Gio Urshela continues to outperform expectations, but Twins lose 3-2 to White Sox

CHICAGO – Gio Urshela didn't expect his home run to be just that. What he thought looked like a fly ball ended up bouncing off the top of the outfield railing and into the stands, which gave the Twins a two-run lead only four batters into Monday night's game.

While the Twins would end up losing 3-2 to the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field, that moment sort of captured Urshela's contributions to the Twins this season: unexpectedly great.

The third baseman has gone a bit unheralded in his seven major league seasons, in part because he has moved around so much. The Twins became his fourth team when the Yankees traded him during spring training. But with the Twins, he has reached a new career high with 142 games and tallied 64 RBI, 13 homers and a .285 batting average. Plus he has made some strong defensive plays at third.

Yet his return next season is not necessarily guaranteed. The 30-year-old could earn a $10 million salary through arbitration, a big bump from the $6.55 million he is making this season. That would make him among the highest-paid Twins players along with the likes of Byron Buxton, Sonny Gray and Carlos Correa, should the shortstop decide to return in 2023.

If the Twins nontender him at the end of the season, they would enter a cool free-agent market for third basemen, which makes a trade seem more likely. But third base is also rookie Jose Miranda's primary position, with him only taking up first this season because of Miguel Sano's lengthy injury absence, so he could also be in line to start there.

Whatever the decision ends up being, manager Rocco Baldelli has taken notice of how steady the Colombian has been this year.

"We use the term 'unsung hero.' … He's been a constant from the day he showed up here in his work, in his play, offensively, defensively, in the clubhouse. He's been a really, really good addition to our group," Baldelli said. "He sets the tone. He's the guy that's in the dugout at the exact same time every single day, 21 minutes before the game. And then he goes out there, and he plays like that when the game starts. And he's actually playing even better late in the year, which is nice to see a guy do."

In the month of September, for example, Urshela batted .330.

It wasn't enough, though, to put the Twins in the playoffs. The Twins (77-83) have clinched their second consecutive losing season, and they also guaranteed a third-place finish behind the White Sox, who are hoping to finish the season on a net positive as they pulled their record even at 80-80 with Monday's victory.

The Twins' 2-0 lead on Urshela's homer didn't stand for long. Josh Harrison returned that favor in the second inning with a two-run homer off Bailey Ober. AJ Pollock scored the winner in the seventh, hitting a leadoff single off Griffin Jax, stealing second and scoring on Carlos Perez's two-out base hit.

The Twins loaded the bases in the top of the ninth with two outs off Liam Hendriks, and Baldelli said he did talk with Luis Arraez to see if he could pinch hit. Arraez is vying for a batting title but also battling a hamstring injury, which kept him on the bench. Mark Contreras struck out, and the Twins stranded all those runners to end the game.

"That just shows you just kind of where we're at right now health-wise with Luis' lower half," Baldelli said. "He's a guy that wants to be on the field right now, he wants to be on the field every day. He's just not in good physical shape."

Arraez and Urshela are tied for the Twins' lead with the most games played this season — though considering Arraez's injury with only two games remaining, it seems likely Urshela will claim that honor.

And that would be fitting for someone who prides himself on "consistency every day."

"I've been doing that my entire career," Urshela said. "Every day, I prepare myself to do my work. Doesn't matter if I get 0-for-4 or 4-for-4. The next day, I've got to come with the same mentality.

"Just go out there, have fun and just waiting for the results."