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Wallner is slashing .288/.358/.598 with 11 home runs and two stolen bases over 148 plate appearances at Triple-A St. Paul since the Twins demoted him to the minors May 14.
Like Royce Lewis before him, Wallner could be the next member of the Twins' Opening Day lineup to overcome a disappointing start to the season and earn his way back to the big leagues by raking at Triple-A. The Twins sent Wallner to the minors after he produced a weak .551 OPS with a 39.3 percent strikeout rate over 34 games with the big club, and though he initially struggled to get going at the plate during his first two weeks at Triple-A, he's caught fire since the calendar flipped to June. While he's still struck out at a 27.8 percent clip through 17 games this month, Wallner has rediscovered his power stroke, slugging 10 home runs en route to producing a .342/.392/.808 slash line. The Twins don't have an obvious opening for Wallner in their everyday lineup at the moment, but he could be the next player in line for a call-up if the big club loses a player to the injured list.
The Twins optioned Wallner to Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
Wallner has looked lost at the plate all season, slashing just .167/.259/.292 with a 39.3 percent strikeout rate. He had his second straight golden sombrero in Wednesday's loss to the Marlins, which was evidently the final straw. Austin Martin will likely be Minnesota's regular right fielder while Wallner works on his swing at St. Paul.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Giving way to Martin on Sunday
Rotowire
Wallner is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.
After striking out four times in Saturday's 2-1 win, Wallner will hit the bench for the series finale. He'd started the previous four games but still looks to be stuck in a timeshare in right field with Austin Martin, who will occupy the position Sunday. The 28-year-old Wallner has gotten off to a wretched start to 2026, slashing just .172/.267/.302 while striking out at a 37.4 percent clip over 131 plate appearances.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Playing time continues to dwindle
Rotowire
Wallner is absent from the lineup for Friday's game versus the Blue Jays.
The left-handed-hitting Wallner not starting Friday against southpaw Patrick Corbin isn't a surprise, but it's the third time in the last four games that he's been out of the lineup, and the first two occasions came versus righties. Austin Martin is starting in right field Friday and might have leapfrogged Wallner as the preferred option at the position. Wallner is sporting a .559 OPS and an ugly 37.6 percent strikeout rate this season.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Idle Thursday
Rotowire
Wallner isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Blue Jays.
After going 0-for-6 with four strikeouts and a walk during Minnesota's last series against Seattle, Wallner will step out of the lineup Thursday while Austin Martin starts in right field for the Twins.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Not in Minnesota lineup
Rotowire
Wallner is absent from the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mariners.
Wallner had started the last four contests, but this is the third time over the last nine games versus right-handed pitching that the lefty-swinger has been out of the lineup. He's sporting a .564 OPS and 36.8 percent strikeout rate in 106 plate appearances this season. Austin Martin is in right field and batting third Tuesday.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Absent from lineup
Rotowire
Wallner is out of the lineup for Thursday's contest against the Mets.
It's just the second time this season that the lefty-swinging Wallner has been out of the lineup versus a righty, but both of those instances have come among the last five games. Wallner is slashing only .190/.281/.329 with a 40.4 percent strikeout rate this season and could be at risk of losing additional playing time if he's unable to snap out of his funk. Austin Martin is playing right field and batting sixth for the Twins on Thursday.
Wallner is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.
Wallner will take a seat for the second straight day, this time against a right-handed starter (Brady Singer) after he had been out of the lineup for Saturday's 5-4 loss while southpaw Andrew Abbott opened the game for the Reds. James Outman will fill in as the Twins' starting right fielder in place of Wallner, who still appears to be locked into a full-time role despite slashing a meager .181/.272/.333 with three home runs and six RBI over 81 plate appearances to begin the season.
Wallner is expected to play everyday in right field and won't sit against left-handed pitchers early in the season, according to manager Derek Shelton via Matthew Leach of MLB.com.
Wallner has had problems against left-handed pitching (career .641 OPS against LHP), so this is a good sign for his playing time. He did improve to a .790 OPS vs. LHP last season. Wallner reduced his problematic strikeout rate below 30 percent for the first time in his career (29.1 percent) last season and had the best contact rate of his career (66.1 percent), so there are promising signs he could have a breakout season despite posting just a .775 OPS last year.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Solid start to spring
Rotowire
Wallner went 2-for-3 in Friday's Grapefruit League loss to Boston. He's hitting .290 (9-for-31) with a home run this spring.
It's reassuring to see Wallner having a good spring as a terrible spring in 2024 resulted in a slow start to the regular season and an early demotion to the minors. Wallner looks set to start in right field and could have a breakout season after some bad luck last year. Wallner reduced his problematic strikeout rate below 30 percent for the first time in his career (29.1%) and had the best contact rate of his career (66.1%), but he had just a .775 OPS, with a .228 BABIP likely playing a factor.
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