Kyle

Garlick

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo mentioned that Martin just needs reps as the 28-year-old comes off a lat muscle injury that made him miss the entire 2023 season. “This decision was made because we just don’t feel like physically he’s perfectly ready, but he’s very close,” Lovullo said. “He might disagree with that, and he should disagree with that. But we just have to be very careful.”

Garlick tagged Reds’ starter Brandon Williamson for a two-run blast in the second inning that extended their early lead to 3-0. He then walloped a solo shot off of Carson Spiers in the fourth to make it 4-2. There’s a ton of competition for reserve outfielders in camp for the Diamondbacks, so Garlick will have to have a very strong spring to earn a role as a lefty-masher off the bench. So far, so good as he’s hitting .600 (3-for-5) with four RBI.

Garlick has seen 375 plate appearances over the past five seasons in his limited big league action — slashing .225/.277/.438 with 19 long balls and 41 RBI. He faces an uphill battle, but with a strong showing in Cactus League action he could push for a lefty-mashing reserve role on the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day roster.

Garlick has accepted an outright minor league assignment and will remain with the Twins as extra outfield depth after going unclaimed on waivers. The 31-year-old was designated for assignment earlier this week after appearing in just 14 games this season for Minnesota.

Garlick has been removed from Minnesota’s 40-man roster to make room for righty reliever Oliver Ortega to get the call to the majors ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Red Sox. The 31-year-old lefty-masher figures to go unclaimed on waivers and remain with the Twins as extra depth.

Garlick continues to shuttle back and forth between Triple-A and the big leagues whenever the Twins need an extra outfielder. This time, he’s paving the way for the expected return of Joey Votto on Tuesday. Garlick has struggled during his time with the big league club -- slashing .179/.233/.429 with two homers, four RBI and an 11/2 K/BB ratio over 30 plate appearances.

Minnesota is slated to face a handful of left-handed pitchers in the coming days, so the club has opted to go with lefty-mashing Garlick over Matt Wallner with Joey Gallo (hamstring) landing on the injured list prior to Saturday’s game against Cleveland.

It also sounds like either Matt Wallner or Kyle Garlick will be summoned from Triple-A St. Paul this weekend to replace Gallo on Minnesota’s active roster, but nothing official yet. The 29-year-old emerging leadoff specialist has been dealing with a lingering hamstring issue recently and wound up being scratched from Friday’s lineup after the issue flared up on his during pregame on-field work.

Garlick has been shipped back to the minors with both Max Kepler and Royce Lewis returning from the injured list ahead of Monday’s game against the Astros.

Garlick got the Twins on the board with a run-scoring double off of Kevin Gausman in the sixth inning that pulled them to within two runs at 3-1. That would be the extent of their offense. He also drew a walk in the contest, finishing the night 1-for-2. On the season, Garlick is hitting .235/.316/.647 with two homers and four RBI through his first 17 at-bats.