Twins Option Matt Wallner

"It's the first time in more than two years that Wallner has been optioned. He's been Minnesota's Opening Day right fielder in each of the past two seasons and has handled the lion's share of the playing time at the position along the way (though he's frequently been platooned). Wallner has 70-grade power from the left side of the plate but strikes out far too frequently to take full advantage of it."

"From 2023-25, Wallner turned in a hearty .231/.345/.493 batting line with 49 homers in 907 plate appearances. He walked at a 10.8% clip but struck out in 31.9% of his plate appearances. The Minnesota native (Forest Lake) averaged just under 92 mph off the bat with a hard-hit rate just over 48%. He's not a very good defender, but the slug-heavy approach was potent enough to make him worth about five wins above replacement in 255 games, per both FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference."

"The 2026 season has been a disaster, however. Wallner has appeared in 33 games and posted a .167/.259/.292 slash. His already-high strikeout rate has exploded to 39.3%. His walk rate has dropped to a career-low 7.4%. Over the past month, Wallner has just seven hits in 67 trips to the plate (58 official at-bats), and he hasn't impacted the ball when he does manage to make contact."

"He's averaging just 88.4 mph off the bat this season, and over the past 30 days that number is all the way down to 85.4 mph. His 28.6% hard-hit rate in that span ranks 221st among the 250 players who've taken at least 60 plate appearances - not exactly what a team wants from a slugging, power-over-hit corner outfielder who needs plenty of extra-base hits to offset substandard glovework."

Matt Wallner was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul along with Travis Adams, while Ryan Kreidler and Zebby Matthews were recalled. Wallner had been Minnesota’s Opening Day right fielder for two straight seasons and handled most playing time there, often in platoon roles. He has shown left-handed power, with past production from 2023-25 including 49 home runs and a .231/.345/.493 line, though strikeouts were frequent. In 2026, his performance has dropped sharply to a .167/.259/.292 slash, with strikeouts rising to 39.3% and walks falling to 7.4%. His recent contact quality and hard-hit rate have also declined, reducing his value as a power corner outfielder.

Read at MLB Trade Rumors