Sports Media

Joey Gallo signs with the Minnesota Twins

Dominic Gutierrez / MLB / December 16, 2022

Joey Gallo signs with the Minnesota Twins

Outfielder Joey Gallo has signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Twins. The 29-year-old will earn $11 million from the deal.

Jeff Passan of ESPN was first on the news.

Outfielder Joey Gallo and the Minnesota Twins are in agreement on a one-year contract, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 16, 2022

Gallo has always been known as a power hitter. Making consistent contact has been a different story. The left-handed hitter only hit .160 in 2022 between the Yankees and Dodgers and struck out in 39.7% of his plate appearances. Even those power numbers were down as he only hit 19 between the two teams. For his career, Gallo is a .199 hitter with 177 home runs in eight seasons.

His 2021 wasn’t much better either. He hit .199 with a league-leading 213 strikeouts between the Rangers and Yankees. The bright side of 2021 was a .808 OPS thanks to 38 homers and an MLB-leading 111 walks.

Even when Gallo is at his best, he’s going to hit around .200 with a lot of strikeouts. That’s most power hitters, and he’ll provide 30-40 home runs when he’s on his A game. His defense can’t be ignored either as he’s won two Gold Gloves in his career, both with the Rangers.

While Gallo is hoping for a bounce-back season with the Twins, I’m sure he’s also looking forward to his own fans not being toxic. Before he left the Yankees, Gallo mentioned how bad Yankee fans affected his mental health and he couldn’t wait to get out of New York. When Randy Miller of NJ.com. interviewed Gallo about it, he said “It makes me feel like a piece of s–t, honestly,” Gallo said of Yankee fan reaction. “I remember playing here with the Rangers, watching [Yankees] get booed off the field and thinking, ‘Holy s–t! I feel bad for that guy.’ Now it’s me. I do appreciate people reaching out, but it makes me feel like I’m a problem.“

If Gallo wants a rebound, he’ll have to find a way to get his exit velocity up. Over the past few years, Gallo’s exit velocity has been dipping, even though it’s still respectable at around 88 mph. He draws a lot of walks and plays great defense, and a low setting of Minnesota could help him regain his confidence. Gallo is definitely an all-or-nothing player, however. He’ll either wake up and mash 30-40 homers in 2023, or he’ll continue his decline and be a waste of $11 million.