Minnesota Twins fans hoping for any kernal of good news were gifted with exactly that on Thursday afternoon.
It's been a grim first few weeks of the season, as the Twins fell to 6-11 after getting swept by the Baltimore Orioles. This came after Minnesota looked to be bouncing back with a doubleheader sweep of Detroit but that already feels like ages ago at this point.
What feels like even longer was when Max Kepler hurt himself on Opening Day, something that eventually landed him on the IL. Kepler fouled a pitch off his knee in that first game, and while he tried to battle through over the next week it turned out he was more injured than we all initially thought.
Kepler's stint on the IL is almost up, and word that he's starting a rehab assignment is the best news Twins fans have heard in days.
Max Kepler takes a huge step forward in returning to Twins lineup
On Thursday the Twins announced that Kepler was progressing well and would be added to the St. Paul Saints lineup to continue his rehab assignment. He's still easing back into things and will serve as DH, but he's slated to hit second in the order for St. Paul which will give us all a good look at how close he is to returning.
Max Kepler has been added to the Triple-A St. Paul roster for his rehab assignment as expected.
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) April 18, 2024
Kepler will need to rehab more than just his knee with the Saints. He was slashing a miserable .050/.095./.050 with just a single hit in 21 at-bats. Hopefully that was just the knee injury holding him back and not a sign of Kepler slumping just as bad as the rest of the Twins' bats are right now.
Minnesota is colelctively hitting .195 as a team, which is historically bad. It's the second-lowest team average through the first seventeen games of the season in half a century, and is the main reason the Twins can't seem to muster up any momentum.
Kepler will be joining Matt Wallner in St. Paul, who was sent down for poor performance which could be the first glimmer of hope fans have had all season. If Kepler and Wallner can get right again at the plate, they'll rejoin the MLB roster as much-needed offensive sparks.
At this point, things are so bad that it might be the best way to get something going.
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