Twins rookie infielder Luke Keaschall is weighing surgery to address a left thumb injury, manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including Dan Hayes of The Athletic and Matthew Leach of MLB.com). That decision will be made after Keaschall visits a specialist next week.
Keaschall jammed his thumb diving into second base on a steal during last night’s win in Texas. He exited the game and went for imaging this morning. The Twins haven’t officially placed him on the injured list, but there’s no reason to have him playing through pain for their final few games against the Rangers and Phillies. Ryan Fitzgerald drew into the lineup at second base tonight.
The 23-year-old Keaschall is one of Minnesota’s most promising players. A second-round pick in 2023, Keaschall hit at every minor league stop. The Twins called him up in the middle of April. He got out to a strong start to his MLB career when a Kyle Hendricks pitch broke his right arm in his seventh game. Keaschall was out of action until early August, at which point the team had fallen out of contention and sold off much of the roster.
Keaschall picked up where he left off once he returned from the forearm injury. He slashed .294/.359/.436 with four homers and 11 doubles over his final 181 plate appearances. The righty hitter struck out in fewer than 15% of his trips, continuing the plus contact ability he’d shown against minor league pitching. Keaschall didn’t post huge exit velocities, but he has shown an impressive understanding of the strike zone for any hitter, especially a rookie.
That should be enough to have a hold on the Opening Day second base job. The Twins will presumably provide more specifics on his recovery timeline and offseason plan once he makes the official decision on whether to undergo surgery. Keaschall’s promotion came a little too late in the season for him to get a full service year. Minnesota controls him for six seasons after this one.