Updates on 3 former long-tenured Twins with their new teams in 2025
Right fielder Max Kepler
If you want to feel better about the Twins’ struggling offense, look at Max Kepler’s stats with the Philadelphia Phillies this year. He holds a .240/.337/.360 (95 OPS+) slash line with one home run and four RBI in 86 plate appearances.
It appears Kepler, 32, will never live up to the hype surrounding his name in his early days as a Twin. While he bounced back from below-average 2021 and 2022 seasons at the plate with a .260/.322/.484 (120 OPS+) slash line in 2023, his low bWAR of 1.0 last year and struggles this season suggest his major league career is on the nosedive.
Additionally, his defense has noticeably declined in the past few years, going from 10 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) in 2022 to 2 in 2023 and 0 in 2024.
For now, it looks like the Twins made the right decision in deciding to part ways with Kepler.
Second baseman Jorge Polanco
It made perfect sense when the Twins traded Polanco to the Seattle Mariners following the 2023 season. Edouard Julien looked to be an All-Star in the making, Royce Lewis appeared to be the Twins’ newest franchise player, and Brooks Lee was waiting to make an impact at the major league level. Long story short: the infield was crowded.
Flash forward to 2025, the Twins certainly could use Polanco’s bat in their lineup. In 60 plate appearances this year, Polanco holds a .339/.356/.589 (183 OPS+) slash line with four home runs and 13 RBI.
However, Polanco’s first season with the Mariners wasn’t great. In 118 games last year, the former Twins infielder hit .213/.296/.355 (93 OPS+) with 16 home runs and 45 RBI. As it did with the Twins, injuries have hindered Polanco’s ability to stay on the field consistently with the Mariners. He’s missed some time this season with a side injury and has mostly served as a designated hitter because of it. Still, he’s arguably been the Mariner’s best hitter this year.
Left-handed reliever Caleb Thielbar
It didn’t feel right when Thielbar, 38, left the Twins for the North Side of Chicago this past offseason, as the southpaw is a Minnesota native and spent his entire major league career with the Twins (2013-15, 2020-24) until this year.
In nine innings this season, Thielbar has posted a 4.00 ERA and 3.82 FIP, allowing seven walks and four hits while striking out seven.
Although it’s early in the season, it’s safe to say that the Twins are probably happy with their decision to let Thielbar walk and sign Danny Coulombe as their go-to lefty out of the bullpen.