Rosenthal: For Twins’ Joey Gallo, will a new team and a change at the plate

FT. MYERS, Fla. — People forget, he’s only 29. Yes, Joey Gallo is coming off one of the more miserable offensive seasons in recent memory — a season-plus actually, including his final two months with the Yankees in 2021. But now, with a fresh start in a less demanding market, not to mention a new setup in the batter’s box, people who should know are again seeing possibilities in Gallo. It’s the first season of the rest of his career.

When the Rangers traded Gallo to the Yankees at the 2021 deadline, the athletic, versatile slugger seemed destined for one of those monster free-agent contracts some of his peers signed this winter. But in his time with the Yankees and then with the Dodgers last season, Gallo batted a combined .160 and struck out in nearly 40 percent of his plate appearances. He still flashed his mammoth power on occasion and also contributed as a defender and baserunner. But his value diminished to the point where his initial stab at free agency resulted in only a one-year, $11 million contract with the Twins.

The narrative will follow him: Gallo couldn’t handle New York. Never one for excuses, he will not argue the point, even though he always gave full effort, even though he was too far gone mechanically to succeed. Minnesota, he acknowledges, should be a better fit, and the more forgiving Midwest environment is only part of it. Connections help, too.

Twins general manager Thad Levine previously was the Rangers’ assistant GM, and stayed in touch with Gallo as the former first-round pick developed into a two-time Gold Glove winner and two-time All-Star. Twins bench coach Jayce Tingler, a former field coordinator with the Rangers, also spent many years with Gallo in the majors and minors.

Gallo’s dismal offensive performance last season did not strike Levine as the player’s new normal, or the start of a decline. Quite the contrary, Levine viewed it as an aberration. “We weren’t just looking at the single year’s performance. We were looking at the track record of performance,” Levine said. “We were looking at what we believe the upside to be.”

Levine believes the perception of Gallo suffers because he is a unique physical specimen, freakishly athletic at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, seemingly capable of doing anything he wishes on a baseball field. The cruel reality for Gallo is that the same physical attributes that enable him to hit jaw-dropping home runs — his long limbs, mobility and flexibility — make it difficult for him to achieve consistency at the plate. Levine also points out something else fans rarely consider when judging players: Gallo’s size and skill do not make him invulnerable to the emotions that come with failure.

“We sometimes lose the sense of humanity in some of these guys,” Levine said. “It’s easy for all us who aren’t professional athletes to say, ‘These guys have it all figured out.’ In practice, they’re by and large really good at baseball. The…