Kyle Farmer, surprised to return to Twins, is ready to ‘hit the ground running and go’

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Kyle Farmer was almost certain he’d be wearing a different uniform this spring.

Farmer wanted to return to the Twins after an enjoyable 2023 season; he just didn’t consider it realistic. There were too many infielders and he was due to earn $6 million this year, a significant amount for a utility player on a team with a tight budget.

Much to Farmer’s surprise, the Twins offered him a contract in mid-November and the sides later avoided arbitration. He signed a one-year deal worth $6.3 million on Jan. 11. Instead of learning a clubhouse full of new teammates this spring, Farmer is strengthening relationships with the Twins.

“It’s always a plus,” Farmer said. “You know everybody and you’re comfortable with everybody in the locker room. You don’t start from the ground up. You start kind of above (ground) and you keep going towards the ceiling. It’s not like you’re feeling out a new area. Now, we just hit the ground running and go.”

Farmer’s contract represents about 5 percent of the Twins’ $125 million player payroll. Given he finished last season with 369 plate appearances, the contract can be viewed as a bit of a luxury, especially when compared to some of the deals recently received by free agents who have been starting shortstops for several years.

A couple of weeks ago, Amed Rosario, who produced 4.2 bWAR for Cleveland in 2022, received a one-year, $1.5 million contract from the Tampa Bay Rays. Shortly after that, two-time All-Star Tim Anderson got a one-year, $5 million deal from the Miami Marlins.

But Farmer’s value is immeasurable within the walls of the Twins’ clubhouse. The way Farmer conducted himself last season endeared him to teammates and coaches.

The Twins acquired Farmer from the Cincinnati Reds on Nov. 18, 2022, to play shortstop in case they couldn’t re-sign Carlos Correa. Less than two months later, Correa returned to the Twins on a six-year, $200 million deal. Shortly after news broke, manager Rocco Baldelli, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine each reached out to Farmer to let him know he remained a big part of the team’s plans.

Then Edouard Julien emerged and so did Royce Lewis. Even as Farmer’s playing time shrank, he handled it well, embracing his young teammates. Farmer even went as far as to mentor Julien, their big brother-little brother relationship providing the club with countless moments of levity and joy.

“You can’t put a price on it,” bench coach Jayce Tingler said. “It’s not only his communication, his experience, the way he treats others. He’s done a lot of different roles. He’s talented. The way he comes to work every day, the way he puts his arm around some of the younger guys that are playing in positions he plays. I would say it’s absolutely invaluable.”

Player: Kyle Farmer
Series: ALDS
Year: 2023
Game: 2
Team: Twins
Against: Astros
Pitcher: Framber Valdez
pic.twitter.com/Eb1cbFfhvq

— MLB Postseason Home Runs (@Postcsn_hrs) October 9, 2023

Farmer had a strange start to the 2023 season through no fault of his own. When he left spring training, Farmer felt good about his swing work with the team’s hitting coaches, feeling as if he’d learned a few new tricks with his footwork.

Less than a week into the season, Farmer made a strong first impression on the Target Field crowd when he ended the team’s April 7 home opener with a walk-off RBI single against Houston’s Ryne Stanek. But his season took a surreal turn on April 12 when a Lucas Giolito pitch hit Farmer in the face and he suffered a laceration on his jaw. Farmer missed 24 games with the injury and struggled to hit after he returned, entering the All-Star break with a .237/.299/.345 slash line with four home runs and 16 RBIs.

As the first half ended, coaches detected a decrease in Farmer’s bat speed. Leaning into information provided by coaches and the team’s sports science department, Farmer went to work on his bat speed and produced an eye-opening increase. He upped his average in-game bat speed by 3 mph after incorporating dynamic movements with his footwork and taking part in a strength and conditioning program. In one instance, Farmer’s in-game bat speed jumped by 6.8 mph.

With a quicker bat, Farmer hit .270/.331/.472 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs in the second half.

“It was pretty awesome,” hitting coach David Popkins said. “To see how he worked and how hard he worked to improve and then take a ball in the face and get detoured a little bit and go knock this program out — it was incredible to see and watch him flourish and overcome adversity.”

Farmer’s ascent carried into October.

After he was limited to a pinch-hit appearance over the Twins’ first three playoff games, Farmer made a start against Houston in Game 2 of the American League Division Series with his entire family in the crowd at Minute Maid Field. Batting for the first time in the second inning, Farmer launched a two-run home run off Framber Valdez to provide the Twins with an early three-run lead in a victory dominated by Pablo López.

“That stuff normally doesn’t happen to me and it happened,” Farmer said. “I was like, ‘Holy crap.’”

The postseason home run was the pinnacle of an enjoyable year for Farmer. He and his family liked living in Edina, Minn., and appreciated their welcoming neighbors. He’s thrilled for another chance to work with the team’s hitting staff, to whom he assigned a strong grade — “I learned so much,” he said — and Farmer appreciates the clubhouse mix, how players banded together and stayed strong through early-season struggles, then played their best ball in the second half.

Yet as much as he hoped to return, Farmer was almost sure he wouldn’t. He’s happy it worked out.

“I didn’t think they were going to tender me a contract,” Farmer said. “I didn’t. Honestly, I thought they were just going to non-tender me and I would just become a free agent. If I got non-tendered, there were some teams that probably were going to give me, like, a two-year kind of contract. But I wanted to come back here. Liked everybody on the team and stuff. Either way, it was a good situation for me.”

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(Top  photo of Kyle Farmer at spring training: Brace Hemmelgarn / Minnesota Twins / Getty Images)