After 8 Straight Strikeouts, the Twins Pull the Plug on Matt Wallner

Wallner has been striking out at an alarming rate all season, and Minnesota finally made the move to send him down on Thursday.

Apr 13, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins right fielder Matt Wallner (38) reacts in pain after hitting hit by a pitch against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Back-to-back four-strikeout games is apparently what it took for the Minnesota Twins to finally pull the plug and send Matt Wallner to Triple-A.

The Forest Lake native has been striking out at an alarming rate all season, and consecutive 0-for-4 performances with eight combined strikeouts over the last two games have led to the Twins optioning him and relief pitcher Travis Adams to the St. Paul Saints on Thursday.

Right-hander Zebby Matthews, who will start Thursday's game against the Marlins, and outfielder Ryan Kriedler have been called up to the big-league roster.

Twenty-five players in the big leagues have struck out at least 50 times this season, and Wallner ranks 15th with 53 strikeouts. But he's reached that level in only 120 at-bats, while 23 of the other 25 players have between 139 and 183 at-bats.

The only player with at least 50 strikeouts who has fewer at-bats than Wallner is Milwaukee's Garrett Mitchell, who has 52 strikeouts in 112 at-bats.

If you take away an 11-game stretch, from March 29 to April 9, when Wallner increased his batting average from .100 to .231 by going 12-for-47, he's gone 8-for-73 (.109 batting average) with 29 strikeouts in 23 games.

Even in his best period at the plate, that 12-for-47 stretch, he struck out 24 times, including a five-strikeout game on April 3 against Tampa Bay.

Matthews has a 4.72 ERA in seven starts at Triple-A this season. But his earned-run average is inflated by the 10 runs he allowed in his first two starts. Since then, the right-hander has allowed just eight earned runs in his past five starts, which have totaled 27 innings. That's good for a 2.67 ERA over his last five outings.

More to come.