Kirilloff’s service time going into 2023 was 1.141. He’s already accrued 30 more days of ML service time while on the IL, so he only needs about ten days more on the major league roster to pass two years of service time. If he is optioned on May 1, the service time accumulation will stop and 15-30 days in AAA would likely keep him from being arbitration-eligible this offseason. So long answer shorter— no sending him down certainly wouldn’t be about free agency and team control, but an option could benefit the Twins financially, by avoiding AK being classified as a Super 2, and arb eligible.