Minneapolis – There weren’t too many silver linings in the final two months of the Minnesota Twins’ season, but Austin Martin is a notable exception.
Martin rightfully earned the hype around the clubhouse after missing playing time early in the year due to two separate hamstring pulls and not getting his chance until after Minnesota’s fire sale at the deadline. From there, Martin made the most of his playing time, putting up a 106 OPS+, .282/.374/.365 slash line, and 11 stolen bases over 50 games.
It was a massive turnaround from his up-and-down performance throughout 2024. Two years ago, Martin had an 89 OPS+, a .253/.318/.352 slash line, and shaky defense at second base and in the outfield. Martin made the jump he needed to from his rookie year, contributing on all facets of the game in the field and at the plate. It’s what the Twins needed to see from him after trading away so much veteran depth.
“I mean, like in the moment, you don’t really think about it,” said Martin. “You just try to go out there and do what you can to win a game.”
“Austin’s one of the main guys that we can point to that have taken a real step forward,” former Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said in September. “The game just makes its way to the big leagues. Well, it’s not that easy, but he’s making it look right. The ability to command the strike zone has been exceptional. He’s been barreling a ton of balls up, and when he gets on base, he’s making things happen out there.”
No game exemplified Martin’s ability as a table setter for the lineup and defense better than Minnesota’s 7-0 win over the New York Yankees on September 15. He and Simeon Woods Richardson came over in the José Berríos trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto just ended the Yankees’ season, and Martin and Woods Richardson acted like double-agents for their former team in that September 15 game.
Woods Richardson threw six scoreless innings against the Bronx Bombers. Meanwhile, Martin had a four-RBI night with a bases-clearing double in the 7th, and a highlight reel catch on the foul line in left field that left everyone in suspense for a minute.
While the Twins were out of contention at that point, it was a highlight for the duo this season to upset one of the best teams in the American League down the stretch.
“I feel like this last few weeks, we’ve shown that we can play with the best of them,” said Martin. “Sometimes we fall short, and that’s just baseball. A lot of things aren’t going to go your way, but I feel like — at least how I feel personally is that we’ve proven that we have a lot of talent in this clubhouse and we can compete with the best.”
“He’s playing like the player I always knew he could be,” said Woods Richardson. “Now the world gets to see it. Hitting at the plate, that’s nothing new to me. I’ve seen it before everybody saw it. Him making great plays in the outfield, and the infield, I’ve seen it. I’ve seen it more than most people. It’s not new to me.”
Martin was a shortstop for Vanderbilt when they won the College World Series and has always been a good defensive player. However, the work he did shortening up his swing has separated him from being a mediocre role player to a strong platoon player this season. That has helped him raise his OPS+ nearly 20 points, even though he only had 181 plate appearances this year compared to 257 last season. But the small sample size is hopefully a strong indicator of what’s to come next year.
“It helped me a ton, especially this season, just kind of feeling more comfortable with what I’m doing and just kind of feeling more like myself in the box,” Martin said. “It’s kind of been an uphill climb since I’ve been in pro ball, just trying to get back to how I felt when I was in college and stuff like that. As soon as they came over, they had some cues that they wanted me to work on in the offseason, and it almost translated instantly.”
On top of the improved offense, Martin was the only backup outfielder on the Twins roster in 2024 or 2025 with a bWAR over zero, sitting at 0.7. Last season, Martin, Manuel Margot, and Alex Kirilloff all had negative bWARs in backup outfield roles. Meanwhile, James Outman, DaShawn Keirsey Jr., Alan Roden, and Carson McCusker had negative bWARs this season.
WAR isn’t the end-all, be-all indicator for Austin Martin’s value in Minnesota’s outfield going forward. Still, being the only outfielder in a designated backup role to have a positive bWAR among seven others in the same role is a strong indicator of what the floor can hopefully be for the Twins going forward.
As things stand going into the off-season, Martin looks to be the platoon right-handed hitting corner outfielder, likely splitting time with Alan Roden and Matt Wallner in left and right field. Among Minnesota’s hitters, it is most likely to move Trevor Larnach this offseason, which will open up more playing time for him in left field, especially.
Given how he finished the season, Austin Martin should be next in line to take over Willi Castro’s vacated superutility role. The Twins have shuffled him between left, center, and second base. However, they could add another position or two to his role this next season when they reevaluate their depth chart in the offseason. Now that he’s raised the performance bar from what Minnesota needs from a backup outfielder, he’ll need to maintain it as he adds more work into his game in 2026.
“To see young position players take a step forward to join guys like Byron Buxton,” Derek Falvey, Twins President of Baseball Operations, said. “The Luke Keaschalls to come up here and be the guy that he had been. Austin Martin taking steps forward at the end of the year. When I think about where we’re at as a team, I think about a lot of real steps forward and a lot of growth for a lot of young players, and there’s a lot yet to be done going into this offseason, for sure.”
