Matt Wallner opened 2026 as the Minnesota Twins’ right fielder and cleanup hitter. He hit .167/.259/.292 with four home runs in 34 games, and those games made up his entire Major League season. On May 14, Minnesota optioned Wallner to Triple-A St. Paul.

Wallner had hit 22 home runs in 2025, which gave the Twins a reason to start him in the middle of the order. He remains on the 40-man roster, but he used his final minor league option in 2026. The Twins would have to expose him to waivers to send him back to St. Paul next year.

Matt Wallner Has to Catch Up to the Fastball

Wallner struck out in 39.3% of his plate appearances in 2026, up from 29.1% a year earlier. Four-seam fastballs accounted for 34% of the pitches he saw, and he slugged .222 against them after slugging .451 against the same pitch in 2025, according to Statcast. With less damage against the pitch he saw most often, the strikeouts became harder to absorb.

Those struggles cost him some matchups a left-handed power hitter would usually get. MLB.com reported that the Twins sat Wallner against some hard-throwing right-handers before the demotion. He needs to earn those at-bats back to help Minnesota in a platoon.

Wallner told the Minnesota Star Tribune in May that he was trying to make his leg kick more repeatable after struggling with fastballs at the top of the zone. He hit .254/.366/.520 with 25 home runs in 94 games for the Saints.

That was a productive stretch for a hitter who had already rebounded from a 2024 demotion, finishing that season at .259/.372/.523 for Minnesota. The question in camp would be whether he can get his barrel to an elevated fastball in time to drive it.

Where Wallner Could Fit in the Twins’ Lineup

Austin Martin took over as the primary right fielder after Wallner’s demotion. The competition grew later in the year, when Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez reached the Majors. Wallner told the Star Tribune in September that he doubted he would return to the Twins. If Minnesota brings him to camp, he’ll have to earn at-bats in an outfield with several other players in the mix.

A role at designated hitter against right-handers could give him a way back into the lineup. Wallner hit 23 of his 25 Triple-A home runs against righties, and Josh Bell’s free agency leaves the Twins with power to replace. If Wallner shows he can drive the four-seamer again, manager Derek Shelton could use his bat at DH while keeping outfield starts available for Jenkins and Rodriguez.