Headlines

  • Rays Acquire Nick Fortes From Marlins
  • Ryne Sandberg Passes Away
  • Brewers Have Interest In Ryan O’Hearn
  • Brewers Acquire Danny Jansen
  • 4 More Days To Lock In Savings On Trade Rumors Front Office
  • Dodgers To Promote Alex Freeland
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Twins Notes: Keaschall, Wallner, Lewis, Jeffers

By Steve Adams | April 29, 2025 at 11:25am CDT

Top prospect Luke Keaschall provided a spark to a listless Twins lineup upon his initial call to the majors. The 2023 second-rounder has done nothing but hit since moving from Arizona State to pro ball, and the majors were no exception. Through the 22-year-old Keaschall’s first seven games, he hit .368/.538/.526 with more walks (five) than strikeouts (two) in 26 plate appearances. The former Sun Devil also tied a major league record with five stolen bases in his first five MLB games.

Keaschall landed on the injured list after an errant pitch from veteran Kyle Hendricks hit his forearm and resulted in a non-displaced fracture. For the time being, there’s no indication he’ll require surgery, but head trainer Nick Paparesta told the Twins beat last night that Keaschall is likely to miss multiple months nonetheless (link via Dan Hayes of The Athletic). Keaschall will be reevaluated in about one month.

The injury to Keaschall is the latest for a Twins club that has been torched by health troubles this season. Third baseman Royce Lewis has yet to play in a regular-season game. Utilityman Willi Castro is out with an oblique strain. Ace Pablo Lopez missed two weeks with a hamstring strain. Top infield prospect Brooks Lee is healthy now but started on the shelf with a back injury. Relievers Brock Stewart and Michael Tonkin opened the year on the injured list due to hamstring and shoulder strains, respectively. Infielder Jose Miranda struggled early, was optioned to Triple-A, and has since gone on the minor league injured list with a strain in his left hand.

Most of those injuries have been relatively minor in nature. Keaschall is the most significant injury, but slugging corner outfielder Matt Wallner is also looking at a lengthy absence. Via Hayes, Paparesta added that Wallner is dealing with a moderate to severe strain of his hamstring. Wallner only first began light jogging on a treadmill yesterday, two weeks after his initial injury. He’ll be reevaluated next week, but it seems likely that the injury will sideline him well into May, if not longer.

Wallner, 27, is hardly a household name but has emerged as the Twins’ top power threat. The Twin Cities native, selected 39th overall in 2019, floundered through a catastrophically poor start to his 2024 season but mashed for the final three months after being recalled from Triple-A. In 228 plate appearances following last year’s recall, Wallner hit .282/.386/.559 with a dozen homers, 16 doubles and a triple.

A sky-high .410 average on balls in play and an ugly 34% strikeout rate point to plenty of regression in batting average for Wallner, but he draws enough walks and makes enough hard contact that he could be a productive overall hitter even if his average dips into league average territory (.241) or a bit lower. Between last year’s torrid finish and this year’s hot start, Wallner boasts a .278/.383/.540 line (164 wRC+) in 295 plate appearances. He’s walked in more than 10% of those trips to the plate and posted eye-popping batted-ball metrics: 92.4 mph average exit velocity, 16.1% barrel rate, 52.3% hard-hit rate.

With Keaschall and Wallner out for extended periods and injuries at multiple other positions, the Twins have turned to the DFA market to add some depth on the bench. Jonah Bride and Kody Clemens came over in cash swaps with the Marlins and Phillies, respectively, after both were designated for assignment. Both are out of minor league options, so it could be a short stay for one of them on the roster, particularly once Lewis returns. He’s played two Triple-A rehab games already and gone 3-for-6 with a double. A return next week wouldn’t be a surprise.

The Twins could opt to preserve their depth by instead optioning Lee or Edouard Julien so they can get regular at-bats in Triple-A. The ultimate move will come down to health and production among the current infield group. It’s a more straightforward scenario in the outfield, where Harrison Bader — signed to be an oft-used fourth outfielder — will see regular run alongside Byron Buxton and Trevor Larnach.

In general, the Twins’ lineup has begun to emerge from a dormant state. Facing clubs with poor pitching staffs like the White Sox and Angels surely plays a role, but Minnesota is hitting .276/.359/.432 as a team over the past two weeks. Unsurprisingly, they’ve gone 8-4 in that time. They’re still three games under .500, but the lineup is meshing and Lewis’ looming return creates reason for more optimism.

Part of that resurgence has been a blistering hot streak from catcher Ryan Jeffers. Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote last week that manager Rocco Baldelli is moving away from the largely even split in playing time between Jeffers and veteran Christian Vazquez. Jeffers is seeing an uptick in at-bats and will shoulder a larger portion of the catching workload. So far, it’s paying off. Jeffers is hitting .308/.426/.538 during this Twins hot streak; that looks more closely in line with the 27-year-old’s terrific 2023 season and strong start to 2024.

A slow finish last year dampened Jeffers’ numbers, but he’s a .247/.331/.449 hitter (120 wRC+) in 885 plate appearances dating back to ’23. Jeffers tells Matthew Leach of MLB.com that he feels some mechanical changes he’s incorporated in recent years have reached the point where he no longer even needs to think about them.

The move away from Vazquez is understandable, particularly at a time when the lineup was struggling. The 34-year-old remains a premier defensive catcher but has limped out of the gate with a .139/.200/.250 output in 14 games and 40 plate appearances. He’s in the final season of a three-year, $30MM contract that hasn’t panned out as the Twins hoped, but Vazquez’s glove is strong enough that he can hold a backup role even with a .218/.261/.318 slash in 710 plate appearances as a Twin. Jeffers, meanwhile, is in his second of three arbitration seasons and can be controlled through 2026.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Minnesota Twins Notes Christian Vazquez Luke Keaschall Matt Wallner Royce Lewis Ryan Jeffers

Angels Outright Carl Edwards Jr.
Main
Braves Designate Ian Anderson For Assignment
View Comments (11)
Post a Comment

11 Comments

  1. JScottG

    3 months ago

    Someone needs to sacrifice a live chicken and end this injury curse.

    5
    Reply
  2. ilikesports

    3 months ago

    The end? It never ends for the Twins. We can’t have nice things.

    2
    Reply
  3. ohyeadam

    3 months ago

    Not sure I believe it but the Twins are actually +8 run differential.

    2
    Reply
  4. AC Surf Baseball

    3 months ago

    I’ll keep saying it, the Phillies and Twins line up perfectly in a trade. Johan Rojas, Mick Abel,
    Otto Kemp & Gabriel Rincones Jr. for Byron Buxton & Grffin Jax. Phillies have had a black hole in CF for years now. Buxton plays CF this year, bumps to LF when Crawford comes up. If Topper plays Marsh vs. RHP day games after night games, along with the eventual switch to LF, should keep Buxton healthy moving forward. He makes a modest $15mil per season, which is a bargain when you consider the lack of true CF talent around MLB. And Buxton (plus a Twins bullpen arm like Jax) probably wouldn’t cost the Phillies a top 3 prospect. Twins meanwhile replenish their upper minors at some positions of need, while offering everyday playing time to youngsters Rojas & Rincones Jr. See if they can be part of the mix next year and beyond, for a Twins club that seemingly tries to compete every year. Both clubs definitely need a shake up.

    Reply
    • arby58

      3 months ago

      Buxton has a no-trade contract.

      2
      Reply
    • ForDoingNothing

      3 months ago

      You act like Jax is a throw in lol.
      Factoring in some poor inning to start the season doesn’t change the fact that Jax is one of the premier relievers in the game

      1
      Reply
    • martras

      3 months ago

      Buxton (+22) and Jax (+32) are at +55 AFV on BaseballTradeValues right now.

      Rojas (+8), Abel (+2), Kemp (+2) and Rincones, Jr (+2). total +12 AFV.

      Piling a bunch of low/mid level prospects and a AAAA OF doesn’t get good players back.

      1
      Reply
  5. MRSHOWTIME

    3 months ago

    Twins blew their load last night. They will come back to earth w 3 or 4 runs tonight. It’s up to the pitching to make it hold up.

    WHEN Lewis comes back and Correa starts hitting, watch out for this offense

    Reply
  6. Kibra7

    3 months ago

    When Falvey and Baldelli lead with zero enthusiasm and act like robots that just follow their spreadsheets, it results in players that play with zero enthusiasm, zero emotion and just go through the motions. The Twins are leaderless, uninspiring and boring. This team from top to bottom is the worst product in the MLB. Ownership, front office management and clubhouse management all need to be changed from the current toxic sludge.

    Reply
  7. MLBTR needs to hire editors

    3 months ago

    “Meanwhile” has to start the sentence, not come in the middle between commas.

    Reply
  8. cman

    3 months ago

    Lewis is gonna go back on the IL, as he pulled up and grabbed his hamstring again in last night’s game. Not sure how a 25-year-old can have chronic hamstring issues.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Rays Acquire Nick Fortes From Marlins

    Ryne Sandberg Passes Away

    Brewers Have Interest In Ryan O’Hearn

    Brewers Acquire Danny Jansen

    4 More Days To Lock In Savings On Trade Rumors Front Office

    Dodgers To Promote Alex Freeland

    Nationals’ Travis Sykora To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Tigers Acquire Chris Paddack

    Kris Bubic To Miss Remainder Of 2025 Season With Rotator Cuff Strain

    Tigers To Place Reese Olson On 60-Day IL With Shoulder Strain

    Cubs, Jed Hoyer Agree To Multi-Year Extension

    Royals Sign Seth Lugo To Extension

    Emmanuel Clase Placed On Administrative Leave Amid MLB’s Sports-Betting Investigation

    Braves Acquire Erick Fedde, Place Grant Holmes On 60-Day IL

    Yankees Place Aaron Judge On Injured List With Flexor Strain

    Top 50 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Yankees Acquire Amed Rosario

    Royals Acquire Randal Grichuk

    Aaron Judge Undergoing Testing For “Elbow Issue”

    Yankees Acquire Ryan McMahon

    Recent

    Latest On Athletics’ Deadline Plans

    Padres Interested In Anthony Bender

    Minor MLB Transactions: 7/29/25

    Rangers, Tigers Interested In David Bednar

    Blue Jays, Dodgers Among Teams Interested In Steven Kwan

    Giants Sign Diego Cartaya To Minor League Deal

    Rays Acquire Nick Fortes From Marlins

    The Opener: Suarez, Robert, Alcantara

    Ryne Sandberg Passes Away

    Roberts: “Don’t See A World” In Which Dodgers Trade Dalton Rushing

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Eugenio Suarez Rumors
    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Ryan O’Hearn Rumors
    • Mitch Keller Rumors
    • David Bednar Rumors
    • Marcell Ozuna Rumors
    • Merrill Kelly Rumors
    • Zac Gallen Rumors
    • Ryan Helsley Rumors
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version