Twins’ Austin Martin made most of second half: ‘He’s doing it the right way’

After every game, since college, Austin Martin knows the first text message when he checks his phone will be from his grandma, Helen.

“She is my biggest fan and my biggest critic at the same time,” said Martin, breaking into a wide smile. “It’s awesome.”

Martin, the 26-year-old outfielder, is more amused by the critical texts. Helen, he said, doesn’t hold back when he isn’t playing well. “Looks like you’re trying to do too much,” he remembers one text recently. Another, he said, “What’s wrong? You didn’t get a hit.”

There weren’t many negative text messages in the final month of the season, though. As much as any player, he took advantage of additional playing time after the trade deadline. He batted .282 with eight doubles, one homer, seven RBI and 22 runs in 50 games, posting a .374 on-base percentage and stealing 11 bases in 15 attempts.

Martin looked much improved in the outfield with better jumps and more efficient routes to fly balls.

When Twins President Derek Falvey spoke to reporters Tuesday at a year-end news conference, he brought up Martin three separate times as a player development success this year.

“Everything Austin is doing is standing out,” then-Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said at the end of September. “Describe it however you want, proving himself, earning opportunities — he’s just playing real good. The at-bats have been excellent. Not expanding, getting balls in the heart of the plate, putting good swings on it virtually every time. You can’t have more competitive at-bats than what he’s giving us.”

“I’ve always been a confident individual,” Martin said. “I feel good with where I’m at right now. I still have a lot of things I need to work on, and I still have to get a lot better, but it’s good to start seeing results show on the field, for sure.”

Martin, who played 93 games as a rookie in 2024, played through some of his baserunning mistakes — surely brought up by his grandma — and it looked like it benefited him in September when his aggressiveness didn’t turn into outs.

The Twins expect to have a crowded outfield group next spring, but Martin firmly planted himself as a possible contributor when he hit .313 over his final 29 games.

“We can talk about ceilings and abilities all we want, but there is a difference between having ability and turning that ability into production,” Baldelli said. “He’s doing it and he’s doing it the right way. It looks right and it looks like it should be sustainable. He’s very capable.”

Following the minor league season, the Twins parted with Edgar Varela, their minor league coordinator of instruction, and outfielder coordinator Mike Quade.

Quade spent eight years overseeing the organization’s minor league outfielders, and he was the Twins’ Class AAA manager at Rochester from 2015 to ’17.

Second baseman Luke Keaschall was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb and he underwent surgery Wednesday, which was performed by Dr. Donald Sheridan in Arizona.

It’s the same injury as outfielder Alan Roden, which comes with a two-month recovery before Keaschall can begin baseball activities. The Twins expect him to be fine for the start of spring training.

Keaschall, 23, underwent Tommy John ligament replacement surgery in his right elbow last year, and he broke his right forearm in May after he was hit by a pitch.

• Twins outfield prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez, limited to only 65 minor league games this year because of injuries, will play in the Dominican Winter League to gain more at-bats. The 22-year-old hit .258 with six homers and 27 RBI in 163 at-bats for the Class AAA St. Paul Saints while posting a .429 on-base percentage with 45 walks.