Twins Must Change the Balance Between Luke Keaschall's Bat and His Glove

[Matthew Taylor]

Image courtesy of Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

Luke Keaschall has quickly become one of the more fascinating players on the Twins roster. There is a very clear reason to want him in the lineup, and an equally clear reason to wonder whether the team can actually afford to play him.

The good news is that Keaschall has continued to show that his rookie season was not a fluke. After posting a terrific 130 OPS+ during his rookie campaign, Keaschall got off to a slow start in 2026, but he's been much better at bat as the season has progressed. Since June 1, he's posted a .826 OPS, bringing his OPS+ for the full season to 108. Through 164 games as a Twin, Keaschall has shown that he can be a productive major-league hitter. Keaschall gets on base, and when he does, his speed can immediately become a problem for opposing teams. He has the ability to create value without hitting for a ton of power; there's plenty to like about what he brings to the Twins offensively.

The problem is that finding a place for that offense has become increasingly difficult, because of his defense. The issues initially surfaced at second base, where Keaschall played all of last season and began the 2026 campaign. It did not take long for the Twins to decide they were uncomfortable with him there. By the end of June, Minnesota had moved him off the position, and other than one emergency mid-game appearance in July, Keaschall has not returned to second base.

At this point, it's fair to assume that chapter of his career is closed. Over the last two seasons, Keaschall has accumulated -9 Outs Above Average at second base, and the Twins clearly do not believe the position is a viable long-term home for him.

When Keaschall moved to the outfield, the idea was that things would get better. His speed could become an asset, and playing in the outfield would seemingly allow him to use his athleticism without asking him to handle the responsibilities of the middle infield. That has not happened.

Since moving off second base, Keaschall has bounced between center field (filling in for Byron Buxton) and right field. He's struggled defensively in both spots. Defensive metrics are far from perfect, especially when a player has limited time at a position, but when multiple metrics are telling the same story, it becomes difficult to dismiss the numbers.

In just two months as an outfielder, Keaschall has posted -3 OAA and -3 DRS in center field and -2 OAA and -4 DRS in right field. Combined with his work at second base, his defensive metrics paint a pretty ugly picture. Keaschall currently ranks as the sixth-worst defender in baseball in terms of Outs Above Average this season.

Again, OAA is not a perfect statistic, and there is plenty of room to debate exactly how much weight should be placed on any individual defensive metric. But the numbers also match what has been visible on the field. Keaschall has looked overmatched at every defensive position he has played for the Twins. Moving him from second base to the outfield was supposed to solve the problem, but instead, it has created the same questions in a different part of the diamond.

That leaves the Twins with a very interesting problem. What do you do with a player who can clearly hit, but cannot seem to find a defensive position? The obvious answer is to put Keaschall in the outfield and live with the defense. The problem is that there may not be a natural opening for him, long-term. Byron Buxton is going to occupy one of those spots, and Walker Jenkins appears destined to occupy another once he inevitably debuts next season. That leaves one corner outfield spot for a Twins system that has plenty of options.

The Twins could give that spot to Keaschall and simply accept that they're going to sacrifice defense in order to keep his bat in the lineup. There's a precedent for teams doing exactly that. Players such as CJ Abrams and Junior Caminero have significant defensive shortcomings, but their offensive production is MVP-level and their teams live with those defensive problems. If Keaschall's bat develops to anywhere near that level, the defensive concerns become much easier to overlook. The question is whether Keaschall's bat is good enough to justify doing that, or can get anywhere close to it.

A 108 OPS+ is certainly useful. His OBP is exactly .400 since the start of May; that carries great value. But that's not necessarily the level of offensive production that makes a player with significant defensive deficiencies an obvious everyday player. If Keaschall is going to be a liability wherever he plays, the Twins need his offense to provide enough surplus value to make the tradeoff worthwhile.

There is also another possibility: designated hitter. A DH role would allow the Twins to put Keaschall's best skill on display without worrying about where to hide his glove. With Royce Lewis establishing himself at first base, that position does not appear to offer an obvious alternative. The DH spot may ultimately be the cleanest way to get Keaschall's bat into the lineup. But that comes with its own problem. A player who is going to occupy the designated hitter spot has to really hit. There's little value in carrying a full-time DH who is merely a good (as opposed to very good, or great) hitter, especially when the Twins could use that lineup spot to rotate players through the position or to keep another regular healthy.

For now, Keaschall's role is likely to stay the same, but it should be modified to tip the share of his contributions to the game from defense toward offense. Since July 1, he's batted second once and fifth once, but otherwise, he's slotted in sixth or lower in the batting order. That's the worst possible way to handle a bat-first player. If the team believes enough in what Keaschall has done at bat over the past three-plus months to keep him in the lineup, he should bat higher. Move him up three spots, and you raise the chances of him getting one extra plate appearance in a game by 33%. He also gets each of his at-bats earlier that way, so if you get a mid-game lead and want to switch to a defensive mode, you can lift Keaschall after (say) three plate appearances in six innings, rather than only getting two from him by then or needing to play him an extra frame or two in the field to get a third.

This question becomes even more pertinent as we look to the future, though. Do they put him in the third outfield spot next season and simply accept the defensive shortcomings in hopes that his offense can outweigh them, withholding someone like Emmanuel Rodriguez in the meantime? Do they move him into a full-time DH role and bet on his bat taking another step forward? Or is there another solution the Twins should explore?

Keaschall has proven that he can be a productive major-league hitter. Now, the Twins have to figure out how to get the most out of that production without allowing his defense to overwhelm everything else he brings to the table.

---

What do you think the Twins should do with Luke Keaschall? Let us know in the comments.

View full article

[DJL44]

Keaschall has the same athletic tools as Austin Martin. He should be able to become an adequate left fielder. The Twins need to find a new team for Larnach and let Bell leave as a free agent. That will give them enough room to play their many outfield prospects next season.

[DJL44]

“There's little value in carrying a full-time DH who is merely a good (as opposed to very good, or great) hitter”

This is why Bell needs to go.

[Riverbrian]

Keaschall, Lewis and Bell are the only players hitting in the past 15 days while we are mid pack in team offense during that time period. 

During that same past 15 days our pitching ranks 29th. It can be assumed that defense would play some role in that.  

Our record in those past 15 days is 4-9.

You will lose offense improving defense. I'm not sure that's a fair trade. 

 

 

[thelanges5]

This is a great example of why you shouldn’t learn a new position during a season. One has to hope that an off-season of work will get him ready for life in the outfield. Keaschall in left, Buck in center, Jenkins in right, and Emma as the 4th OF would be better defensively than this year's unit. 

[PuckettPond]

This time next year he will be an above average outfielder with a great bat. He needs patience from Twin fans. Buxton's constant injuries forcing him to be in CF when not ready. We need Luke as Buxton will play less than 50% next year because of self induced injuries caused by poor technique & playing out of control.

 

 

[Coach Wheels]

47 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Keaschall has the same athletic tools as Austin Martin. He should be able to become an adequate left fielder. The Twins need to find a new team for Larnach and let Bell leave as a free agent. That will give them enough room to play their many outfield prospects next season.

Agree; you want Larnach or Keaschall as your LF, that's the question for the organization. 

We could also start a healthy list of the number of Twins right now who have no position and figure out what they look like defensively in 2027.

[Teflon]

Or the Twins could keep him on the back diamond for all of next spring training and rigorously coach him up like in the TK days.

[Patzky]

32 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

This is a great example of why you shouldn’t learn a new position. During a season. One has to hope that an off-season of work will get him ready for life in the outfield. Keaschall in left, Buck in center, Jenkins in right, and Emma as the 4th OF would be better defensively than this year's unit. 

Royce was right. 😁

[JD-TWINS]

He cannot throw ….. playing Luke in RF is a glaring show of the Team’s lack of real options.

Martin wasn’t great/good in his transition from the dirt to the OF 2-3 seasons ago - he’s at least adequate now. Keaschall should be able to transition to LF with a bit of off-season work and the all of Spring Training. He won’t be good but he’ll at least approach adequate.

He may need to take a sedative before the game to ever be worthwhile on defense? He’s way overcharged everywhere he plays!

The strong desire from 80% or so of the regulars here at TD to think that getting Larnach off the roster is a must…….I don’t get it from a baseball view. Being bored with Trevor is understandable. Moving him so “we can see if some prospect can hit 🤞” makes no sense to me. Being excited about the “potential promise” of prospects I get, from an emotional perspective. Rationally though, Larnach was a #1 pick, highly touted, out of college. He struggled with some injuries and it’s been determined he shouldn’t hit v. LH pitching with any regularity. He’s had 2 good years in a row when platooned (‘24 & ‘26). He too was a great prospect …… until reality set in and it took parts of 3 seasons to get to his ‘24 level. He’s easily as good in LF now than Keaschall may ever be. ……. Be careful what you wish for is my point ……. change for change sake, is that the best course of action? He’s perfect for Platoon at DH v. RH pitching with Keaschall or Buxton or Gonzalez …….or whoever, being the RH side of the platoon.

Buxton is going to miss 25% of the season with injuries, at a minimum, forever. Jeffers is gone. Larnach, with Buxton out, is the best hitter on the Team v. RH pitching (70-75% of pitchers)…….He strikes out much less - his OBP is up…….yes, his salary might be $7-$8M going forward? That’s what Caratini makes - Bell makes - in other words a pretty affordable salary for an above average hitter, without question.

There’s still room for Keaschall - Jenkins - Rodriguez - Buxton - Martin………whoever deserves a spot on the 26 man.

[tony&rodney]

How many DH players will the Twins use in the field? Right now, with consideration that it is too early to judge KC at SS, the Twins are below average at every single defensive position. The manager has to play someone at each position and the changes made this year actually improved the defense. The changes do not obscure the current reality. I do think that both Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis are growing into their positions. This winter a few hard choices will need to be made concerning the outfield. It isn't likely that the Twins drastically improve their defense but some change is needed to give the pitchers a chance. 

What to do with Luke Keaschall could be an interesting offseason topic.

[djvang]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

He cannot throw ….. playing Luke in RF is a glaring show of the Team’s lack of real options.

Martin wasn’t great/good in his transition from the dirt to the OF 2-3 seasons ago - he’s at least adequate now. Keaschall should be able to transition to LF with a bit of off-season work and the all of Spring Training. He won’t be good but he’ll at least approach adequate.

He may need to take a sedative before the game to ever be worthwhile on defense? He’s way overcharged everywhere he plays!

The strong desire from 80% or so of the regulars here at TD to think that getting Larnach off the roster is a must…….I don’t get it from a baseball view. Being bored with Trevor is understandable. Moving him so “we can see if some prospect can hit 🤞” makes no sense to me. Being excited about the “potential promise” of prospects I get, from an emotional perspective. Rationally though, Larnach was a #1 pick, highly touted, out of college. He struggled with some injuries and it’s been determined he shouldn’t hit v. LH pitching with any regularity. He’s had 2 good years in a row when platooned (‘24 & ‘26). He too was a great prospect …… until reality set in and it took parts of 3 seasons to get to his ‘24 level. He’s easily as good in LF now than Keaschall may ever be. ……. Be careful what you wish for is my point ……. change for change sake, is that the best course of action? He’s perfect for Platoon at DH v. RH pitching with Keaschall or Buxton or Gonzalez …….or whoever, being the RH side of the platoon.

Buxton is going to miss 25% of the season with injuries, at a minimum, forever. Jeffers is gone. Larnach, with Buxton out, is the best hitter on the Team v. RH pitching (70-75% of pitchers)…….He strikes out much less - his OBP is up…….yes, his salary might be $7-$8M going forward? That’s what Caratini makes - Bell makes - in other words a pretty affordable salary for an above average hitter, without question.

There’s still room for Keaschall - Jenkins - Rodriguez - Buxton - Martin………whoever deserves a spot on the 26 man.

Keaschall's weak arm is the big problem. They can work with him on other aspects of playing the outfield but there's not much you can do about his arm. He's got this weird almost sidearm motion that I don't think he can do anything about. That's just his natural throwing style.

I would keep Larnach. He's become a decent LF. I wonder why they don't try him in RF and put Keaschall in LF where his arm wouldn't be such a liability.

As for Buxton, he can't be counted on as anything more than a part-time player. He's only played over 100 games 3 times in his 12 year career.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

His only legitimate spot is 2nd base.  His lack of an arm is a bigger detriment in the outfield.    Either that or he better get the 1st base mitt.  

[shimrod]

"In just two months as an outfielder,..."

Says it all. If he's still a bad defender after an offseason of outfield focused work we can revisit this. 

[NYCTK]

48 minutes ago, Teflon said:

Or the Twins could keep him on the back diamond for all of next spring training and rigorously coach him up like in the TK days.

This might be a generational divide, and I don't mean to downplay his contribution to the '87 and '91 teams, but this extreme reverence towards Tom Kelly ignores his last 9 seasons as manager where they averaged 72 wins. So, I don't know that all that rigorous coaching had as much ROI as people here want to claim. 

Is he to blame why those teams were so bad? Not exactly, but I don't seem to remember those mid to late 90s Twins teams as exemplary in how to play the game the right way. 

[bean5302]

Approximate wRC+/OPS+ generally needed to be able to start and not be a position where an MLB team is actively interested in upgrading.

DH = 120
1B = 115
LF/RF = 110
CF/2B/3B = 105
SS = 100
C = 95

[Chad93]

keaschall looks like he spent 99 percent of the time just hitting and about 1 percent putting on a glove looks lost in the outfield and infield 

[Cris E]

54 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

This might be a generational divide, and I don't mean to downplay his contribution to the '87 and '91 teams, but this extreme reverence towards Tom Kelly ignores his last 9 seasons as manager where they averaged 72 wins. So, I don't know that all that rigorous coaching had as much ROI as people here want to claim. 

Is he to blame why those teams were so bad? Not exactly, but I don't seem to remember those mid to late 90s Twins teams as exemplary in how to play the game the right way. 

TK's teams did play the right way, but those teams were pretty much just playing to the top of their abilities, and that's not meant as a compliment.  Those were some bad teams but it was rooted in the roster work over the winter, not in the coaching in spring training or during the season. I did like a lot of what Kelly did, but I'd be the first to admit that times have changed and I'm not sure he could succeed like that today.

But I am convinced that no one would have won much more with this roster, Matt Walbeck's 275 games with a 47 ops+ (SERIOUSLY: 1000AB of .571 OPS at the height of the steroid-fueled massive offense early 90s), Pat Meares at SS forever (2600Ab of 76 OPS+), Brad Radke followed by no one with Eddie G appearing 120 times a season followed by no one, sliding Aguilera from rotation to pen looking for some edge, then letting him start again when no one else would and being rewarded with a 6 ERA. Just some terrible baseball teams.

 

[Jacksson]

Develop the outfield defensive skills of: Keaschall, Martin, Larnach.  Work them EVERY DAY IN PRACTICE. In the offseason give them drills to perform.  In Spring Training, EXTRA work on outfield defense EVERY SINGLE DAY.  If defensive ability proves to just not be there, you have no choice but to trade one or all of them.  There is no room on a low spending team for a litany of players who are unable to contribute both on offense and defense.  A complete review of the organization's minor leagues needs to be undertaken to identify players with defensive/positional shortcomings.  If extra/intensive work fails to develop those skills, the players need to be jettisoned from the organization.  There are only so many organizational resources, time and money that can be invested in players WITHOUT a path to a viable, MLB performance level defensive position.  Further, the scouting and drafting arms of the organization need to be put on notice that players WITHOUT the natural instincts and physical skills to perform, at the very least adequately at a defensive position are to be discouraged from being brought into the organization in the first place.

[DJL44]

5 minutes ago, Jacksson said:

Develop the outfield defensive skills of: Keaschall, Martin, Larnach.  Work them EVERY DAY IN PRACTICE. In the offseason give them drills to perform.  In Spring Training, EXTRA work on outfield defense EVERY SINGLE DAY.  If defensive ability proves to just not be there, you have no choice but to trade one or all of them.  There is no room on a low spending team for a litany of players who are unable to contribute both on offense and defense.  A complete review of the organization's minor leagues needs to be undertaken to identify players with defensive/positional shortcomings.  If extra/intensive work fails to develop those skills, the players need to be jettisoned from the organization.  There are only so many organizational resources, time and money that can be invested in players WITHOUT a path to a viable, MLB performance level defensive position.  Further, the scouting and drafting arms of the organization need to be put on notice that players WITHOUT the natural instincts and physical skills to perform, at the very least adequately at a defensive position are to be discouraged from being brought into the organization in the first place.

What a brilliant suggestion. Practices. I don’t know why nobody thought of that before.

What do you think the team does every day before the game begins. Do you think they’re sitting in the clubhouse playing PlayStation?

[FlyingFinn]

Keaschall must hit in order to stay in MLB, and he is. Right now, he is a DH (yet another one). He needs to work on being an adequate left fielder because that's the only OF position his arm will allow. And that play yesterday where he turned a single into a triple wasn't good. It was terrible judgment. The ball wasn't really that close to the wall to bounce out to where he was standing.

This is another reason many of us are high on both Jenkins and E-Rod (okay, maybe not so many are as high on E-Rod anymore). They can actually play defense. This will help our pitching. 

 

[Cris E]

Regarding Martin, he did have to move off 2B to the outfield, but he was in the minors and spring training for a lot of the transition. LK has hit so much better that he hasn't been allowed that luxury and people seem to have forgotten how young he is. Honestly if he'd been left at 2B his defense there might have improved by now, but it's beyond question that changing mid-season has put him at a huge disadvantage in 2026.  Major props to him for keeping his fielding out of his hitting while he wrestled this thing to the ground. 

I fear that Keaschall might be one of the individuals most affected by any lockout in 2027, as he needs time with coaches this winter more than most. Seriously, a productive few months where he learned OF properly plus a hot first half could make him an all-star.  

One other thing: I expect Buxton to begin transitioning to RF in 2027-28 as the young CF get established. He's a got a cannon arm, the running around is lessened and honestly CF is a young man's game. 

[GNess]

The defensive struggles of Keaschall are on the  entire organization (Keaschall included). The Twins went into the season fully aware of LK's shortcomings at 2B and started him there regardless. Then they shifted him to the OF and on top of that placed him in CF, which is the most difficult to play.

His bat shows good promise and has value. The Twins need to develop a higher standard defensively for all players in the system so they aren't facing these decisions of how to keep promising hitters in the lineup.

This is also why I don't accept the argument that Jenkins is being blocked by such an array of defensively-challenged OFers including Keaschall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[saviking]

Right field at Target field with all the challenges of judging where to play fly balls is probably the hardest assignment they could have given him. 

I would make more sense to play let's say E-Rods position in left field next year against left handed pitching and then rotate him at DH as necessary. More like a handyman than a utility player and somewhat of a back up like say Roden .. 

[ashbury]

Josh Bell: .735 OPS.

Luke Keaschall: .734 OPS.

Lefty/righty, Bell is .730/.737

Lefty/right, Keaschall is .733/.735.

Neither player can help you win games with the glove.

One of these players is redundant at DH.  For me it's the guy earning $5.75M, plus the $1.25M buyout to not have to have him exercise his option for next year.