The Twins have placed right fielder Max Kepler on the 10-day injured list with patellar tendinitis in his left knee and selected the contract of outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. from Triple-A St. Paul, per a team announcement. Left-hander Kody Funderburk was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Keirsey, who’ll be making his MLB debut when he first gets into a game.
Kepler, 31, came out of the All-Star break on a tear, hitting .316/.357/.468 in 84 plate appearances and boosting his season line to .271/.320/.412 in the process. Coupled with his strong defense in right field, he looked to be on his way to another solid all-around season. He’s since fallen into a dreadful swoon at the plate, however, tallying just one hit in his past 17 plate appearances and batting only .116/.156/.140 in his last 45 turns at the dish. He’s been in and out of the lineup while trying to play through discomfort in his problematic knee, but after sitting out the past four contests, he’ll now head to the injured list and hope some down time will get him back to full strength.
It’s an ill-timed injury for Kepler, both in the team sense — the Twins are a very likely Wild Card club but still hoping to chase down the division-leading Guardians — and in a personal sense. He’s in the final season of an extension signed prior to the 2019 season. That deal guaranteed him $35MM over five seasons and grew to a six-year, $44MM deal when the Twins picked up a 2024 option on him after a strong 2023 season. He’s now on the cusp of reaching free agency for the first time. Kepler had already seen his output take a step back from last year’s .260/.332/.484 slash (124 wRC+) and 24 homers, but after this recent lull at the plate his season-long batting line has wilted to a sub-par .253/.302/.380.
Taking Kepler’s place on the active roster will be the 27-year-old Keirsey. The Twins selected him with their fourth-round pick back in 2018. He’s old to be considered a true “prospect” and was passed over in last year’s Rule 5 Draft even after hitting a combined .294/.366/.455 between Double-A and Triple-A in 2023. The Twins are surely glad to have been able to hang onto him, as Keirsey now climbs to the majors after an impressive season that’s seen him produce a .292/.364/.477 slash in St. Paul. He’s connected on 14 home runs and swiped 36 bags in 43 attempts.
In scouting reports over the years, Keirsey has drawn praise for plus speed and athleticism. He’s seen as a viable center fielder and plus option in the corners. Scouts have questioned his hit tool, particularly after he fanned in 30% of his High-A plate appearances in 2021, but he’s trimmed that mark down to a more passable 23% in each of the past three seasons (22.8% in 2024).
If nothing else, Keirsey has the makings of a quality fourth outfielder who can be optioned back and forth between St. Paul and Minneapolis over the next few years, but he’s now had back-to-back productive seasons in the upper minors and could be something of a late-bloomer. He’ll add to a growing stock of lefty-hitting Twins outfielders on the 40-man roster. Even with Kepler set to hit free agency, the Twins have Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach, Alex Kirilloff and top prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez all on the 40-man roster, to say nothing of center fielder Byron Buxton and infielder/outfielder Austin Martin, who hit from the other side of the plate.