ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Trevor Larnach has spent extended parts of the past couple of seasons either injured or at Triple-A. He was even optioned there this spring, though he began the season injured and then returned directly to the majors.

So the fact that he is in the middle of a playoff push as one of the most stable, productive members of the lineup is not something he wants to take for granted.

“I definitely don’t want that thought to sink in and think, ‘I’ve made it. I’m good,’” Larnach said. “I always want to keep pushing and finding something to keep going. This game will humble you so quick. Any time you think you’ve got it or you’re good, you get punched in the face somehow, and it’s your job to battle back.”

Larnach has done just that, taking his fair share of punches and battling back.

He’s in the midst of the best offensive season of his career, entering Tuesday hitting .354 with a .784 OPS and 118 OPS+, a number that is 18 percent better than the league-average hitter. His 15 home runs are a career high, and his15th, which came on Monday, was an important three-run home run that helped propel the Twins to a victory over Tampa Bay.

“He has been very consistently just going out there and producing,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We’ve watched him mature in so many different, positive ways right before our eyes. … We’re not sitting here where we’re at without Trevor Larnach.”

It hasn’t all been smooth for Larnach this season. There’s been plenty of hard contact that has gone for naught — lineouts that haven’t fallen — enough so that he turned to different people, like teammate Carlos Santana and his agent, to ask if there was anything he should change.

“You hit two balls hard in a game, you kind of expect them to be hits, let alone extra-base hits. And when you’ve got nothing to show for it, it can drive you kind of nuts,” Larnach said.

He was told to stay the course. His process was good. The results would follow.

And they have.

“When he lines out two times a game for a week, which he has done probably more than most, he hasn’t changed,” Baldelli said. “He has been very, very consistent, and those hard-hit balls are turning into what we’re looking for right now.”

Briefly

Byron Buxton and the Triple-A Saints had Tuesday off, but the outfielder will continue his rehab assignment on Wednesday. He is expected to play nine innings in center field. … The Twins did not name a starting pitcher for Wednesday’s game, which has been listed as TBA, but Louie Varland joined the team in Florida. The Twins could have Varland start or opt to have a reliever begin the game and Varland pitch bulk innings after that, as he did in his last Triple-A outing. … Reliever Caleb Boushley cleared waivers and has accepted the assignment to Triple-A. Trevor Richards, acquired at the trade deadline, did the same, meaning both are now Saints.

 

There was a moment during a television broadcast last season that perfectly summed up safety Josh Metellus and the impact he makes for the Vikings.

The camera panned to Metellus late in the game between the Vikings and the Las Vegas Raiders, and a graphic popped up showing every position he had played to that point last season. There were 12 positions listed, including both safety spots, every cornerback spot, every linebacker spot, and a couple of spots on the defensive line for good measure.

In total, Metellus ended up playing 1,065 snaps on defense, a massive increase for him after spending the early portion of his career as an ace on special teams. The next step for Metellus is making an even bigger impact for the Vikings.

“I’m trying to build off what I did,” Metellus said. “Just being able to sit down and watch more than a thousand snaps of myself doing the things that I love to do, I was able to understand a lot about myself and the way I play, and my role in the defense.”

His role is hard to explain because Metellus doesn’t really have a position. He was hard to keep track of during training camp at TCO Performance Center, for example, as defensive coordinator Brian Flores consistently moved him all over the field. Asked what more Metellus could do on defense, Flores smiled and responded, “You got an hour?”

“We experimented with a lot of things with Josh last season, and he answered the bell in every way possible,” Flores said. “There’s more meat on the bone, and he wants to do it, so I’m happy to oblige.”

This is nothing new for Metellus. He has prided himself on his versatility ever since he was a star athlete at Charles W. Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, Fla. As an offensive player for most of his life growing up, Metellus has vivid memories of a particular 7-on-7 tournament during which he stepped up as a defensive player.

“Our safety went down, so I went out there and played,” Metellus said. “I did good, and I remember thinking after that like, ‘I can probably do anything on the field.’ It’s always been a matter of applying myself. Just doing the work necessary to improve.”

After making a name for himself at the University of Michigan largely because of his versatility, Metellus got selected by the Vikings in the sixth round of the 2020 draft. Though he barely touched the field on defense as a rookie, Metellus recalls angling for playing time any chance he got in practice

“I was constantly out there like, ‘Oh I could play a little bit of cornerback,’ or, ‘Oh I could play some linebacker,’ ” Metellus said. “Just saying stuff and then learning as I go.”

All the while, Metellus established himself as an ace on special teams. Never mind that he wasn’t playing much on defense. He was busy turning himself into a player special teams coordinator Matt Daniels felt comfortable using in every situation.

“Just being on special teams has kind of been a rite of passage in a sense,” Daniels said. “You groom these guys on special teams and send them on their way to their expanded roles on defense.”

That finally happened for Metellus last season as he played more defense than special teams for the first time in his career.

“It’s great for Josh to be in a defense where he’s able to use his versatility,” Daniels said. “That’s really what it’s all about at the end of the day. How can we maximize a player’s ability? I think Flo is doing an unbelievable job of using his strengths and trying to find a way to expose weaknesses of offenses.”

Whether he’s lining up as a safety in the deep portion of the field, bumping down and playing cornerback in the slot, or blitzing off the edge once the ball is snapped, Metellus has become a jack of all trades for the Vikings who is slowly starting to master all of them.

“It’s never too much for Josh,” fellow safety Cam Bynum said. “He’s so smart, and that gives him the ability to do as much as he has been able to do. It all starts with his knowledge of the game, and then he’s able to go out there and he’s a phenomenal athlete on top of that. Just a crazy good player.”

Maybe the scariest part for the rest of the NFL is the fact that Metellus joked that he barely knew what he was doing last season.

“I was going off instincts because everything was new to me,” Metellus said. “Now it’s about getting down to the little techniques, because I know that can make everything that much better.”

Minnesota Vikings safety Josh Metellus (44) breaks up a pass intended for Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Related Articles

Vikings will use running back Ty Chandler as primary kick returner

Now with the Vikings, running back Aaron Jones believes he’s entering his prime

Vikings lose quarterback Jaren Hall as he signs with Seahawks practice squad

Here are five Vikings who need to step up this season

Charley Walters: J.J. McCarthy’s future as Vikings quarterback is far from certain

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office will be adding two new airboats and a digital evidence management system to its fleet thanks to a $963,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The county board on Tuesday voted to accept the grant, which is part of the Byrne Discretionary Grant Program run by the Office of Justice Programs for the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the program supports projects that improve the functioning of the criminal justice system, prevent or combat juvenile delinquency and assist victims of crime.

Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., was the sponsor.

“With 251 lakes in Washington County, the waterways patrolled by the sheriff’s office vary in both terrain and accessibility,” county officials said in a statement. “Airboats give rescuers a secure and stable platform to navigate through unstable ice and wetland areas, granting access to remote locations. These boats allow responders to safely navigate and transition from solid ground, swamp, ice or open water with enhanced response times and reliability to perform essential lifesaving operations.”

The evidence management system will assist with digital evidence, which is now part of almost every criminal investigation. The sheriff’s office’s current management process “is limited by space, functionality, and performance constraints,” officials said.

The implementation of a cloud-hosted case-management system would give the sheriff’s office and the municipal public safety agencies in Washington County the ability “to efficiently store, analyze and share digital evidence, thereby improving the communication and overall effectiveness of public safety operations throughout the community,” they said.

Related Articles

Cottage Grove cleans up after Thursday night thunderstorms blow down trees, damage homes

Zebra mussels found in Big Carnelian Lake, Minnesota DNR says

Man who died in Oak Park Heights crash was former assistant fire chief in Stillwater

Washington County Historical Society to host rural-school reunion

Oak Park Heights: Stillwater man suffers medical emergency and dies after crashing pickup