A Hard Reckoning: Twins Option Matt Wallner to Triple-A St. Paul Amid Shift Toward New Faces

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of © Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Twins will option struggling outfielder Matt Wallner to Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday, two sources with knowledge of the team's plans told Twins Daily, Taking Wallner's place on the roster will be utilityman Ryan Kreidler, who made his Twins debut during Royce Lewis's stint on the injured list earlier this season. Kreidler is expected to serve in the same roving backup role he filled in Lewis's absence, as the team gives Austin Martin a fuller opportunity as a regular corner outfielder. 

By now, there should be little suspense or surprise around that move. Wallner's demotion is overdue. The massive Forest Lake native is batting .167/.259/.292 on the year. His last two starts came Wednesday night against the Marlins and Saturday in Cleveland, and in each, he went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. He's been slowly phased out of the team's plans over the last four weeks, with Martin gaining an ever greater share of the playing time in the outfield and Trevor Larnach becoming the left-handed batter manager Derek Shelton kept in the lineup even against left-handed opposing starters.

Compounding the negative value of his bat, Wallner has been the worst defensive outfielder in baseball this season. He's lost speed; takes bad routes on fly balls; is too slow to field balls that fall in and to get off throws back to the infield; and doesn't communicate well with the infielders or with Byron Buxton on balls hit between defenders. He has no business playing in the major leagues right now; the team will hope that a hard reset in the minors can fix that.

Right-hander Zebby Matthews is also coming over from St. Paul Thursday, and that promotion has portent, too. All the team is saying so far is that Matthews is making a spot start to facilitate the team bumping back Connor Prielipp's next one by a day, as they monitor and mete out the latter's workload for the year. However, Matthews looks likely to stick around and take over the starting rotation spot occupied (until now) by Simeon Woods Richardson, who was knocked out early again Wednesday and has an untenable 7.71 ERA for the year.

Wednesday night's game was also the latest indication of a more gradual change. Tristan Gray made his fourth start at third base in the last 10 games. Two of those starts came one week ago, when Shelton gave Royce Lewis back-to-back days off as a reset. So far, however, Lewis has shown little to give the team renewed hope since then, and he's only batting .167/.269/.300 for the year. His two-day benching came one week after Wallner's, and now, Wallner is heading for the other end of the Green Line. The clock is ticking on Lewis, too, with Gray threatening to take his job even before the prospects about whom he's so worried are ready to come to the big leagues.

The 2025 trade deadline amounted to a reckoning for the previous year's worth of failures—for the collapse that led the 2024 Twins to miss the playoffs and for an offseason in which they were hamstrung by the Pohlads' attempts to sell the team, preventing them from sufficiently addressing the causes of that collapse. As roster overhauls go, though, it was actually relatively small, and when a Derek Falvey-led front office once again plodded most of the way through the winter without proactively moving on from any of the players who'd dragged them down over the previous year-plus, they began this season in something eerily similar to the same place they were in before that so-called fire sale.

Falvey's conservative approach and belief in the core he'd assembled led the team to hold onto Wallner, Lewis, Larnach and Woods Richardson over the winter, when there were strong arguments for moving on from any or all four of them. In fact, those arguments were also there last July, and even the previous offseason. The team went 1-for-4 in its long-running series of gambles on those young players. Larnach might not be a long-term piece for the club, but if nothing else, he's boosted his trade value substantially this spring. The other three are now being proactively replaced by a front office that still bears Falvey's fingerprints but has departed from his plans in some key aspects, and at the behest of a manager who isn't inclined to be especially patient with players at this phase of their careers.

Shelton lost half a decade of his life in Pittsburgh, making no progress toward winning because he was handed a parade of players on whom the organization was placing doomed bets a year after they should have stopped. He's been quick to try new things and shake up the way he deploys his roster, and slow to trust anyone. He and Jeremy Zoll are reshaping the big-league roster relatively early in the season, both because the utter ineptitude of the AL Central has allowed them to hold onto a dream of competing this year and because they agree that it's no longer reasonable to keep expecting Lewis, Wallner and Woods Richardson to turn things around.

Thursday marks the dawn of an interesting interstitial period. Martin, 27, will continue to get regular playing time, something he just achieved for the first time after last year's deadline. He's batting an extraordinary .327/.448/.416 in 125 plate appearances so far, though that's still distorted by platoon effects. Martin has faced left-handed pitchers in 49% of his plate appearances, almost twice as much as a full-time right-handed batter can expect to see them over a full season. As his role expands, he'll be tested, and could be exposed. Gray has been less impressive at the plate since his hot start, and looks like an inconsistent, Kody Clemens-style offensive contributor. However, he plays plus defense at third base, separating him from Lewis.

Both players will get a real chance to earn an even longer look, but each is also holding down a spot that could soon pass into the hands of one of the team's top prospects. Kaelen Culpepper needs a bit more time at St. Paul, but were Emmanuel Rodríguez healthy, he would already be in the majors, according to one team source. Culpepper's arrival could move Brooks Lee off shortstop and over to the hot corner. This shakeup could also result in Lee moving to second, if Gray shows enough to merit sustained playing time, with Luke Keaschall sliding to the outfield to soak up some of the playing time vacated by Wallner's demotion.

For now, Lewis remains on the big-league roster, so he'll play third base at least as often as Gray. The timeline of the Wallner phaseout is a reminder, though, that time is short. The Twins' new chairman, Tom Pohlad, expects the team to win and is evaluating the front office and manager on that criterion. Neither Zoll nor Shelton is as invested in Wallner, Lewis, Woods Richardson or several other players on this roster as Falvey was, even if Zoll has been around for several years and was part of bringing in and developing much of the team. Change is afoot, and while the only unequivocal handoff of playing time marked by Thursday's moves is from Wallner to Martin, the writing is on the wall for several pieces of a core that was once the team's future—but is now being tossed onto the junkheap of the past.

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[Nshore]

If by some miracle Wallner and Lewis find success elsewhere, IMO no one can say the Twins didn't try everything they could to help them succeed.  It really reminds me of Jose Miranda.  One minute they look like All Stars, the next minute the trap door opens and they're gone.  Congratulations to Martin - who has earned the shot.

[Galen]

Potential eventually has to produce

[Parfigliano]

Wallner to AAA is a good move.  Sending Lewis with him better.

[c24]

I don't know what all the fuss is about. If you told Twins fans before the seasons started that Wallner was going to have a better average than Cal Raleigh 25% into the season we all would have been excited for that.

[1985Fan]

Hate to see a player going through rough times, but this is long overdue. I don’t think Wallner’s swing will ever work in the big leagues, but he’s completely lost at the plate, so sending him down is the only thing to do at this point. Fedko should get a shot, but Falvey/Zoll traded for Kreidler so he gets the promotion. 

[rdehring]

Long overdue.  Watched the Wild last night, so I didn't know who did what in last night's Twins disaster.  Saw the box score this morning and just shook my head when seeing Wallner was 0-4 with another 4 K's, again.  Said to my bride, of 50 years, sending this kid down would be good for both the team and Wallner.  Great seeing they finally made the move.

The best outcome for the Twins would be Wallner getting comfortable over the next couple weeks, then blasting a half dozen or more long home runs in June.  Doubt Wallner has any place in the Twins future plans.  Hopefully a successful re-set at St. Paul could get them something come July.  Anything.

[Hashim]

Why not call up E-Rod instead of another journeyman has been? The Twins never change. 

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Sad for Wallner and hopefully he can figures things out in St. Paul and get back with the Twins. But...Kreidler - meh. Not going to move the needle at all.

[tony&rodney]

17 minutes ago, Nshore said:

If by some miracle Wallner and Lewis find success elsewhere, IMO no one can say the Twins didn't try everything they could to help them succeed.  It really reminds me of Jose Miranda.  One minute they look like All Stars, the next minute the trap door opens and they're gone.  Congratulations to Martin - who has earned the shot.

Exactly. I will never have any angst about a player who the Twins move on from after getting their chances and failing with Minnesota. Julien is one. I may be the only one but I never had any craze about the Twins moving on from David Ortiz. 

 

36 minutes ago, Matthew Trueblood said:

Falvey's conservative approach and belief in the core he'd assembled led the team to hold onto Wallner, Lewis, Larnach and Woods Richardson over the winter, when there were strong arguments for moving on from any or all four of them. In fact, those arguments were also there last July, and even the previous offseason.

Sitting in the seat right above Dusty Baker when the Twins fell to the Astros in 2023, I felt the Twins were in a great position to leverage several (not all) deficient players for talent. Lewis, Miranda, Julien, Wallner, and Larnach stood out as players that other teams might have coveted. That is now in the past and not to be worried over. By mid June I would expect to see a few player moves. The biggest hole right now is at third base. Lewis is a mess and Tristan Gray has regressed. Culpepper needs another month in my opinion but is playing well at AAA. 

Tough to see these players struggle and get sent down. Baseball is such a difficult game. They earn their money.

[tony&rodney]

5 minutes ago, Hashim said:

Why not call up E-Rod instead of another journeyman has been? The Twins never change. 

Emmanuel Rodriguez and Walker Jenkins are both on the IL.

[AceWrigley]

8 minutes ago, Hashim said:

Why not call up E-Rod instead of another journeyman has been? The Twins never change. 

E-Rod is currently injured.

[krink]

In my opinion, while Wallner's batting has been - obviously - atrocious, it's his fielding that's been the most frustrating. At bat, he's pretty par for the course for this team - unfortunately. But in the field, he shows no hustle. I can understand being frustrated that your doing poorly when you're hitting, but the one thing you can control is how hard you try in the field. And he doesn't seem interested in trying.

[jorgenswest]

Martin and Larnach have earned the full time play in the outfield.

I don’t see anyone healthy I would add though. Fedko has a pedestrian 115 wRC+. Sabato has a Vegas driven stat line. Mendez and Ross just made it to AAA. I don’t think it would be wise to add them to the 40 or the 26 in Mendez’ case. Give him more time in AAA. They called up McCusker last year and he was legitimately crushing the ball in AAA. He needed more time but they reduced their roster options once he was on the 40. We need Rodriguez and Roden to get healthy.

[Patzky]

14 minutes ago, Hashim said:

Why not call up E-Rod instead of another journeyman has been? The Twins never change. 

He's hurt

[shimrod]

I'm surprised. Really thought the plan was to play the incumbents all season and recalibrate after the CBA is settled. 

Now perhaps that was and still is the plan but Wallner has been so bad he forced their hand. The elevation of Kreidler doesn't scream roster reset. 

[USAFChief]

14 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Exactly. I will never have any angst about a player who the Twins move on from after getting their chances and failing with Minnesota. Julien is one. I may be the only one but I never had any craze about the Twins moving on from David Ortiz. 

David Ortiz didnt fail in Minnesota. He was a good young hitter. 

[AceWrigley]

4 minutes ago, shimrod said:

I'm surprised. Really thought the plan was to play the incumbents all season and recalibrate after the CBA is settled. 

Now perhaps that was and still is the plan but Wallner has been so bad he forced their hand. The elevation of Kreidler doesn't scream roster reset. 

 

[Nshore]

8 minutes ago, krink said:

In my opinion, while Wallner's batting has been - obviously - atrocious, it's his fielding that's been the most frustrating. At bat, he's pretty par for the course for this team - unfortunately. But in the field, he shows no hustle. I can understand being frustrated that your doing poorly when you're hitting, but the one thing you can control is how hard you try in the field. And he doesn't seem interested in trying.

I agree 100%.  Classic case of taking hitting problems to the field.  He really seemed to dog it going after that ball in the gap that ended up being a triple yesterday.  That kind of thing is poison for a team.   Who knows, maybe that was the last straw.

[Whitey333]

E-Rod on injured list again!! Walker Jenkins on injured list again!! They are on the injured list more than they play.  So jow do you count on either of them if they can't stay on the field?

[amjgt]

I enjoyed the accompanying picture choice. 

[Sampson5]

Be one thing if wallner was going thru a slump at the plate but instead he's not only bad at the plate striking out over 40% of the time but the defense is some of the worst you've ever seen . Twins couldn't continue to play him at the mlb level shocked it took this long tbh figured he'd of been sent down weeks ago unfortunate that e rod is hurt would of felt so much better if he was the ball up I'd guess once he's healthy he will be the guy if Royce is the next guy demoted since then kriedler can play more at 3rd in that scenario even if Royce figures it out shouldn't be hard to get e rod up here once he's healthy  . Feels good to know that twins are serious and will send a former top prospect to the minors should be a wake up call for Royce that he's heading on this same path if he don't figure it out 

[amjgt]

18 minutes ago, AceWrigley said:

E-Rod is currently injured.

Currently about a week past the initial timeline for him to return. 

[Parfigliano]

18 minutes ago, AceWrigley said:

E-Rod is currently injured.

Chances are he still provides more then Wallner

[amjgt]

Kreidler being the choice does feel like a "Erod, you get back from the IL, show us a healthy week at AAA and we'll call you up" situation. 

[jmlease1]

31 minutes ago, Hashim said:

Why not call up E-Rod instead of another journeyman has been? The Twins never change. 

really showing how closely you're paying attention to the twins minor league system here.

[IndianaTwin]

42 minutes ago, c24 said:

I don't know what all the fuss is about. If you told Twins fans before the seasons started that Wallner was going to have a better average than Cal Raleigh 25% into the season we all would have been excited for that.

I'm also impressed with Josh Bell. He already has more steals this season than in the past seven years combined!

[Peter]

Had to be done! Shocked twins would do this as it means they are serious about winning/wallner played his last game as a twin.

[Trov]

It would be great to see if Wallner can find anything in his swing again, but at his age there is really no reason to keep giving him chances.  We have too much replacements for him that are younger.  I remember just a few years ago when we thought our future was Lewis, Wallner, Julien, and even possibly Miranda.  WOW how wrong we all were.  It shows you cannot count on prospects to always produce, and their early career numbers may be a mirage as pitchers adjust to the hitters, the hitters need to adjust to the pitchers, or they are doomed. 

[jmlease1]

I thought they would wait until Rodriguez was back and had some games under him to make the move; Kreidler is a low impact choice, but at least adds some utility in being right handed and his defensively ability around the diamond. Maybe Outman gets dumped once Emma is back on the field and gets a few games to show he's hitting again.

Twins are getting some decent offense even with Wallner being awful and getting nothing from outman, so maybe an improvement on defense and not exposing LH hitters as much will be a net benefit.

I hope a re-set gets Wallner going again. He's a streaky hitter, but the power is real and when he's locked in he gets on base and hits bombs, two things that produce runs.