Larnach looks to build off breakout 2024

FORT MYERS, Fla. ¨C For outfielder Trevor Larnach, the meaning of success is surrounding yourself with quality people like former big leaguers Matt Kemp and Torii Hunter. Even changing agencies turned out to be a blessing.

The results paid off handsomely in 2024. Larnach¡¯s slash line of .259/.338/.434 with 15 homers and 40 walks was the best of his four-year career. In 29 games from Aug. 21 to the end of the season, Larnach was 28-for-92 (.304) with 15 RBIs and an .858 OPS, serving as a bright spot for a Twins team that floundered offensively down the stretch.

¡°I always believed in myself,¡± Larnach said. ¡°To have the validation of playing, producing and sticking ¨C most importantly ¨C you feel like you are on the right track. All those years of failure, suffering and grinding actually meant something.¡±

Now in 2025, manager Rocco Baldelli sees Larnach as a key cog in a lineup that includes Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis. Larnach will likely hit near the top of the lineup and play the corner outfield spots.

¡°He filled a great spot in our group last year. He was someone from the left side of the plate that would put the ball in play when we needed him to,¡± Baldelli said about Larnach. ¡°He does a little bit of everything. He hits the ball hard. He can put some balls in the seats, which is still something that you¡¯re looking for from your team. But he had a nice change of approach in the way he took to his pregame work, what he was trying to accomplish. He saw the ball really deep on a regular basis and he benefitted from it.

¡°We are going to have pretty high aspirations for him and he¡¯s worked hard defensively, too, to put himself in a spot where he can go out there and play the outfield for us and we know he can hold his own.¡±

At the end of 2023, Larnach, 27, was at the crossroads of his career. Injuries and lack of production at the plate had the Twins wondering if he would ever reach his potential. In 2023, Larnach struck out 34 percent of the time, well above the league average (23 percent) that season. But Larnach¡¯s confidence never wavered. The best was yet to come.

¡°I believed in myself. I always wanted it, prayed and grinded for it. I wanted to play well in the big leagues at the highest level,¡± Larnach said. ¡°Being sent down wasn¡¯t the first time. It was part of the business. I got used to it by now. I¡¯ve been up and down in and out. You learn from it. Last year was a different scenario.¡±

After three years of struggle in the big leagues, Larnach decided to make some changes. One of the first things he did was leave his representation at the Beverly Hills Sports Council and sign with the Bledsoe Agency. While Larnach made it clear that BHSC did nothing wrong, joining the agency founded by Dustin Bledsoe allowed him to work with Dustin¡¯s brother Hunter, a hitting coach who has worked with sluggers like Vinnie Pasquantino and Brent Rooker.

Hunter Bledsoe told Larnach he was moving incorrectly in the batter¡¯s box and helped improve his mechanics.

¡°It was kind of a leap of faith. In doing so, it shows that you are committed. You want to work. You are not trying this out one time. You are doing it to stick around,¡± Larnach said.

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Later that offseason, Larnach moved to Northern California to work out with Lewis, who introduced him to Kemp and Hunter. Those former All-Stars taught him about the simplicity of hitting. Simply, stick to your plan and stay inside the ball.

¡°Words can¡¯t describe how valuable they are,¡± Larnach said. ¡°It¡®s not the amount of sessions that I made that made the difference, it¡¯s the quality of the sessions that made the difference. Those guys are top tier players that are not playing anymore. Look at their careers. Their numbers speak for themselves.¡±

He also started working with performance therapist Jenn Reiner-Marcello in Sarasota, Fla. on his conditioning. Reiner-Marcello, who worked with the Twins for three years, remembered Larnach¡¯s eating and work routines from the one season they overlapped in 2021.
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¡°I couldn¡¯t ask for a better scenario for me,¡± Larnach said.

This year, Larnach doesn¡¯t want to be a platoon player. After his successful 2024, he feels he deserves the chance to play on a regular basis.

¡°That¡¯s the challenge that I want. That¡¯s the challenge that I work for. Whether I get that challenge is not up to me,¡± Larnach said. ¡°Obviously, I have to do my job, but I¡¯m planning in every way to do that. I¡¯m taking another leap forward and [bouncing] off what I did last year, just continuing to learn, grow and help guys out.¡±