During the MLB offseason, Jomboy’s “Talkin’ Baseball” podcast focuses primarily on teams making relevant moves that most baseball fans care about. Unfortunately, the Twins are not one of those teams.
However, since former Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe is one of the podcast’s main voices, he’ll drop a few Twins takes every now and then (and Jake Storiale usually has a snarky, but funny response when Plouffe brings up his former team).
On the latest episode of Talkin’ Baseball, titled “Major trades and signings that are shaking up MLB”, Plouffe alluded to working with Twins slugger Matt Wallner this offseason.
‘I can’t tell people what I did with Matt Wallner, but it’s good’ said Plouffe.
“Sounds gross,” Storiale replied.
“Huge season ahead [for Wallner],” Added Plouffe.
Trevor Plouffe predicts the breakout season for Twins slugger Matt Wallner
Hopefully Plouffe will help unlock the best version of Wallner. It is unclear what exactly Plouffe ‘did’ with Wallner. Either way, it’s a good sign that the Twins outfielder has been working with a long-tenured former MLB player.
Wallner, 28, regressed at the plate last season but was still better than league average, slashing .202/.311/.464 (110 OPS+) with 22 home runs, 16 doubles and 40 RBI in 392 at-bats in 104 games. He missed about a month and a half due to a left hamstring strainwhich may have been a reason for his decline at the plate.
Although he played 67 games at Triple-A St. Paul in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, and only 76 MLB games in 2023 and 75 in 2024, Wallner’s overall production in the major leagues in those two seasons was better than last year. From 2023-24, Wallner posted 4.4 bWAR and a .254/.371/.515 slash line with 27 home runs, 28 doubles, 78 RBI and 68 runs. While his overall production was solid last season, he needs to get back to the 2023-24 version of himself if he wants to be a productive player as his defense is below average. Last year he recorded -4 outs above average.
We know that when Wallner is at his best, he is an MVP-caliber hitter. He will likely be the Twins’ starting right fielder to start the 2026 season, but he could quickly lose his starting role if he struggles at the plate. Wallner is at the top of the depth chart as of now, but Minnesota has plenty of outfielders in Byron Buxton, Austin Martin, Trevor Larnach (though he may be traded before the season starts), Alan Roden and James Outman. Additionally, top prospects Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez will likely make their MLB debuts in 2026.
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