Twins outfielder and first baseman Alex Kirilloff is retiring from his playing career, as he announced on his personal Instagram account this morning. The Twins subsequently confirmed his retirement in an announcement on X. The soon to be 27-year-old would have been slated for his second of four trips through arbitration with Minnesota this winter.
The surprising decision comes due to the numerous injuries Kirilloff has sustained throughout his career. The outfielder was plagued by a number of wrist, shoulder, and back injuries throughout his career that have caused him to make seven trips to the injured list during his four years in the majors, limiting him to just 249 games played at the big league level. That long list of injuries includes three surgeries: two on his wrist and one on his shoulder.
“In my nine professional seasons, I’ve encountered numerous injuries, which led me to search for new ways to overcome the pain. These challenges have taken a toll on me mentally and physically; over time, I’ve realized that my passion for playing the game has shifted,” Kirilloff said in his announcement. “Baseball demands an ‘all-in’ approach, something I’ve brought to every season. However, I can no longer give it the total commitment it requires. I’ve always believed that playing this game requires 110% effort, and anything less would not do justice to my teammates, coaches, fans, or the game itself.”
Kirilloff’s professional career began when he was selected 15th overall by the Twins in the 2016 draft. While he didn’t make his full-season pro debut until 2018, Kirilloff tore through the lower levels of the minors with a .348/.392/.578 slash line in 130 games at the Single-A and High-A levels in that first full season, which immediately catapulted him towards top prospect status. He entered 2019 as a consensus top-20 prospect in the sport, and even following a slight downturn in production in his first taste of Double-A action that year he remained a consensus top-30 prospect in the game when he made his big league debut in 2021.
Though hampered by a torn ligament in his wrist, Kirilloff’s first season in the majors was generally a solid one as he slashed a roughly league average .251/.299/.423 with eight home runs and 11 doubles in just 231 trips to the plate. Unfortunately, those wrist issues continued to plague Kirilloff in his second year as a big leaguer as well, limiting him to just 156 trips to the plate across 45 games and leading him to undergo wrist surgery for the second consecutive season.
After that second wrist surgery, things finally appeared to be looking up for the talented youngster last year. His season debut was delayed until early May by recovery from the aforementioned surgery, but he hit quite well out of the gate with a .314/.448/.486 slash line in that first month back in the majors. While his production tailed off a bit from there, he remained a regular fixture in the Twins lineup throughout the first half and was hitting a solid .270/.357/.442 through the end of July. Unfortunately, he promptly found himself sidelined by a strained right shoulder that would cause him to miss the entire month of August. Though he managed to return late in the year to play another 19 games in September, the ailment ultimately required yet another surgery that left him to spend his third consecutive offseason rehabbing.
When Kirilloff returned to the Twins lineup in 2024, he once again hit quite well early in the season with a .259/.323/.471 slash line through May 1. Unfortunately, the outfielder began to struggle even as his underlying metrics were solid, and he hit just .135/.207/.284 in what would ultimately be the final 30 games of his big league career. Once again hobbled by an injury, Kirilloff was placed on the injured list in mid-June due to a back injury he had been attempting to play through. The injury proved to be due to a nerve issue, and though he began a rehab assignment with the Twins in late August, that lasted just one game before he found himself sidelined once again. With a fourth consecutive offseason set to be dominated by the rehab process, that Kirilloff found himself in his own words unable to give the “110% effort” required to be a professional ballplayer is understandable.
In all, Kirilloff wraps up his big league career with 249 games played in the majors and a respectable .248/.309/.412 slash line across 884 trips to the plate. We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Kirilloff on the hard work and perseverance he showed throughout his career and wish him all the best in retirement.
He says pain and specifically current low back injury won’t allow him to put all his effort into the game
Chronic pain can grind you down. Stories like this are more common in “contact” sports like football, but baseball can also wrack your body in brutal ways…
Wishing Kirilloff the very best in retirement. Injuries are no joke.
Hope a year or two off maybe gets him healthy enough to reconsider.
Damn, that’s crazy.
He’s only 27 and is just a year removed from a 116 OPS+ season.
Man, that sucks for him. I always liked him and was pulling for him to put together a full healthy season.
“Those who can,do; those who can’t, teach”
Coaching could be in his future should he wish to return to the game later on. Definitely a “what might have been?” situation if he could have stayed healthy
Very reminiscent of his manager, Baldelli.
Baldelli tried to play longer though
Yeah, I just meant injuries killed very promising careers with both of them.
Wow, that’s remarkable. I’m sure he could have faked it through another couple of years Making millions in the process Good on him not to do that. Kris Bryant are you listening?
Reading between the lines, it seems like there were other issues too.
Yeah, that comment about trying to find ways to deal with the pain and how it is affecting him mentally and physically is hard not to read into.
Spooky day for twins fans on Halloween
Darn. A sad end to a promising career.
Sad situation. Wish him the best.
There’s more to life than baseball, I hope he finds happiness joy and contentment in whatever life brings next! You’ll always be a part of Twinsnation!
Heck maybe try a team that isn’t the twins. Do they even have team doctors?
Buxton and lewis next?
That’s really sad. It’s a positive step to say ‘I need to stop this cycle’, but that statement is dripping in pain in more ways than one. All best wishes to him for the future.
I grew up in the same town as Alex, Plum Boro. He was our biggest baseball success to date (Plum have also produced RJ Umberger and Pat McAfee among others). Wishing him the very best moving forward. To put into perspective how hard this might have been, Alex was so dedicated to baseball he attended an online school in high school to work on his baseball skills during the day.
He did not attend an ohline high school. He was home schooled because of his parents’ religious preferences.
Not here to cause any grief or anything but he attended PA Cyber which is an online public charter school.
Have dealt with 2,000+ post-career pro athletes.
Some you can’t tell played a minute of sports, some are wracked with agonizing maladies. The former included long-time legends, and the latter included many who washed out of their sport due to injury, a lack of talent, or an inability to improve their game by age 22.
We’re all different and stuck with what our DNA provides. What might physically crush me might not even be noticed by you.
Thought he hung ‘em up 5 years ago
Dude has some talent… Injuries have killed a lot of his seasons I can see why he just wants chill relax get healthy for a few years and maybe make a comeback. Sometimes constant pain gets the best of us
Dude, come back! All that nontender talk is just haters. Most of us still believe you’ve got it.
There is a line between retirement and simply quitting. Retirement is a word that is earned through years of service. I don’t believe Kiriloff had quite crossed the quitting line just yet. Either way, good luck to him.
Man that’s surprising. Hate he had all those injuries. Was super talented
I met Alex’s father Dave who gave my son a hitting lesson a few years ago just be fore the ‘21 season. What a class act. I really like Dave’s philosophy on hitting. He teaches more than the mechanical swing. It was no surprise to me that Alex was successful. So sorry to hear this. Praying blessings for Alex and his family.
they need to rename the team to the Minnesota Injuries
Happy trails, Alex. Real life begins post-Baseball so enjoy it all!
Respect for stepping aside so young and not trying to milk the money. Best of luck to him.