Twins send Trevor Larnach down to St. Paul with eyes on more at-bats

Now 79 games into his rookie season, Twins outfielder Trevor Larnach was optioned to Class AAA St. Paul by a big-league ballclub hoping he will find his rhythm and timing there.

Larnach hit .223 with 12 doubles, seven home runs, 28 RBI, 29 runs scored, 31 walks and a .322 on-base percentage after he made his major league debut May 8 at Detroit.

At age 24, he has played more than any Twins outfielder other than Max Kepler, who homered to lead off the Twins' half of the first inning against Cleveland on Monday night. Larnach went 58-for-260 in those 79 games.

"He's a very good player, a good young hitter," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "One of the better young hitters you're going to see in professional baseball right now. With that comes having different approaches, learning how guys are going to pitch you and then figuring out what to do with it. Those are things he has spent a lot of time thinking about."

Baldelli wants the 20th overall pick in the 2018 draft to take that thinking down the road to St. Paul and use it against a different level of competition.

"Now he can go apply some of those things at the Triple-A level, go play and hopefully find that rhythm, find that timing that maybe he was looking for and didn't find up here," Baldelli said. "I have no doubt he's going to be back and he's going to be helping us win a lot of games at this level again."

Baldelli said before Monday's game that the team optioned Larnach to the Saints on Sunday. The Twins recalled versatile Nick Gordon from St. Paul on Monday after 11 days assigned there, and Gordon delivered a 10th-inning single that helped the Twins beat Cleveland 5-4.

Baldelli called Larnach "disappointed, of course" after a conversation Baldelli called "very good."

"He was very receptive to a lot of what we were talking about," Baldelli said. "He worked hard. He cares a lot. I think with the limited time left this season — with at-bats sometimes not coming at the major league level every day — he can go down, take a deep breath, relax a little bit and play every single day. Try to work on a few things specifically would be a very good use of time. I know he's going to make the most of his time."

Gordon returned to the Twins for the fourth time this season. He has played 37 games since he made his major league debut in May, two days before Larnach.

He batted first or second in the order after he went back to St. Paul on Aug. 5 and played second base, shortstop, third base, left and center field and designated hitter.

"When you have a player who can play all over the place, the opportunities generally will find him," Baldelli said. "Whether they're starting or getting in a game, I can't say. There are a lot of guys we're going to be looking to get some at-bats, but Nick is certainly going to get his share regardless of what goes on."

Gordon said he was warned to be ready to play anywhere when he went back to St. Paul. He entered Monday's game as a defensive replacement at second base.

"I kind of knew just heading down there, whenever I came in, I could have been anywhere in the lineup," he said. "They told me the things I would be doing. I was just going out there, taking my reps before the game, trusting my instincts, trusting my athletic ability. Whenever I'm needed, anything is possible, so I'm ready for it."

Injured outfielder Byron Buxton traveled back from a family matter in Georgia on Monday and will return to Target Field on Tuesday for what Baldelli called a "pretty good workout" that will guide club officials on the next step in his recovery from a finger fractured in June. A playing rehab assignment in St. Paul remains a likely possibility. The team leaves Wednesday on a New York-Boston trip.

Yankees righthander Gerrit Cole's return from the COVID-19 list on Monday means he will likely pitch against the Twins this weekend. He has finished in the top five in AL Cy Young voting in each of the past three seasons. Cole has faced the Twins twice in his career and never allowed more than one hit or faced more than four batters in any of his 13 innings.

Twins first base coach Tommy Watkins left Monday's game in the third inning because of an illness and was replaced by major league field coordinator Kevin Morgan. "He is, at the moment, from what I know, feeling OK," Baldelli said after the game. "That's really all I can say. We'll probably be able to share some more [Tuesday]."