13 August 2023
When the Twins claimed Jordan Luplow off waivers on Aug. 4, the news didn’t land with much of an impact, nationally or even locally. For Kyle Garlick, however, it was something of a kick in the teeth.
“It didn’t feel great,” Garlick said with a rueful chuckle last Friday.
That’s because the stars appeared to finally be aligning for Garlick, who found a niche, if not a big league roster spot, within the organization as an outfielder and right-handed bat against lefties.
So, when right-handed hitter Byron Buxton was placed on the injured list with a hamstring strain in his right leg, and with first baseman/outfielder Alex Kirilloff on the IL with a right shoulder strain, Garlick made sense for the Twins — even if they had to clear a 40-man roster spot for him.
Especially considering Garlick had just finished a stretch in which he hit .366 with nine doubles, five homers and a whopping 32 RBIs in 22 games in June and July.
Instead, the Twins picked Luplow off waivers from Toronto, moved right-hander Brock Stewart (pronator strain) to the 60-day IL and stuck Luplow on the 40-man, adding yet another outfielder ahead of him in the organization’s pecking order — the last in what Garlick called “a series of unfortunate events for myself.”
Still under team control, Garlick avoided arbitration and signed a one-year, $750,000 deal in November, then watched as the Twins added Donovan Solano, Kyle Farmer, Willi Castro, Joey Gallo and Michael Taylor.
“And now Luplow,” he said. “It’s kind of put a blockade of outfielders and right-handed bats in front of me.”
Luplow, 32, and Garlick, 31, have been pretty similar players, right-handed-hitting outfielders with reliable power against lefties — .227 with 32 homers and 73 RBIs in 534 major league plate appearances through Saturday for Luplow, 14 homers and 25 RBIs in 203 PAs for Garlick.
That’s why the move hit so hard for Garlick, even as he acknowledges that Luplow has more major league experience (335 games to 158 for Garlick).
“It does kind of make you wonder what the Twins have in mind for me,” he said.
Garlick has been good enough to buck the odds for some time. He “started late,” he acknowledged, after five years of college baseball — four at Oregon, one at Cal Poly Pomona — before being drafted by the Dodgers in the 28th round of the 2015 draft. He played 30 games with the Dodgers, 12 in Philadelphia, then was claimed off waivers from Atlanta by the Twins.
“I kind of find that little niche where they needed a right-handed bat off the bench,” Garlick said. “I was producing, starting against lefties, as well. So, I kinda found my role.”
His 66 big league games with Minnesota last season were a career high, but the Twins designated him for assignment to make room on the 40-man for Carlos Correa in January, then DFA’d him to get reliever Oliver Ortega up in June. To bring him back, the Twins will have to clear more space.
But Garlick also has been playing first base almost exclusively since returning to St. Paul on June 24. On Sunday, the Twins played Christian Vázquez at first for just the fifth time this season against left-hander Ranger Suárez.
Whatever happens this season, Garlick isn’t done chasing his dream. He gave himself a window, he said, to play in the majors and make some money, and he’s done both — and knows he can have success at the highest level. He just needs to find the right place.
It’s a familiar story in baseball.
“I think I’m putting myself in a good position to have some opportunities after this season,” Garlick said.
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