MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins made a pair of moves on Thursday morning, and while one of them was expected, the other was definitely a bit jarring.
In addition to calling up right-hander Zebby Matthews to start against the Marlins and optioning Travis Adams to Triple-A St. Paul, Minnesota optioned Opening Day right fielder Matt Wallner to St. Paul. Ryan Kreidler was recalled to take Wallner’s roster spot, though Austin Martin will be the primary beneficiary of the move.
Martin, 27, began the year in a platoon with Trevor Larnach in left field. But his exceptional production has earned him a larger role, and with Wallner being sent down, he will become the primary right fielder. He seized day one of the opportunity, going 2-for-4 with a walk, a double and three RBIs in Minnesota's 9-1 win against Miami on Thursday afternoon at Target Field.
“Austin Martin has an opportunity where he deserves to play every day,” said manager Derek Shelton. “He’s put himself in that position.”
Wallner used his tremendous raw power to hit 22 home runs in 104 games last season. But strikeouts have often been a problem for the toolsy 28-year-old, and his 37.4% K rate this season ranks as the third-highest among batters with at least 100 plate appearances. He struck out four times in each of his last two games before Thursday’s demotion. Overall, the lefty-hitting Wallner has a .167/.259/.292 slash line with four home runs in 34 games in 2026.
At his best, Wallner is one of the most dangerous hitters in the game. But he’s been searching for his form all year. He began the season playing every day, then moved into a platoon role, and in recent days had even been sitting against some hard-throwing right-handers. With multiple outfield injuries at St. Paul, he’ll play regularly and hope to regain the level that made him one of the league’s most productive hitters on a per-at-bat basis in 2024.
“It is someone who has had some success at the Major League level,” Shelton said. “You want to give him a little bit of rope, but on the other side of it we have a guy that’s pushing and is in a situation where he deserves. So I think in this situation we thought the best thing is for Matty to go to Triple-A, get some at-bats every day, get Austin more at-bats.”
Matthews owns a 4.72 ERA through seven starts at Triple-A this season, but over his past three turns at St. Paul, he allowed just four runs over 18 innings to go along with 18 strikeouts. He was brilliant in his 2026 Major League debut, pitching seven scoreless innings.
It’s unclear how many starts he’ll get, but in a Twins rotation currently very much in flux, this has to be considered something of an audition. Mick Abel and Taj Bradley are both on the injured list, and Simeon Woods Richardson is struggling badly. There’s no guarantee of further starts for Matthews, but after Thursday, it would be hard not to give him more starts.
Adams has made two appearances out of the bullpen this season for Minnesota, allowing three earned runs over 3 2/3 innings. Kreidler, who spent parts of the previous four seasons with the Tigers before the Twins claimed him off waivers from Pittsburgh last October, has three hits -- two home runs and a double -- in 14 at-bats with Minnesota this year.