Austin Martin brings versatility and quality at-bats to Twins

Austin Martin brings versatility and quality at-bats, which is why the Twins recalled him from Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday ahead of their series opener against the Oakland Athletics.

In 19 games with the Saints, Martin was hitting .290 with a .466 on-base percentage. Martin recorded 18 hits, one homer, drew 21 walks and had nine RBIs. He only struck out seven times in 62 at-bats while seeing action both in the outfield and at second base.

“He’s been playing really well,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of Martin. “He’s had excellent at-bats at the Triple-A level, he’s been on base all the time. The quality at-bats is really a strength of his. … He’s going to barrel a lot of balls. He’s been doing a good job.”

Martin is batting ninth and playing in left field in Thursday’s game against the Athletics at Target Field in Minneapolis. Baldelli said Martin could see time at second base, too, though Alex Kirilloff, who was optioned to Triple-A to make room on the roster for Martin, has been primarily playing left field.

Along with Martin, the Twins have options at second base in Willi Castro and Kyle Farmer. Castro, who’s playing second base on Thursday, also sees time in the outfield, though Baldelli doesn’t expect to move him out of the infield on days that Martin is playing.

“(Castro has) been doing a good job at second base; I think he’s getting more comfortable at second base,” Baldelli said. “On those days, I don’t think there’s a need to put (Castro) in the outfield and move him out of the infield to put (Martin) there. I don’t — that’s just the way I see it right now, but I think there are days where you could see (Martin) over (at second).”

Kirilloff, meanwhile, will continue to see time at first base and in the outfield while at Triple-A. His demotion comes following struggles at the plate this season. He was hitting just .201 with a .270 on-base percentage and had five homers and 32 hits with 20 RBIs.

Baldelli said Kirilloff has historically been pretty adept at making his own adjustments and figuring things out. Kirilloff will continue to work through his struggles while with the Saints and will continue to see time at first and in the outfield should the Twins need him back up soon.

“He’s still going to have to go back and forth because no matter what we think we know right now, things change really fast,” Baldelli said of Kirilloff. “And so he works through things, he gets into a good spot, we consider calling him back up, there’s no way to know what’s going on with our club at that point. So, he may have to play first base, he may have to play left field, he may be DHing, he could do a lot of different things.”