Minnesota Twins Sign Joey Gallo

[Theo Tollefson]

Jeff Passan is reporting that the Twins have signed slugger Joey Gallo to a one-year deal for $11M.

Image courtesy of © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

MINNEAPOLIS – The Twins have signed outfielder Joey Gallo to a one-year, $11 million contract for the 2023 season, as Jeff Passan of ESPN reported.

Gallo, 29, is a two-time American League all-star and Gold Glove winner. 2022 was Gallo’s worst to date as he posted a .160/.280/.357 triple slash and .638 OPS along with 19 home runs and 47 RBI in 126 games between the Yankees and Dodgers. 

Gallo played 82 of his 126 games with the Yankees in 2022 before being traded on July 29, 2022, to the Dodgers, along with Joely Rodriguez for Trevor Hauver, Ezequiel Duran, Glenn Otto, and Josh Smith.

Gallo is known for being one of the most frequent hitters, if not the most, to strike out at the plate. He is the definition of the three true outcome hitter which entails he will either strikeout, walk, or hit a home run anytime he is at the plate. Gallo had a strikeout percentage of 39.8% for 2022, his highest ever in a full season. 

However, he also has 177 home runs in 2811 plate appearances, or better than one home run every 16 plate appearances. His career-high single-season home run total came in 2017 when he hit 41 with the Texas Rangers.  Also, despite his below-the-Mendoza line batting average, (career .199 hitter) he gets on-base; he’s posted a .325 OBP over his career.

Now a member of the Twins, Gallo will likely be playing in the corner outfield positions, possibly sometime in center field with 56 career games at the position, and spend time as the designated hitter as well. He has also played at first base during his 8-year career. The addition of Gallo, another left-handed hitting outfielder, also places further emphasis on the future of Max Kepler as a Twin, as Gallo now becomes the seventh left-handed hitting outfielder on the Twins' 40-man roster. 

Gallo has played 15 games at Target Field in his career and has posted a .263/.323/.632 triple slash with six home runs and 13 runs batted in 62 plate appearances. His .632 SLG percentage at Target Field is his highest in any Major League ballpark with a minimum of 40 plate appearances. 

The deal comes four days after the Twins signed catcher Christian Vazquez to a three-year, $30 million contract, which was made official today.

View full article

[Dman]

So you need a right handed bat in the outfield and you go and get another left handed bat with high K numbers.  Just what we needed?  Obviously this means Kepler is being traded for sure.  Just a matter of time.  Not the news I was hoping to hear.

 

The Twins must see a rebound coming because his OPS was worse than Keplers last year and he isn't the defender Kepler is either.  His career batting average is .199 so there is that to look forward too.

[singlesoverwalks]

boo

[Brock Beauchamp]

The Twins front office versus the Internet.

[Nashvilletwin]

?

[Brock Beauchamp]

2 minutes ago, Dman said:

So you need a right handed bat in the outfield and you go and get another left handed bat with high K numbers.  Just what we needed?  Obviously this means Kepler is being traded for sure.  Just a matter of time.  Not the news I was hoping to hear.

It makes absolutely no ****ing sense. I hate this deal so much.

[ScottyB]

Yawn. Too many lefties in OF. Not gonna draw fans. Bad/boring move.

[High heat]

I actually really like this deal!!

 

Joey Gallo along with Kepler are going to benefit heavily from the shift ban.  Very good defensive OF with Gallo in LF Kepler in RF and Buck in CF.

[TouchEmAllGuy]

Not the biggest fan of this move tbh...

 

Bye bye Kepler, had a memorable run with Minny

[Brandon]

I guess cheap power in a power depressed environment.  Though why not get JD Martinez?

[Mike Vendsel]

5 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

The Twins front office versus the Internet.

And they deserve it! Why? Just why do they do things like this? 

[sweetmusicviola16]

Joey Gallo, for about what Sano would have cost. Sano at least had some upside. 

Wow. 

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, High heat said:

I actually really like this deal!!

 

Joey Gallo along with Kepler are going to benefit heavily from the shift ban.  Very good defensive OF with Gallo in LF Kepler in RF and Buck in CF.

Gallo put up 0.6 WAR last year. He was below replacement level. Wallner was better.

This reinforces my point about CC.....

You can have CC and two rookies, or three Joey Gallos.....

[SF Twins Fan]

ha ha.  The front office is just grasping at straws now.

[Mike Vendsel]

Why not just let Wallner or Larnach play? This guy has not had an average above .199 in 3 years?? WTH???

[Bamboo Bat]

W.T.F.

 

[Nashvilletwin]

2 minutes ago, High heat said:

I actually really like this deal!!

 

Joey Gallo along with Kepler are going to benefit heavily from the shift ban.  Very good defensive OF with Gallo in LF Kepler in RF and Buck in CF.

You’re kidding right?  Seriously - so we sit Larnach, Kiriloff, Gordon, and Wallner to let Gallo and Kepler eat up at bats? And then throw in Garlick when needed vs. a lefty?  Sorry, I won’t be watching that clown show (Kepler is as good as gone btw).

Nephew Joey is off to a rough start and is going to have a lot of wood to chop. I’ve got the under on 1.5MM fans this season. Maybe they can make up the lost revenue selling those hideous M hats or fans buying new jerseys with Gallo’s name and number on the back.  Lol. 

[Mike Sixel]

1 minute ago, Mike Vendsel said:

Why not just let Wallner or Larnach play? 

Because they were better than him last year? Oh, wait. 

100% this is about not looking cheap and praying Gallo is great. But who cares? It is one year. It solves nothing at all, other than blocking Wallner or Larnach or other players.

[sweetmusicviola16]

11 minutes ago, Dman said:

So you need a right handed bat in the outfield and you go and get another left handed bat with high K numbers.  Just what we needed?  Obviously this means Kepler is being traded for sure.  Just a matter of time.  Not the news I was hoping to hear.

 

The Twins must see a rebound coming because his OPS was worse than Keplers last year and he isn't the defender Kepler is either.  His career batting average is .199 so there is that to look forward too.

There is no rebound coming Gallo is awful. They need to spend some money so they can say "they tried". This is how they do it. 

[chpettit19]

9 minutes ago, Dman said:

So you need a right handed bat in the outfield and you go and get another left handed bat with high K numbers.  Just what we needed?  Obviously this means Kepler is being traded for sure.  Just a matter of time.  Not the news I was hoping to hear.

 

The Twins must see a rebound coming because his OPS was worse than Keplers last year and he isn't the defender Kepler is either.  His career batting average is .199 so there is that to look forward too.

To be fair, he is the defender Kepler is. It's a wash defensively. He's elite. It's probably a wash offensively as well assuming he bounces back at all. Career numbers are on Gallo's side, but mostly just because his ups were higher. Both debuted in 2015. Gallo with .199/.325/.469/.794 slash line. Kepler .232/.317/.427/.744. Kepler for Gallo swap is pretty neutral overall, really.

[Brock Beauchamp]

4 minutes ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

Joey Gallo, for about what Sano would have cost. Sano at least had some upside. 

Wow. 

You're joking, right?

Sano is going to be way cheaper than what the Twins just paid for Gallo.

[Nashvilletwin]

4 minutes ago, SF Twins Fan said:

ha ha.  The front office is just grasping at straws now.

Nah, it’s worse than that….

[Mike Sixel]

Just now, chpettit19 said:

To be fair, he is the defender Kepler is. It's a wash defensively. He's elite. It's probably a wash offensively as well assuming he bounces back at all. Career numbers are on Gallo's side, but mostly just because his ups were higher. Both debuted in 2015. Gallo with .199/.325/.469/.794 slash line. Kepler .232/.317/.427/.744. Kepler for Gallo swap is pretty neutral overall, really.

He's projected for 1.1 fWAR...........1`.1. Kepler is projected for 1.9. It isn't close. And, for 11 million dollars. And, unless Kepler is traded, they are blocking youth for a year for what? What is fixed long term (or even short term)?

[Nashvilletwin]

Btw, love the photo of Gallo at the top of the post - looks like he just K’d waving at strike three out of zone.  We will see a lot of that in ‘23.

[pierre75275]

It's like they say...when your team is one of the worst hitting teams against left handed pitchers, you can never have to many corner outfielders that are left handed hitters who are strikeout prone.

[DJL44]

Who was bidding against the Twins to get the price up to $11M. This is going to go on the pile with Shoemaker, Happ, Logan Morrison and Marwin Gonzalez. When it's all said and done they'll have spent the $300M on below average players who helped them lose. 

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Btw, love the photo of Gallo at the top of the post - looks like he just K’d waving at strike three out of zone.  We will see a lot of that in ‘23.

Truth. But at least Wallner and Larnach are in AAA now .....so that's....bad.*

*until they deal Kepler 

[Russ]

Another lefty hitter?  Who comes off the 40 man roster?  More must be coming.

[SanoMustGo]

14 minutes ago, High heat said:

I actually really like this deal!!

 

Joey Gallo along with Kepler are going to benefit heavily from the shift ban.  Very good defensive OF with Gallo in LF Kepler in RF and Buck in CF.

Gallo won't benefit a bit if you can't put the ball in play.  Kepler is gone.  No thanks to both Kepler and Gallo.  I assume Kepler is gone.  Rather have Larnach than Kepler

[LewFordLives]

Someone is also going to have to come off the 40 man. I can't think of anyone currently on the roster that I would value less than Gallo....not even Pagan.