For the first time in his MLB career, Luke Keaschall played the outfield on Saturday. The Twins sent him out to right field for the final inning of a 16-8 win over the Diamondbacks.
One mop-up appearance doesn’t mean much. Matt Olson and Rhys Hoskins have also been pressed into outfield action mid-game this season. However, Keaschall’s appearance seems to be the start of an attempt by Minnesota to expand his flexibility. Manager Derek Shelton told reporters Wednesday that the second-year player is likely to get more outfield work moving forward (via Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star-Tribune). He has been taking pregame outfield drills and made four left field appearances during Spring Training.
Keaschall has played nearly 1000 innings in his MLB career. They’ve all been at second base aside from the lone frame in right field. Keaschall is tied with Nasim Nuñez for the MLB lead among second basemen with eight errors this year. While Nuñez has compensated for the mistakes with excellent range, Keaschall hasn’t fared well by the public metrics. Defensive Runs Saved has him six runs below average, the fourth-worst mark at the position. He’s above only Kansas City’s Nick Loftin in Outs Above Average with a -5 grade.
The Twins aren’t moving Keaschall off second base, to be clear. It seems they’ll sprinkle in some outfield reps in addition to his primary work at second. Still, the middling defensive grades align with his general reputation as a bat-first player. He lived up to that as a rookie, batting .302/.382/.445 in a debut season limited to 49 games by a broken right arm. Keaschall hasn’t been nearly as productive in his second year. He’s hitting .249/.331/.325 with two homers over 302 trips to the plate. He’s still very difficult to strike out but hasn’t hit the ball with authority.
Keaschall has started 72 of Minnesota’s 82 games at the keystone. The other 10 starts have been scattered between Orlando Arcia, Tristan Gray, Kody Clemens and Royce Lewis. The latter three players remain on the MLB roster. The Twins are using Lewis mostly at first base and Clemens in right field. Gray, who has been overtaken as the starting shortstop by Ryan Kreidler, got the start at second base against Shohei Ohtani in Wednesday’s series finale with the Dodgers.
Clemens and Trevor Larnach have flanked Byron Buxton in the outfield most days. Larnach and Clemens each hit from the left side. Austin Martin, on hand as a right-handed complement, has gone cold since an excellent April. Keaschall is already in the lineup at second base versus lefty starters but could be an option to pinch hit and stay in the outfield against a left-handed reliever.
Larnach and Clemens could also come up in trade conversations if the Twins drop a few games back in the playoff picture. General manager Jeremy Zoll has already declared Buxton off the table, but Larnach stands as an apparent trade candidate if Minnesota sells.
