The Twins are considering a full-time transfer to second base for younger infielder Royce Lewis, writes Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Minnesota briefly experimented with Lewis shifting from third base to second base late within the season, however a extra everlasting transfer is into account. Making the shift at the start of a season, when Lewis has a whole spring coaching exhibition schedule to acclimate to his new defensive environs, would presumably profit the 25-year-old slugger versus final 12 months’s on-the-fly look, when Lewis logged solely eight innings on the place.
Lewis is only one piece of a crowded infield puzzle in Minnesota. The previous No. 1 total choose and prime prospect has been enjoying third base in deference to Carlos Correa however was drafted as a shortstop. From the time he was drafted in 2017, some scouts have questioned whether or not he’d stick at shortstop or transfer to 3rd base, second base or maybe heart discipline. A pair of ACL tears in the identical knee in consecutive seasons has in all probability impacted that call for the group as properly.
Along with Lewis and Correa, the Twins can be trying to juggle enjoying time between prime prospect Brooks Lee (the No. 8 total choose in 2022), Edouard Julien (who posted terrific rookie numbers in ’23 earlier than struggling in ’24), Jose Miranda (who rebounded properly from a 2023 season ruined by shoulder surgical procedure) and utilityman Willi Castro (.251/.334/.395 with 21 homers, 47 steals in 282 video games with the Twins).
Carlos Santana’s potential departure in free company and the stunning retirement of injury-plagued former prime prospect Alex Kirilloff opens some at-bats at first base, which could possibly be dealt with by Julien and/or Miranda. Lee, thought-about a greater defender at third base than Lewis, would presumably be in line for the majority of the enjoying time on the sizzling nook if he makes the roster. Lee missed appreciable time with harm and struggled in his first style of the massive leagues final 12 months, nevertheless, so if he opens the season in Triple-A, that’d depart Miranda and Julien to share the corners early within the season, with Castro (who has intensive outfield expertise as properly) mixing in all around the discipline. The Twins even have fast-rising prospect Luke Keaschall to think about; the 2023 second-rounder has performed second, third, first and heart discipline within the minors and at the moment ranks thirty ninth on Baseball America’s rating of the sport’s prime 100 prospects.
One choice the Twins may discover, in fact, is a reunion with Santana. The 39-year-old switch-hitter is aiming to play no less than three or 4 extra seasons and by all accounts fairly loved his time in Minnesota. President of baseball operations Derek Falvey lately instructed the Twins beat that he’s not ruling out the chance, even when it will “create another adjustments that we now have to think about on the roster” (hyperlink through Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). Santana hit .238/.328/.420 with 23 dwelling runs and gained a Gold Glove at first base in 2024 after signing a one-year, $5.25MM deal in Minnesota.
It’s attainable that the glut of infield expertise may lead a commerce of some selection this offseason, although given the group’s payroll scenario, trades of veterans on considerably notable salaries are thought-about likelier. That would embrace Castro, who’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $6.2MM in his ultimate season of membership management, however there are different areas the place the Twins have notable salaries they might shed. Catcher Christian Vazquez and his $10MM wage are one choice, and Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote lately that there’s an expectation that righty Chris Paddack may even garner some calls this winter. (We ranked Paddack sixteenth on our record of MLB’s prime commerce candidates heading into the offseason.)
Paddack, 29 in January, is signed by way of the 2025 season and can earn a $7.5MM wage subsequent 12 months. He returned for his first full season following a second profession Tommy John surgical procedure in 2024 and pitched 88 1/3 innings with a 4.99 ERA. That’s not a flattering quantity, however a considerable portion of the harm in opposition to Paddack got here in a single nightmare outing the place he yielded 9 runs in 5 1/3 innings to the Orioles in April. From that time forth, he posted a 4.38 ERA with a strong 22.3% strikeout charge and wonderful 5.1% stroll charge. He spent the ultimate two months of the season on the injured record as a result of a forearm pressure.
A former prime prospect who seemed on the cusp of stardom after a dominant rookie season when he gave the Padres 140 2/3 of three.33 ERA ball with plus strikeout and stroll charges, Paddack continues to be one thing of a challenge at the same time as he approaches his twenty ninth birthday. That stated, he’s youthful than most free agent pitchers and paid roughly in step with what could be anticipated of an older reclamation challenge. As an illustration, Alex Wooden ($8.5MM), Wade Miley ($8.5MM) and James Paxton ($7MM) all signed one-year offers on this vary coming off injury-shortened seasons of their very own final winter.
Paddack’s deal might not be teeming with surplus worth, however the Twins additionally may not have to eat any cash in a commerce. Dealing him would skinny out the group’s rotation provide, however the Twins may nonetheless pursue some less expensive depth arms to enrich Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods Richardson and prime prospects David Festa and Zebby Matthews, each of whom made their MLB debuts in 2024 (every struggling to various extents). Prospects Marco Raya and Andrew Morris are additionally on the near-term horizon.
