pack in runs scored, which is a major improvement from this year. Add in a solid to very good starting rotation and you have a .500 team or slightly better team. You then have to find a solid bullpen and that is a long way from this bunch we have now. No question that's a lot of IFs to contending next year but half the fun of being a sports fan is imagining how those IFs can come together for your team.  It's a lot easier to imagine when you have Lopez and Ryan to lead the rotation. I really hope that's the case in 2026. 

Would love to leave two hearts for this comment, LA, but they don't have that option.

[Coach Wheels]

5 hours ago, Otaknam said:

Martin and Clemens have both shown that they have a role with this team, capable of playing multiple positions to fill in as needed. So some positive news in an otherwise lost season. 

As long as both are "filling in" I'm ok with that. Clemens has played too many games this year to be taken seriously on a team trying to win. In this franchise, he might play every day

[ashbury]

14 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Are you referring to Hurricane Bob Hazle with the Braves?  

None other.  Before my time - uh, at least as a fan.  😀

[TheLeviathan]

This team won't be good in 2026.  They should be investing plate appearances in guys like Martin.

Trade Larnach and don't sign any Ty France types.  Let the kid play and see if there really is something solid there.

[Mike Sixel]

8 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

This team won't be good in 2026.  They should be investing plate appearances in guys like Martin.

Trade Larnach and don't sign any Ty France types.  Let the kid play and see if there really is something solid there.

This. Also, people here are begging for the opposite of Wallner, and that's Martin, and people are ripping Martin..... gotta love this place. 

He's been above average as a hitter this year. I think he can play left and second, but he's no gold glove winner. And the base running is not great .

But they control him for years, he seems fast and able to get on base. Start him in left or first next year and see what happens. 

[rdehring]

23 minutes ago, ashbury said:

None other.  Before my time - uh, at least as a fan.  😀

Even though I was a farm kid who got to Milwaukee for only one game a year, was a huge Braves fan in the late '50's.  And what an A-B-C outfield that team had, Aaron, Bruton and Covington.  Can't recall who got hurt to get Hazle his playing time.  Or was that before Covington arrived?

[edit: checked and see that Covington was with the Braves in '57, with around 350 plate appearances.  Expect he may have missed some time with an injury.]

[DocBauer]

Integral?

I'm sorry, but I beg to differ strenously on that adjective!

Look, I'm NOT anti-Martin and never have been. I've been very hopeful in the past he'd become a very solid player for the Twins. And I'm not one who says a player can't improve, or that being 25 or 26yo automatically eliminates you from becoming a viable ML player. 

But can we just reflect on a couple OLD points here before we go forward?

1] Did the Jays make a mistake pitting him at SS initially? Maybe. Did the Twins make a mistake keeping him there once acquired? Meh, maybe. Did they keep him there too long? Yes.

2] Did the Twins totally mess him up trying to get him to hit for more pop/power? Absolutely not! Considering his hitter profile, EVERY TEAM IN MLB would have tried to get more pop/power out of him based on his hitting profile. If you AREN'T ANY sort of power hitter...and we're talking even DOUBLES profile here...ML pitchers will just bust you inside, and low outside, ever single day, and even throw 95mph straight down the middle because you aren't a threat to do damage.

FACT!

Martin isn't a once in a generation contact high AVG hitter like Arraez. And FWIW, Arraez has a career SLG% of .413 compared to Martin's current ML career SLG% of .358, or his current 2025 SLG% of .375. That's a LARGE discrepancy. Ben Revere had a career SLG% of .343 for goodness sake. 

Again, I'm NOT a Martin hater. I'm just trying to be a realist. 

His numbers across the board this season are a definite improvement over his 2024 numbers. But they are also about 1/3 as many PA/AB, and the SLG% is only about .23 points higher. Despite a few good plays in the field, he's been very poor defensively anywhere he's played. 

I'm sorry, Cody, but you want to compare Martin's versatility compared to Castro? While Castro has seldom been GREAT anywhere, he's been solid/competent at 6 positions. Defensive rankings, no matter which you choose to use, are from August 1st of this year? That's a pretty SSS my friend. And we're talking 3 spots vs 6. 

Can and HAS Martin improved defensively? It seems he's gotten better. And I have ALWAYS championed patience defensively for players improving. The proof is in previous results for MANY players. I'm not doubting Martin has gotten better, and could continue to improve. 

Is he HITTING better this season? Absolutely. Does he have a ML future? If he continues to improve with the glove and bat he does. But INTEGRAL? I have serious doubts.

ANY comment comparing his role in 2026 towards Outman or Roden...or even Keirsey...is ridiculous as they are LH options and Martin is RH. And that's an entirely different discussion as Rodriguez and Jenkins are also LH hitters. So why the comparison at all?

A good RH bat should also hit decently against RH pitching. So far, Martin is fine in that category. 

Once again, I DON'T hate Martin. I've been rooting for him to be a good player for the Twins, even though my expectations have dropped considerably over time.

I'd be delighted if Martin could be a solid LF and occasional 2B/CF player for the Twins. But the backup CF role will probably be filled quickly by Rodriguez and/or Jenkins. I'd further remind that the yet unproven, but somewhat younger Fedko has similar speed, more power, and the potential to backup 4 spots. Beyond that, Gonzalez is the TOP RH BAT in the system who is getting closer by the day to making his debut in 2026.

Has Martin improved his bat and glove this season? Absolutely. Does he break with the club in 2026? Probably. Does he provide more athleticism and a needed contact approach? Absolutely. But is he INTEGRAL? With the other OF bats on their way up and with K-Pepper close to help with the INF as well, I think INTEGRAL is a stretch.

But it would be awesome if he FORCED himself to be such.

[h2oface]

Martin’s mind seems to perpetually be on vacation. Skills seem there, athleticism, plate awareness……. but he is 26 and still playing dumb, making horrible decisions repeatedly. He has a hero complex. At least he hits. 

[Major League Ready]

I think he gets a roster spot to start the season.  However, we need some combination of Jenkins / Rodriguez / Gonzalez / Rosario / Roden, and Fedko to push him off the roster.  Unless, of course, Martin really picks it up a notch.

[ashbury]

6 hours ago, rdehring said:

Even though I was a farm kid who got to Milwaukee for only one game a year, was a huge Braves fan in the late '50's.  And what an A-B-C outfield that team had, Aaron, Bruton and Covington.  Can't recall who got hurt to get Hazle his playing time.  Or was that before Covington arrived?

[edit: checked and see that Covington was with the Braves in '57, with around 350 plate appearances.  Expect he may have missed some time with an injury.]

b-r.com and its game logs plus Wikipedia can make anyone, even me, an expert on the 50s Braves.  Covington continued to play in July, August, and September 1957, but Bruton's last game of that season was on July 11.  He was taken out in the bottom of the first inning of that game, after he sustained a knee injury when he collided with Mantilla the shortstop both going for a short fly ball.

Andy Pafko was brought into the game, but as a right fielder as they shifted Aaron to CF.   That substitute alignment remained for more than two weeks.  Manager Fred Haney showed no imagination whatsover, by playing the same outfield game after game, with the original trio before the injury and then the modified one after.

But why oh why did it take the Braves' front office until July 29 to realize they were sitting on a gold mine, and to bring Hazle up from Wichita?  Took 'em until the 31st to even let him start a game.

(I think I have my facts straight but tongue is firmly in cheek a couple times in this post.  😀 )

[old nurse]

21 hours ago, DJL44 said:

OAA has him at -1

-2 in CF, +1 in LF and 0 at 2B

It's all based on very small sample sizes. As a utility player he doesn't have much utility.

If the 2026 bench players are Austin Martin, Kody Clemens and Brooks Lee, that would cover the positions they need to cover but the defense would be bad at SS and CF. They could slide Jenkins over to CF when Buxton needs a break, but they don't have a good backup at SS.

So he saved runs but not outs.   Once again the validity of making proclamations off from 1 stat is shown 

[Doctor Wu]

I'm happy that Martin has been hitting better since his callup, and his OBP is very impressive. But I'm still not convinced that he has earned a starter's role or permanent place on the team. Let's see how he is doing a month from now and re-visit the question. But one that that puzzles me is seeing many people asking the Twins to trade Larnach and/or Wallner. I have no problem with that concept, but honestly how many teams will actually want to trade for either player and give us anything remotely of quality in return? 

[rdehring]

11 hours ago, ashbury said:

b-r.com and its game logs plus Wikipedia can make anyone, even me, an expert on the 50s Braves.  Covington continued to play in July, August, and September 1957, but Bruton's last game of that season was on July 11.  He was taken out in the bottom of the first inning of that game, after he sustained a knee injury when he collided with Mantilla the shortstop both going for a short fly ball.

Andy Pafko was brought into the game, but as a right fielder as they shifted Aaron to CF.   That substitute alignment remained for more than two weeks.  Manager Fred Haney showed no imagination whatsover, by playing the same outfield game after game, with the original trio before the injury and then the modified one after.

But why oh why did it take the Braves' front office until July 29 to realize they were sitting on a gold mine, and to bring Hazle up from Wichita?  Took 'em until the 31st to even let him start a game.

(I think I have my facts straight but tongue is firmly in cheek a couple times in this post.  😀 )

Andy Pafko, that's a name from the past.  Recall he was an older guy on that team, but a team and fan favorite.

Also see that Covington played a bit in '56, so expect he may have began '57 in the minors with the outfield being Pafko, Bruton and Aaron.  Really liked Covington and his power.  If memory serves, his career with the Braves wasn't all that long.  

What is most interesting was that Aaron was 100% capable of moving to center after Bruton went down.  Not a lot of power hitters who would be capable of that.  That and the fact he was a second baseman when he began his career in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

[Chembry]

3 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

I'm happy that Martin has been hitting better since his callup, and his OBP is very impressive. But I'm still not convinced that he has earned a starter's role or permanent place on the team. Let's see how he is doing a month from now and re-visit the question. But one that that puzzles me is seeing many people asking the Twins to trade Larnach and/or Wallner. I have no problem with that concept, but honestly how many teams will actually want to trade for either player and give us anything remotely of quality in return? 

Wallner has decent trade value, Larnach not so much.  There is quite a debate about Wallner, but his batting run value, according to Statcast/baseball savant, has been on the level of very good established MLB DH's.  I don't want to debate that again, beyond the purview of this conversation.

On to the topic of trades and what we could get for Wallner, his BBTV is 29.1.  I know that doesn't mean alot, but it calculates a trade value based on stats (WAR), projection, salary, years of control, etc...and those are updated on a weekly basis. That BBTV of 29.1 puts him in some decent company.  Suffice to say he has some trade value.  Trevor Larnach's BBTV is 7.2

On to the trades to see what we could get.  Several, including me, have proposed trades that could benefit the Twins in the long run.  Here are some trades that would be accepted based on BBTV's:

Wallner (29.1) to NYY for Ben Rice (31.6, C/1B) straight up

Wallner (29.1) and Charlie Soto (7.8) to NYY for Austin Wells (42.4, C)

Wallner (29.1) to SEA for Harry Ford (19.1, C) and Luke Raley (5.3, OF/1B) or Ben Williamson (4.7, 3B/1B)

Wallner (29.1) to CHW for Kyle Teel (23.7, C) or Edgar Quero (18.2, C)

Wallner (29.1) to MIL for Jefferson Quero (23,8 C) 

Wallner (29.1) to LAD for Daulton Rushing (35.9, C), Twins would have to add more here, but I didn't want to take the time to figure out who matches up.

Obviously these aren't perfect scenarios and are hypothetical.  There are some obvious limitations to BBTVs.  Salary is a major limitation. Several high salary guys have lower BBTVs due to the negative impact on salary and statistical production.  Several lower salary guys have higher BBTVs due to the amount of production vs their salary.  These trades may or may not be accepted, but does give you some idea that Wallner at least has some trade value.

Edit: All the trades mentioned are pre-arbitration so values are really a matter of statistical output, projection, and years of control.

 

[Riverbrian]

On 9/9/2025 at 6:42 AM, Doctor Wu said:

I'm happy that Martin has been hitting better since his callup, and his OBP is very impressive. But I'm still not convinced that he has earned a starter's role or permanent place on the team. Let's see how he is doing a month from now and re-visit the question. But one that that puzzles me is seeing many people asking the Twins to trade Larnach and/or Wallner. I have no problem with that concept, but honestly how many teams will actually want to trade for either player and give us anything remotely of quality in return? 

Cull from the bottom and be very careful on who you declare is at the top. In my opinion, that's how you get better quicker.

Martin, Wallner and Larnach are nowhere near our current bottom and we only have two position players who I think should be in the lineup nearly every day... those two players are Buxton and Keaschall. Even those two will need occasional rest and the present of Keaschall is still small sample and his future is still TBD. 

Everybody else can compete for playing time. Martin, Wallner and Larnach can compete for playing time with others rising through the system and let the players decide through performance who gets more playing time and eventually who stays and who goes.

Austin Martin is nowhere near arbitration, Wallner will be pre-arb with both making the minimum, they don't need to play every day unless every day playing time is earned by either of them. They do need to play enough to compete for more playing time, they need to play enough to develop, to become worthy of every day playing time. If they get by-passed by others, they get by-passed by others but the by-passing needs to happen on the field. 

Larnach is a little different than Wallner and Martin because he will cost extra money next year in his 2nd year of arbitration. 4 million? I don't know but he made 2 million this year and arb raises are typically double the previous year. 

After the deadline deals, budget isn't much of a concern now. The Twins have room for 4 million for a player that will be potentially back for in 2027. Spending 4 million on Larnach is 100% better than spending 4 million on a one year contract that won't be back the following year.

Decision time on Larnach comes when the budget is tight, it's his 3rd year of arb with 8 to 10 million the payroll expenditure and he becomes a free agent the following year making it likely he won't be back.

If Larnach has a nice year in 2026... maybe he provides more trade value and then you can move him at the 2026 trade deadline or off-season.   

Bottom line... They don't have to move Larnach and I hope they don't and I don't care how many left handed corner outfielders the Twins have on the roster. It's about those left handed corner outfielders competing for playing time and earning it and right now... nobody is out playing Larnach out of the current available options... no matter how many Clemens, Roden, and Outmans to join the hopefully upcoming Jenkins, Erods and Hendry Mendez's of our weirdly constructed farm system. 

Trade Larnach now? I don't know what he brings back. Could we fill the massive hole at 1B or SS or even CF with corner OF trade? Maybe... but the Twins haven't done him or Wallner any favors in regards to improving their trade value with their strip mining them for parts over the past 100 years of their development.   

Right now... Larnach is on my 2026 roster and I'm counting on him to help us turn this thing around... along with Wallner and Martin. Somebody from the system has to actually out hit them first. Cull from the bottom before you move on from those not at the bottom.

In other words, Keirsay loses his 40 man spot, McCusker loses his 40 man spot first since they are not getting major league opportunity anyway. 

If for some reason, we collect enough talent in 2026 to force Larnach, Wallner or Martin off the 26 man roster because we are just plum out of space and we are brimming with talent better then those 3. Good for us... we should be winning a lot of baseball games if we reach the point that we have a team full of players  who are playing better.          

 

 

 

[DJL44]

3 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

Trade Larnach now? I don't know what he brings back. Could we fill the massive hole at 1B or SS or even CF with corner OF trade? Maybe...

I think they could fill a relief slot or 1B with a Larnach trade.