The Minnesota Twins made their September call-ups official on Tuesday morning, promoting utilityman Ben Ross and right-hander Garrett Acton from Triple-A St. Paul. But as Twins fans once again ask themselves “Who is this guy?” in a season filled with players fit for the Immaculate Grid, they may also be wondering what happened to Matt Wallner.
The 28-year-old once looked like a future cornerstone in the Twins’ outfield but his start to the 2026 season gave him a one-way ticket to St. Paul. Wallner has responded by breaking the Saints’ single-season home run record with 24 bombs entering Tuesday’s series opener against the Omaha Storm Chasers, but it still feels like his days with Minnesota are numbered after Tuesday’s call-ups.
Matt Wallner’s decline has earned him a one-way ticket to the minors
This is surprising considering the start of Wallner’s major league career. The 39th overall pick of the 2016 draft, Wallner made his major league debut during the 2022 season and broke out in 2023, hitting .249/.370/.507 with 14 homers and 41 RBI. He recovered from a slow start the following year to hit .259/.372/.523 with 13 homers and 37 RBI and his overall line of .251/.366/.500 with 29 homers and 88 RBI over his first three seasons (169 games) signaled a bright future.
But things deteriorated as Major League pitchers adjusted to Wallner’s game. An aggressive swinger, Wallner’s strikeout rate was in the 20s including a 36.4 percent rate during the 2024 season according to Baseball Savant. While he dropped it to 29.1 percent in 2025, that rate was still in the bottom sixth percentile of qualifying hitters and jumped back up to 39.3 percent this season.
An even bigger problem was the holes in Wallner’s swing. His 35.5 percent whiff rate was the highest in the majors last season and the issue got worse this year when he logged a 44 percent whiff rate in 135 plate appearances.
These flaws sent Wallner’s production spiraling, hitting .193/298/.419 with 26 homers and 50 RBI in his last 138 major league games including a .167/.259/.292 batter’s line with four homers and 10 RBI in 34 games, but his offense was only part of the problem.
Baseball Savant also noted that Wallner’s sprint speed has dropped from 28.3 feet per second during his cup of coffee in 2022 to 26.0 feet per second this season. His fielding has also been in regression with a career-low minus-8 in defensive runs saved last season and a minus-3 before his demotion this season, which has his future with the Twins in question.
Matt Wallner’s days with the Twins are numbered
Judging by how this season has gone, the Twins seem to have moved on. Luke Keaschall was moved to right field after Wallner’s demotion and while he has issues defensively, the Twins seem motivated to keep him there. Recent promotions have also suggested that Wallner isn’t returning soon as Alan Roden, Walker Jenkins and Gabriel Gonzalez have all reached the majors since Wallner was sent to St. Paul.
The Twins even promoted Kyler Fedko, who was designated for assignment on Tuesday, over Wallner at one point and instead of calling up Wallner for the stretch run, the Twins opted for Ross, a 25-year-old utilityman who has a career line of .236/.325/.413 in five seasons in the minors (499 games).
For a team struggling to score runs in the second half, it should raise eyebrows that the Twins didn’t even give Wallner a chance to fix his problems in the majors. Even if they still exist, his raw power could have made an impact down the stretch but is being kept in St. Paul.
With that, it feels like the end is near. The Twins are in need of pitching and while Wallner has flaws, he could be appealing for a team looking for power. Set to turn 29 in December, he’s young enough to be a multi-year solution and it could be enough to add depth to the starting rotation or add a promising reliever as the Twins prepare for the 2027 season.
It would be a fall from grace if Wallner is sent packing. But it feels inevitable after the Twins passed him over in Tuesday’s call-ups.
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