Red-hot Kyle Farmer 'thankful' Twins kept him around this season

Farmer thought about the possibility of being DFA'd 'a few times.'

Minnesota Twins second baseman Kyle Farmer (12) throws to first base for an out against the Los Angeles Angels in the second inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on Sept. 9, 2024. / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

There’s no better time to get hot from the plate than in the month of September when the season is winding down, and that’s exactly when Kyle Farmer has been heating up for the Minnesota Twins.

Farmer has easily hit his best stretch of the season this month, slashing .438/1.000/1.471 across nine games in September entering Wednesday's series finale against the Los Angeles Angels. Three of Farmer's five homers this season have come in September, and he also has five RBIs this month.

Two of those homers have come in the last two games, including a three-run shot in Tuesday’s win over the Angels that sparked the Twins offense early on a way to a 10-hit, 10-run game. It was all good vibes for Farmer and the Twins Tuesday night, in which the rally sausage made a reappearance.

But it hasn't been all good vibes for Farmer this season. He struggled out of the gates, taking eight games to record his first hit. His first home run didn't come until August. Excluding March, Farmer's batting average has dipped below .200 in two of the six months of the season. Until the September hot stretch, Farmer's .250 batting average in June was his best-hitting stretch of the season.

Overall this year, Farmer is slashing .212/.363/.659 with five homers and 25 RBIs. 

“Yeah, I made some adjustments, but it’s a streaky game,” Farmer said. “I’ve told all these guys, you just got to keep going, face it head on because I’ve had a really crappy three quarters of the season, worst of my career. … I’m just thankful they’ve kept me around, keep giving me shots.” 

Farmer wasn’t always sure that would be the case despite playing on a one-year, $6.3 million deal.

“I mean, you look at all the guys that are getting DFA’d around the league, I’m not going to lie, yeah, I’ve thought about it a few times. Everybody does,” Farmer said. 

Whether that was something the Twins were thinking about at any point might be a different story. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has been very complimentary of Farmer throughout the season and said the value of the character Farmer brings to the clubhouse is something you can't put a price on.

“It’s like, ‘Well what does Farm do every day when he shows up?’ Well for a lot of people in that clubhouse, everything,” Baldelli said. “He’s the guy that they go to for conversation, for help, for a laugh and then also when you want to get something done on the field, he gets it done on the field, too. And so he’s truly a baseball player in every way.” 

Farmer has certainly been getting it done on the field in September. Farmer was thankful the Twins kept him around, and the Twins certainly have to be grateful they did, too. It was clearly the right call.