Plum’s Alex Kirilloff ready to be regular for Twins, but on Opening Day?
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MINNEAPOLIS — Alex Kirilloff never has played in a regular-season major league game.
The Plum product is on track to soon become Minnesota’s regular left fielder.
“We know what he’s capable of. We’re going to have to wait and see how this spring plays out,” manager Rocco Baldelli said.
There’s no doubt about how the Twins view the multitalented 23-year-old, their first-round draft pick in 2016. Kirilloff played so well last summer at the team’s alternate training site that when minor league games were halted by the pandemic, he earned a spot on the postseason roster. He then played right field in the elimination game in the AL wild-card series and got a hit in Minnesota’s loss to Houston.
After the Twins declined in December to offer a contract to Eddie Rosario — their left fielder for the past six seasons — the door swung fully open for Kirilloff.
“I’ve worked hard my whole career. I feel like I’ve learned a lot in the minor leagues. Ultimately, this camp, I’ve just got to do my best and get ready for a season regardless of where I start out at. Just try to take care of my body, stay healthy and just see what happens on April 1,” Kirilloff said Thursday on a video conference call with reporters, referring to the date of Opening Day.
So what’s the mystery, then? The service time issue.
By keeping Kirilloff in the minors for a few weeks to start the 2021 schedule, the Twins could delay his eligibility for salary arbitration and then free agency — and the big raises that come with them — by a year. The players’ association has pushed back against teams it believes manipulate this provision in the collective bargaining agreement, losing a grievance last year on the matter involving third baseman Kris Bryant and the Chicago Cubs.
“As you get older, you’re just kind of aware of stuff that can happen like that, but for me, I’m more focused on the playing side,” Kirilloff said.
Excluding his postseason debut at Target Field in September, Kirilloff hasn’t played in a live game since the end of the 2019 season at Double-A.
“It was a long summer, a lot of intrasquads,” he said. “Sometimes we didn’t have an outfielder or were missing an infielder, stuff like that. It’ll be nice to have nine players on both sides again.”
For his part, Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson diplomatically expressed confidence in president of baseball operations Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine to make fair decisions.
“I think the kid is really good. I think he has a bright future ahead of him. What they do is what they do,” Donaldson said. “I don’t know who everybody is going to be on our roster at this moment, but I would assure Twins fans that from everything I’ve seen, Derek and Thad want to put the best team out there.”
Jake Cave, whose ideal role is the primary backup to all three outfield spots, could capably keep left field warm until Kirilloff is deemed ready. The Twins also have well-regarded prospects Brent Rooker and Trevor Larnach in the mix in camp, plus nonroster invites Keon Broxton and Andrew Romine. With Byron Buxton in center field and Max Kepler in right field, this is a position group the Twins ought not have to worry about.
Kirilloff, who is a .317 hitter in 279 minor league games, was ranked 26th on MLB’s list of 2021 prospects. Most importantly for the Twins, Kirilloff is not the kind of player who’ll be rattled or irritated by, say, starting the season in Triple-A.
“He’s just a guy that is very comfortable in his own skin,” Baldelli said. “We talk about his heart rate being about as low as anything you’re going to find, but a guy that has great awareness of everything going on around him. There are always a few guys that have that kind of extra awareness and feel, and I think A.K. is one of those guys.”