Minneapolis – There have been plenty of new faces in the Minnesota Twins clubhouse this season who have gotten their first taste in the majors. But none have been older than infielder Ryan Fitzgerald, who’s become more commonly known to his teammates as ‘Grandpa Fitzy’ the last six weeks.

Fellow rookie Luke Keaschall bestowed the grandpa title upon him, stemming from a couple of humorous jabs at each other on Instagram after they hit well on August 10 against the Kansas City Royals.

“As it’s noted, I see Keasch like a little brother to me, or as [a] grandson, as he likes to say,” Fitzgerald said. “But yeah, even having [Carson] McCusker around, too, the maturity level out of both of them is off the charts. Sometimes you’d maybe think they’re the 31-year-old, and I was the 23-year-old. But it’s just fun having them around, and the camaraderie has been great.”

“He called me his son, and it pissed me off,” said Keaschall. “So, one day he posted something on Instagram and said, ‘Oh, my son!’ I reposted it and said, ‘My grandpa!’ just to make fun of him. He took it and ran with it, so it kind of backfired on me, but it’s good, though. It’s all good and fun.”

Despite the nine-year age gap between Fitzgerald and Keaschall, it’s been one of the brighter spots on a down year for the Twins. The two quickly gravitated towards each other when they started the year together at Triple-A St. Paul. Now that they’ve seen their highs and lows in the majors together for nearly two months, they’ve created an inseparable bond in the clubhouse.

“Man, that guy’s something,” said Keaschall. “He’s been super nice, super helpful. He’s been around the game a long time with a bunch of different orgs, a bunch of different people. So he’s just a great mind to learn from, and he’s got a much different experience in baseball than a lot of other guys. So, I like the way he goes about his business, I like the way he does stuff.”

“I mean, obviously it’s awesome,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s a good group of guys, too. You’re not always lucky and fortunate to have that care and guys that want to win. I’ve played with McCusker and Keasch at Triple-A, and coming up here with them, couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Fitzgerald has been limited to more of a bench role since the Twins recalled him from Triple-A St. Paul on August 1. However, that’s part of why everyone rallies around him anytime he gets a start like the one he had last Tuesday against the New York Yankees, where he hit a two-run homer.

“Everybody in the clubhouse will always appreciate someone who worked as hard as he has,” said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. “I mean, shoot, you go from Independent ball to the big leagues, you put in nine years of work to get your first opportunity, at anything in life. I don’t care if it’s baseball or whatever you’re talking about. It takes a lot of help to do that, and I think people appreciate heart almost above anything else.”

“I’ve said to a lot of people I play this game to play,” said Fitzgerald. “It’s not the most fun sitting on the bench obviously, but that’s the role I’m in and whatever the team needs, I’m here for it. If they want me to pitch, I’ll pitch. I told Rocco, ‘If you need me to catch, I’ll catch.’ Whatever they need. But like I said, I miss playing, it’s something I like every day, and that’s why I do it, to play the game.”

Fitzgerald’s journey from his first Indy Ball at-bat at CHS Field on May 18, 2017, against former Twins righty Mark Hamburger, to a big leaguer nine years later has made him the heart of this season’s rookie class. Meanwhile, Keaschall has been the hustle. Minnesota’s rookies haven’t made the biggest impact on the field this year, but it is showing what they all can learn about themselves to make 2026 a better year for themselves and the org.

Fitzgerald plans to return to the Dominican League for the third straight year to improve in the offseason. Fitzgerald is going around the clubhouse trying to sell some of his teammates on the benefits of the Dominican Winter League and how it’s helped him.

McCusker has been weighing the decision, but it’ll come down to how his body feels once the book is closed on 2025.

“It’s some of the most fun I’ve had playing baseball,” Fitzgerald said. ”It’s Game 7 every time, and that’s something I’m preparing for, and hopefully I get the opportunity to do that again. I think McCusker said he needs to give his back a rest. When you’ve got a body like that, it’s tough to play year-round.”

“[It] definitely would be a cool experience to go down there because I’ve never done it,” McCusker said. “I’ve heard good things, but just got to see how I feel at the end of the year. Just the atmospheres are incredible. Basically, he said that the fans pack it out, and are into the game, and just being in a new country is always cool.”

Whatever comes of this off-season, Fitzgerald will have a decent rookie performance to hang his hat on when the 2025 season comes to a close. He currently has a .250/.351/.531 slash line with three home runs and eight RBI over 37 plate appearances. It’s a small sample size, but it’s the kind of numbers that will give him a chance to make an Opening Day roster for the first time next year.