The Minnesota Twins have officially reached a tipping point with outfielder Matt Wallner. In a move aimed at revitalizing a struggling young power hitter and stabilizing a shaky pitching staff, the club announced on Thursday, May 14, 2026, that Wallner has been optioned to Triple-A St. Paul. This demotion marks a significant “reset” for the 28-year-old Minnesota native, who entered the season with high expectations but has spent the first six weeks of the 2026 campaign in a historic offensive funk.
To fill his spot on the roster and address immediate needs on the mound, the Twins promoted right-handed pitcher Zebby Matthews, who is slated to start Thursday’s series finale against the Miami Marlins. Additionally, the team recalled utility player Ryan Kreidler for his second stint of the season and sent reliever Travis Adams down to Triple-A.
Matt Wallner’s 2026 season has been nothing short of a nightmare. Through 120 at-bats across 33 games, the Forest Lake high school product is hitting a meager .167 with just three doubles and four home runs. While Wallner has never been a “high-average” hitter—relying instead on his 70-grade raw power and a high walk rate—his ability to make contact has evaporated entirely.
Before the demotion, Wallner struck out in eight consecutive at-bats, a staggering stretch that underscored his current lost state at the plate. On the season, he has racked up 53 strikeouts in just 135 plate appearances. This calculates to a 39.3% strikeout rate, which ranks as the worst “whiff rate” in Major League Baseball among qualified hitters. His OPS (On-base Plus Slugging) has plummeted to .551, nearly 300 points lower than his marks from previous seasons.
“Obviously, Matty was grinding a little bit. I think it’s just a little bit of a reset,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said following the announcement. “When we’ve seen him have consistent at-bats, we’ve seen him have success at the major league level. Right now, he’s too far in between.”
The demotion is particularly jarring given Wallner’s trajectory over the last two years. In 2025, he established himself as a cornerstone of the Twins’ outfield, blasting a career-high 22 home runs in 104 games. His success wasn’t a fluke; he posted robust OPS marks of .877 in 2023 and .894 in 2024. As the Opening Day right fielder for two consecutive seasons, Wallner was seen as a long-term solution in the corners.
However, the 2026 season has exposed a lack of mechanical consistency. Wallner has previously cited “stiff, locked-up hips” as a reason for his inability to time pitches, noting that when he can’t “pop his hips down,” his swing loses the impact required to damage MLB-level pitching. By heading to St. Paul, the Twins hope Wallner can clear his head, find his mechanical rhythm against Triple-A pitching, and rediscover the power that made him a five-win player (WAR) over his first 255 games.
Wallner’s departure opens the door for more consistent playing time for Austin Martin and Trevor Larnach. Martin, a versatile athlete who can play across the outfield, provides the Twins with more defensive flexibility and a different offensive profile focused on contact. Meanwhile, Larnach has become the primary option in left field against right-handed pitching.
The move also allowed the Twins to bring up Zebby Matthews at a critical juncture. The Twins’ rotation has been decimated by injuries; All-Star Pablo López is out for the year following Tommy John surgery, and rookie Mick Abel recently suffered a setback in his recovery from elbow inflammation. Furthermore, Taj Bradley remains on the shelf with a pectoral injury.
Matthews, who made 16 starts for the big-league club last season, earned his way back with a dominant stretch in Triple-A. Over his last three starts for the St. Paul Saints, he went 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 18 innings. His promotion allows the Twins to manage the workload of rookie Connor Prielipp, pushing his next start back to the upcoming series against Milwaukee.
This demotion carries long-term weight. If Wallner remains in Triple-A for at least 20 days, he will burn the final of his three minor league option years. With several high-end outfield prospects like Emmanuel Rodríguez and Gabriel Gonzalez rising through the ranks, Wallner is essentially playing for his future in the organization. He is set to reach salary arbitration for the first time this winter, and the Twins will need to decide if his prodigious power is worth the high-strikeout risk, or if it is time to move on to a younger, more consistent option.
For now, the focus is simple: get Matt Wallner back to being the feared slugger the Twin Cities knows he can be.
