The Minnesota Twins finally called up Aaron Sabato on Monday in a move that was years in the making. A first-round pick by the Twins in the 2020 draft, Sabato’s call-up is an interesting development that could help him win a spot on next year’s roster. But it also speaks volumes about the way the team feels about Matt Wallner.
Wallner began the year as the Twins’ everyday right fielder, but he was demoted to Triple-A St. Paul after hitting .167/.259/.292 with four homers and 10 RBI over 34 games. Wallner has since performed well for the Saints, hitting .254/.366/.520 with 25 homers and 75 RBI over 94 games. But even as the Twins fell out of playoff contention over the weekend, they haven’t felt the need to call up Wallner and see if things have changed, likely meaning his departure from the organization will become official this winter.
The Twins may have quietly made a decision on Matt Wallner
The Twins are right to take a look at Sabato. The North Carolina product has worked his way through the minor leagues over the past six seasons and has a similar stat line to Wallner, hitting .273/.349/.528 with 25 homers and 75 RBI over 113 games this season. With Josh Bell a free agent, Victor Caratini likely spending more time at catcher if Ryan Jeffers leaves in free agency and Royce Lewis possibly becoming trade bait this offseason, Sabato could be competing for a spot on next year’s roster if he has a solid one-week trial in the majors.
But you could also argue that spot could belong to Wallner. The 28-year-old has brought plenty of power during his career and he’s done it at the major league level with 55 home runs in 307 career games. His .794 OPS also could play well if he has everything going, but that’s been the story of his career so far.
In addition to the 33.2% career strikeout rate, Wallner has become a guess hitter at the plate, logging a 31.6 chase rate in the majors this season according to Baseball Savant. While it was a small sample size, Wallner also had a 44 percent whiff rate and 39.3 percent strikeout rate this season and those issues haven’t improved in the minors while his speed and fielding have also declined.
This is probably the reason the Twins didn’t call Wallner up while Alan Roden, Austin Martin and the rest of the Twins’ lineup struggled after the trade deadline. It’s also why top prospects such as Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Gabriel Gonzalez have also gotten the call while Wallner has remained in St. Paul.
It's also worth noting that Sabato has performed well enough for a call-up, but the Twins haven't pulled the trigger. Instead, the Twins tried to turn Lewis into a first baseman after spending his career on the left side of the diamond and it took until the final week of the regular season to finally give him a look.
In each of those cases, it made sense as the Twins kept an eye on the future. But calling up the Twins’ version of Crash Davis sounds even more alarm bells and should have fans questioning Wallner’s future going forward.
Matt Wallner is likely on his way out of Minnesota this winter
The Twins outfield could endure a shakeup this offseason and you could argue that it would be beneficial for Wallner. Minnesota already tried to trade Trevor Larnach at the trade deadline and may try to do it again this winter and Keaschall may not be a full-time outfielder after his struggles on defense this season.
Still, the Twins have several players who can get the job done. Byron Buxton will likely take a spot when he returns from hip surgery and Jenkins and Rodriguez should take the other spots whenever the season begins.
While Wallner could be a designated hitter or entertain a move to first base, it’s become clear the Twins have no interest in that idea. With other teams likely looking for power in their lineup, Wallner could become a trade chip, albeit one that the Twins would be selling for pennies on the dollar.
With almost 1,000 at-bats in the majors, there’s a good chance that the player Wallner has been is the player he always will be and the decision to promote Sabato over him in the last week of the year, shows his days in Minnesota are numbered.
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