FORT MYERS, Fla. — Two things have been true of the early years of Trevor Larnach’s major league career: He’s been productive when healthy and often sidelined by injury.
Since debuting in 2021, Larnach has dealt with hand, groin and core muscle injuries, the last of which required surgery and cost him half of last season. After groin tightness affected him for a few days this spring, Larnach is feeling good and locked in at the plate. He has hit .385 with a 1.256 OPS and three home runs, going 4 for 4 on Wednesday and falling a triple shy of the cycle.
With Alex Kirilloff and Jorge Polanco set to begin the Minnesota Twins’ season on the injured list, the outfielder is poised to begin the season on the major league roster.
“My goal is to not worry about whether or not I make it (because) guys are injured,” Larnach said. “My goal is to make it from me putting in the work.”
And it appears he will.
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Larnach spent his offseason working with specialists, recovering from the core muscle surgery that ended his 2022 season and visiting with hitting coach David Popkins in San Diego. After not playing in a game since June 23, he showed up to Fort Myers ready to go. Larnach wound up playing in just 51 major league games last season after playing in 79 a season before.
His injury woes began in 2021, when a left-hand injury depleted his power after a strong start to his rookie season. He was optioned back to Triple-A St. Paul and finished the season on the injured list. Last May, Larnach hit .333 with a 1.077 OPS and three home runs in 16 games. Come June, he was trying to play through an injury and his effectiveness plummeted.
At the end of the month, he underwent a bilateral surgical repair that the Twins initially said would require a recovery period of around six weeks. He didn’t feel ready to go until nine or 10 weeks later and even though he felt good enough to play, he said he didn’t feel like his complete self until October or November.
“I don’t think he’s ever been unproductive when healthy — ever, at any level,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Whenever he’s out there and everything is working right, and he’s healthy, he’s been a very good hitter.”
That’s the hitter the Twins selected in the first round of the 2018 draft, and the guy they hope and expect to see again.
While there was a point this spring where it did not look like the roster math would add up for Larnach to make the Opening Day roster — he seemed to be the odd-man out once the team signed infielder Donovan Solano — Larnach said he tried to push those thoughts out of his mind, focusing instead on controlling what he could.
“There will be some stress there but at the same time, you just want to do the little things right, and then throughout the period of time with spring training, hopefully you’ll have some good results,” he said. “The main thing is that you feel good. That’s really what spring training is for.”
And he does.
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“He looks great,” Baldelli said. “He’s working hard. He’s having good at-bats. He’s hitting balls hard.”
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