5 Twins players who won’t be back for 2024 season after postseason elimination

The Minnesota Twins finally found a way to snap their prolonged postseason losing streak and defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card round before losing in the Division Series to the Astros.

Minnesota now enters an offseason of uncertainty with several impending free agents to sort through. Their core with guys like Royce Lewis, Carlos Correa, Pablo Lopez. and Byron Buxton is locked in for a whole, but their roster will still have a new look thanks in large part to the players who will likely depart.

Here are five players who won't be back after the Twins unfortunate elimination.

1) Joey Gallo

The Twins took a chance on Joey Gallo this past offseason after failed stints with the Yankees and Dodgers. In April, it looked like that gamble was going to pay off in a big way as he had a 1.063 OPS with seven home runs in 65 plate appearances. He appeared to be settled in quite nicely away from the big city spotlight playing first base primarily against right-handed pitching.

Unfortunately Gallo's hot streak was short-lived as he slashed .163/.288/.374 with 14 home runs and 26 RBI from May 1 through the rest of his season which ended prematurely due to a left foot contusion.

When he's hitting, Gallo has value as he's a terrific defender who can play all three outfield positions in addition to first base and of course, has the light tower power. Gallo simply hasn't been able to put it together since the first half of the 2021 season, and the Twins frankly don't have a need for him.

Minnesota has a ton of left-handed corner outfielders who can also play first base with Max Kepler, Matt Wallner, and Alex Kirilloff. With the 29-year-old headed back to free agency, there's a good chance Minnesota looks to add a right-handed hitter to platoon with one of those lefties instead of adding yet another left-handed hitting outfielder to the mix.