June 18: Kirilloff’s option was rescinded on Tuesday. He is instead going on the MLB 10-day injured list with a back issue (X link via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). The first baseman had evidently been playing through the injury which occurred before the Twins made the decision to send him down — thereby negating the option. Kirilloff will continue to pick up MLB service and be paid a major league salary while he recovers.
June 13: The Twins announced that first baseman/outfielder Alex Kirilloff has been optioned to Triple-A St. Paul. Utility player Austin Martin was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul as the corresponding move.
Kirilloff, now 26, has long been seen as a key piece of the future for the Twins. Selected 15th overall in the 2016 draft, he was seen as one of the top prospects in the system and even in the entire league. Baseball America ranked him as one of the 35 best prospects in the majors in three straight years, starting in in 2019.
He made his debut back in 2021 but injuries have prevented him from cementing himself as the big league level. He underwent surgery on his right wrist in July of 2021 and then again in August of 2022. At the end of the 2023 campaign, it was his right shoulder that required surgical treatment.
Those medical issues kept him from sticking with the club for an extended stretch, but he still showed plenty of potential. He hit .270/.348/.445 in 88 games last year, production that translated to a wRC+ of 120.
Ideally, with a clean bill of health, Kirilloff could have finally had his long-awaited breakout over an extended stretch. He has managed to avoid the injured list so far in 2024 but the results haven’t been there. He currently sports a slash line of .201/.270/.384 for the year, which leads to an 85 wRC+.
It’s possible that the baseball gods are being unkind to him, as he has a .245 batting average on balls in play, well below this year’s .288 league average. And that’s despite some decent Statcast metrics, as his barrel rate and average exit velocity are both around the 80th percentile of league hitters while his hard hit rate is 56th. But he’s also striking out 26.4% of the time and has a 47.8% ground ball rate, less than ideal for a left-handed hitter with 37th percentile sprint speed.
Whatever the reasons, that kind of offensive output isn’t acceptable for Kirilloff. He isn’t considered a strong defender, either at first base or in the outfield, and needs the bat to carry his profile. With the results not coming so far this year, the Twins have decided he needs to work on things in St. Paul.
It’s the third time this year that the club has decided to send down a guy they were hoping to be a lineup mainstay, as Matt Wallner and Edouard Julien have also been optioned this year after some struggles. With the club clinging to the final Wild Card spot, their lack of patience is certainly understandable.
Carlos Santana has been getting the bulk of the playing time at first base, with José Miranda in the mix as well. The outfield corners should be manned by some combination of Max Kepler, Trevor Larnach, Manuel Margot, Willi Castro and Martin for the time being, though Wallner or Kirilloff could work their way back into the mix if they post good results in Triple-A or if an injury opens up a need.
Kirilloff came into this year with one of his three option years remaining. A player needs to spend 20 days on optional assignment in order to use one up. He’ll be optionable for the rest of 2024 regardless but will be out of options next year if he doesn’t get recalled in the next three weeks.
He also began this campaign with his service time clock at two years and 141 days. He qualified for arbitration at the end of last season as a Super Two player and is earning $1.35MM here in 2024. He’ll be due a modest raise in arbitration this coming winter. The Twins will likely tender him a contract based on his potential and past prospect status, but he’ll have a tenuous hold on a roster spot given his struggles, especially if he is out of options.
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