WTF is Going on With Matt Wallner?

The Minnesota Twins continue to get healthier. On Friday night, they got Byron Buxton back against the Seattle Mariners. He landed on the concussion list a couple of days after colliding with Carlos Correa in shallow center field back on May 15.

His return comes almost a week after Correa’s. Buxton was placed on the seven-day concussion list, just one day before Buxton was. Before that brutal collision, their teammate Royce Lewis had just returned from the injured list, which he landed on during Spring Training.

Since getting back in the lineup, Royce has yet to find his offense and the kid’s confidence has taken a HUGE hit, which he made clear to reporters the other day. Oh, and don’t forget the loss of Pablo Lopez to the 15-day injured list, in between his 10 starts of 2.75 ERA and 1.012 WHIP dominance.

Matt Wallner not yet ready for a return to the Minnesota Twins lineup…?

Then, there is outfielder Matt Wallner, who strained his left hamstring back on April 15. He sat on the injured list for over a month, before starting a rehab assignment on May 21 at Triple-A St. Paul. All he has done with the Saints is mash, batting .320 with a 1.330 OPS, piling up 5 homers and 13 RBI in just six games.

Sounds like he’s ready for a return right? Well, that’s what we all thought. Earlier on Friday, Dan Hayes (The Athletic) even reported that “looks like” Wallner would return to the Minnesota Twins lineup on Saturday.

Related: Three Weaknesses the Minnesota Twins Should Address Before MLB Trade Deadline

Then, just hours later, Betsy Helfand (Pioneer Press) reported (in a now deleted tweet) that Matt will not be in the big league lineup tomorrow. Instead, the tweet read that Wallner would be in the Saints lineup for his seventh consecutive rehab game.

Matt Wallner has today off and is scheduled to play in another rehab game on Saturday.

— Betsy Helfand (@betsyhelfand) May 31, 2025

Technically, the Twins could keep the Wallner down in St. Paul until June 10, when his 20-day rehab assignment would expire. Hopefully, it doesn’t take near that long. The Twins had an offensive blowup in the late innings Friday night, but the bats have struggled to get going lately.

Not only has the Forest Lake, MN native been destroying the confidence of minor league pitchers, but prior to his injury, Matt was one of the best and most reliable hitters in the big league lineup too, batting .263 with a .847 OPS, 5 doubles, 2 triples and one home run.

Twins explanation of Wallner’s extended rehab assignment makes no sense

Minnesota Twins head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta was asked by reporters (excerpt below via Phil Miller – Star Tribune) if there is a problem with Wallner or if they are worried about his hamstring. His answer: ‘Nope, he’s doing great’.

Wallner’s strained left hamstring is responding as well as his bat is, said Twins head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta. “He is having no issues with his hamstring. Doing great,” Paparesta said. “He was on base quite a bit and had to run [with no problems]. He’s done well in the outfield as well.” Paparesta didn’t give a specific return date but said, “There’s a number of at-bats we’d like to see him get to, and if we’re there, we’re there.”

Star Tribune

What kind of explanation is that? Royce Lewis — who had a very similar hamstring strain — hit .174 in 24 Triple-A plate appearances during his rehab stint. Wallner has already gotten 27 plate appearances (batting .320). Yet, he needs more time and Lewis didn’t?

Then again, Betsy deleted the original tweet that sparked all of this. Does that mean she was wrong and Matt Wallner will be in the Twins lineup on Saturday? Stay tuned…