The Minnesota Twins finalized their 26-man roster today for the upcoming 2021 Major League Baseball season. If there was a mild surprise at all, it’s in the form of Brent Rooker being optioned to Triple-A.

Rooker, a former first round pick, played just seven games for the Twins last year prior to breaking his forearm. In that action he posted a .960 OPS and hit his first Major League home run. Alex Kirilloff was seen as the favorite to win the Opening Day left field job but didn’t earn it at the plate this spring. Rooker seemed like a platoon fit with Jake Cave as a fallback option, but he posted a .662 OPS that was weighed down after a hot start.

Instead of the former Mississippi State product, the Twins turn to waiver claim Kyle Garlick. The former Dodgers draft pick is 29 years old and has 76 Major League plate appearances across 42 games. He owns just a .691 OPS in that stretch but has raked to the tune of an .881 OPS in nearly 500 minor league games. This spring Garlick posted a 1.011 OPS for Minnesota and was arguably the darling of camp. He also represents a better fielding option than Rooker, who is below average in the outfield.

The tough reality here for Rooker is that his opportunities are quickly evaporating. He was drafted as a bat first prospect that could very quickly become bat only. Speed and efficiency aren’t in his toolkit defensively, so he’s stretched in the outfield. Footwork has been noted as a deficiency when playing first base so that could be a detractor there as well. Brent owns an .861 OPS in 259 minor league games and he posted a .933 OPS n 65 games at Triple-A back in 2019. The bat plays, but if not now, then when?

As mentioned earlier, Alex Kirilloff was the assumed favorite for left field coming into big league camp. He’s 23-years-old and a top prospect. While he’ll be sent down for roughly the first month of the season, Rocco Baldelli has noted it’s not the intention to bring him up and send him back or allow him to sit. Not far behind Kirilloff is another highly touted corner outfielder in the form of Trevor Larnach. Should Kirilloff eventually transition to first, Larnach could find himself next in line to take over.

It’s been apparent for some time that Rooker needed to factor in sooner rather than later. At 26 he’s hardly got youth on his side anymore, and while the bat certainly does look like it will play, it may just not work out in Minnesota. The Twins are going to be a good team in 2021, and good teams generally add more talent. Maybe it’s Rooker that is pieced out in order to lure something more useful for this roster construction. Either way, today was probably a difficult one to swallow for a guy that has already tasted some Major League success.

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