Twins mercifully demote Alex Kirilloff to Triple-A amid a brutal offensive slump
No corresponding move was announced.
For just the third time since 1961, the Minnesota Twins had every single batter record an RBI in Wednesday's win over the Colorado Rockies.
Alex Kirilloff was not among them, and he's not going to get a chance to record another MLB stat for a little while. Following the win over Colorado, the Twins optioned Kirilloff to Triple-A St. Paul, a move that ends what has been a brutal stretch for him as of late.
It's been a pretty hard fall from grace for Kirilloff, who started the season out hot and seemingly couldn't stop hitting triples. His surge to start the year was a much needed boost at a time when the Twins offense was generally struggling, but he soon fell into that same pit.
Twins option Alex Kirilloff to Triple-A after falling into a 2-for-21 slump
No official word from the #MNTwins yet, but looks like they optioned Alex Kirilloff to Triple-A.
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) June 13, 2024
Kirilloff has hit .165 in his last 50 games, including .143 since May 1 and .095 in June.
He joins Matt Wallner and Edouard Julien as season-opening regulars demoted to the minors. pic.twitter.com/lu6Jily8WT
Kirilloff heads to St. Paul hitting .201/.270/.384 with a -0.4 WAR. That's a far cry from how he started the season, as he was slashing .444/.450/.667 through the first two series of the year -- something that ended up being more of a tease than an indication that he'd figured things out.
There was some talk of him potentially getting sent down when Royce Lewis returned from the IL but Edouard Julien was ultimately optioned instead.
Among the young Twins hitters who have made an impact this season, Kirilloff is the outlier. Jose Miranda has completely turned things around, Trevor Larnach is hitting well, and even Matt Wallner is starting to turn it on with the Saints.
There's a chance that we see Wallner return to the MLB roster as the corresponding move, but Austin Martin might jump ahead of him in line. No corresponding move was announced, but the Twins will be plucking someone from St. Paul who is already on the 40-man roster -- which means don't expect Emmanuel Rodriguez or Brooks Lee to get called up.
E-Rod is currently injured for Double-A Wichita while Lee is still working his way back after battling a herniated disc to start the year. Martin has already been called up twice and could help fill a need if Manuel Margot keeps struggling and loses playing time, and it could be a case of the third time being the charm for him.
No matter what happens, Kirilloff is out of the picture for now and hopefully can find his swing again in the minors.
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