Inside The Twins

Twins slugger Matt Wallner on track to begin rehab assignment this week

Wallner has been out for over a month due to a strained hamstring.
Will Ragatz|
Apr 9, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Minnesota Twins designated hitter Matt Wallner (38) hits a home run during the eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
Apr 9, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Minnesota Twins designated hitter Matt Wallner (38) hits a home run during the eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Twins

Twins outfielder Matt Wallner is on track to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul as early as Wednesday, he told reporters on Monday. He's been out since April 15, when he suffered a hamstring strain in a game against the Mets. He ran the bases on Sunday and said his hamstring has been getting better on a daily basis.

Wallner, like Royce Lewis before him, will probably need to get several games in with the Saints before the Twins feel comfortable bringing him back to the big leagues. But the start of a rehab assignment is a big step that suggests he could potentially be back in Minnesota's lineup before the end of the month, assuming all goes well.

Prior to getting hurt, Wallner was putting up his typical excellent numbers at the plate. In the first 18 games of the season, he hit .264 with eight extra-base hits and an .847 OPS that leads all Twins players with at least 50 plate appearances this year (sorry, Luke Keaschall and Kody Clemens).

In his Twins career, which spans 187 games and 647 PAs, Wallner has put up an .864 OPS with 30 home runs, 91 RBI, and over half of his hits going for extra bases. His career OPS+ is 138, which means he's been 38 percent better than a league-average hitter. Despite a high strikeout rate, Wallner's elite bat speed and batted-ball metrics (plus a high on-base percentage) make him a very valuable slugger. He hit leadoff for the Twins throughout spring training this year and in 13 of his first 16 regular season starts.

Wallner is also a solid defender in the corner outfield spots who possesses one of the strongest throwing arms in the league.

McCusker set for first career start

Carson McCusker, the recently-promoted Triple-A slugger who resembles a right-handed Wallner in some respects, will make his first MLB start for the Twins on Monday night. He's playing right field and hitting seventh against Guardians left-handed starter Logan Allen (in a game that could be threatened by rain in the forecast in Minneapolis).

"It played out perfectly for him to get in the lineup and go bop a few," Rocco Baldelli said pregame about the Twins facing a lefty. "That's what he does. We're always in the business of scoring runs and that's a guy who could lead us to a few of them."

It's a 6:40 p.m. CT game at Target Field.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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