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Looking ahead to next season, the Twins will be without two of their top four highest-paid players from 2024—a duo who combined for nearly 1,500 of the Twins’ outfield innings (35%). The players in question—Max Kepler and Manuel Margot—need to be replaced in playing time and role. The two occupied right field for 75% of the season and occupied distinct, full-season places on the Twins roster, with the exception of the time Kepler lost to injury.
Kepler was one of the longest-tenured Twins, and has been the team’s primary right fielder since 2016. He provided above-average right field defense as a Twin throughout his career, though he has slowed with age and that glovework slid from elite to merely solid. In 2024, he played 105 games, with a mediocre performance at the plate, unable to build upon his torrid second half of 2023. Regardless of that letdown, he has been a fixture, and his playing time has to go somewhere.
Margot was seemingly the inverse of Kepler. Whereas Kepler was shielded slightly against left-handed starters, Margot’s primary role was hitting lefties. Kepler’s consistency as a defender was mirrored by Margot’s sudden and mortifying inability to convert even routine balls into outs. Margot ended up playing in 129 games this season, third-most on the team, despite his minor role heading into the season. Did I mention he also led the team in pinch-hitting appearances, en route to a major-league record 35 appearances as a pinch-hitter in a season without a hit?
That’s a lot of playing time that needs to be reassigned. Between the two, it’s more than one full-time player’s worth of plate appearances, a little corner outfield pop, a prominent pinch-hitter, and some center field depth. There isn’t a single player who can pick up that slack, but roster incumbents, internal options, and newcomers will be able to collectively fill those shoes—though the pinch-hitting bat doesn’t need to be an outfielder and can, frankly, be anyone with a pulse.
First, let’s address the matter of an everyday right fielder. The Twins currently have two traditional, everyday-caliber corner outfielders on the roster: Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach. Wallner was the team’s Opening Day starter in left field, opposite Kepler. Although he was demoted early in the season, after being recalled in July, Wallner played like the player the Twins hoped he would be with a 149 OPS+, albeit over 261 total plate appearances.
Larnach did not make the Opening Day roster, but he ended up registering more plate appearances in 2024 than any other Twins outfielder. He produced well, battling through lower body injuries all year, to the tune of a 116 OPS+. Because of his bumps and bruises, he led the team in appearances as a designated hitter, and shifting him to the outfield more often can open up playing time for other bats there.
A betting man would assume that Larnach will be the Twins’ primary left fielder in 2024, leaving right field for Wallner and his elite arm. Alongside Byron Buxton in center, the everyday outfield is pretty clear. However, given the Twins’ propensity for platooning (along with the pragmatic need for more than three outfielders at any one time as depth), there’s still playing time to go around.
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