How long before the Twins pull the plug on Max Kepler for Matt Wallner?
Four years ago, Twins outfielder Max Kepler slashed .252/.336/.519 with 36 homers, 32 doubles and 90 RBI. That was the year of the Bomba Squad and as the Twins took advantage of supercharged baseballs and smashed an MLB single-season record 307 home runs.
Since then, Kepler has fallen off the face of the earth. He's played 314 games and slashed a miserable .218/.310/.393 while producing 43 homers, 53 doubles and 134 RBI. He hasn't been good at the plate and there are no signs of him returning to the form that had some comparing him to former Brewers MVP Christian Yelich.
Still, when Kepler was ready to come off the injured list the Twins cleared a path for him to return to the starting lineup. Clearing the path meant sending outfielder Matt Wallner back to Triple-A St. Paul even though Wallner had reached base safely in eight straight plate appearances in two starts against the Blue Jays last weekend.
Remember, Wallner was called up last Friday after playing earlier that day for the Saints. In his two starts, he homered, ripped five singles and walked twice. Kepler since returning is 0-for-9 with four strikeouts.
Wallner kept ripping in his first game back with the Saints on Tuesday by going 3-for-5 with a homer, triple and a double.
Matt Wallner double
— Tom Froemming (@TFTwins) May 31, 2023
Matt Wallner triple
Matt Wallner home run pic.twitter.com/ppV3hDw11S
"He has had a really good run of ABs," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said after sending Wallner down on Sunday. "He's swinging the bat great. He's playing very confidently. He's swinging at good pitches. He can do some damage. I couldn't have been happier with what I've seen from him."
Wallner's hot bat is exactly what a Twins lineup that has scored three or fewer runs in 13 of 26 games in May needs. Kepler is a veteran who has earned respect, but how long can Baldelli and the Twins keep him in the lineup?
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.