Does Joey Gallo Make Sense for the Minnesota Twins?

Realistically the Twins are inundated with left-handed bats in the outfield. Alex Kirilloff, Max Kepler, and Trevor Larnach all hit from that side of the plate. With Byron Buxton as the lone right-handed hitter, manager Rocco Baldelli could use more from the right side of the dish. Given what Gallo’s market could be, and the banning of the shift, it may make sense to bring him in.

There’s been more than a few instances in which the hulking slugger has had fun at Target Field. During his All-Star Futures Game experience in Minnesota, Gallo blasted a home run through a truck window beyond the right field wall. Since then, he has hit some tape measure shots to nearly the same part of the park, including one for the New York Yankees this season.

Primarily Gallo has played in the corner outfield, but despite his immense power, his athletic ability has been shown in centerfield as well. Gallo won Gold Gloves in both 2020 and 2021 while rating out well defensively. He may not be Buxton in center, but few people are. He can also play the designated hitter role and has handled first base plenty.

Despite 2022 going so poorly with the Yankees, and not much better with the Dodgers, he’s only a year removed from a 121 OPS+. Despite the goofy statistics we saw during the pandemic-shortened 2020, Gallo actually performed much better in 2019. His 145 OPS+ was a career-high and marked a run of three straight seasons in which he was above league average.

There were more than a few times last year when Baldelli’s lineup stalled out. Despite boasting plenty of internally developed hitters, and names such as Carlos Correa and Gary Sanchez, far too often runs were hard to come by. Manufacturing runs wasn’t something Minnesota was good at a year ago, and they doubled down on the poor showing by failing to hit many home runs either.

For the first time in his career, Gallo will face defenses that are unable to shift him as they have. He may see all three outfielders play on the right side of center field, but the infielders will need to remain in their given positions. For a guy with a strong launch angle and hard-hit rate, he could see additional hits dropping in, and raise his overall numbers to places we haven’t yet seen.

What Gallo’s market looks like will be interesting. He made just over $10 million last season, and despite coming off the down year, someone will certainly see an opportunity for a fresh start. The massive power potential is there, and the plate discipline isn’t bad either.

What do you think? Would you take a shot on the former All-Star?