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Unfortunately for Brooks Lee, the Twins 2B Competition is Fixed
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- Unfortunately for Brooks Lee, the Twins 2B Competition is Fixed
Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
The Minnesota Twins have been down in Fort Myers preparing for the 2025 regular season for about a month now. In fact, we are well beyond the midpoint of Grapefruit League action, and only two weeks out from Opening Day in St. Louis on March 27.
It was a relatively quiet offseason for the MN Twins, who waited until the final hour before they made any moves at all. For the most part, manager Rocco Baldelli will be working with the same talent as he did in 2024, especially in the infield.
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Minnesota Twins infield looking very set for Opening Day (health permitting)
The only 2025 projected starter in the Twins infield who was not on the roster in 2024 is newly signed first baseman — 30-year-old former All-Star, Ty France — who's expected to get most of the reps , replacing last season's gold glove winner, Carlos Santana .
Of course, we all know this is Carlos Correa 's infield, until proven otherwise. The 10-year veteran will be locked in at shortstop all season, as long as he is healthy. Then, in a bit of a surprise move, Rocco handed Royce Lewis third base at the start of camp, in order to preserve his mental health .
Credit: Chris Tilley-Imagn Images
In case you haven't been keeping track, that leaves second base as the only infield position up for grabs at Minnesota Twins Spring Training. But, a recent report out of The Athletic calls into question how much of a competition is really being had at 2nd base.
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Theoretically, the Minnesota Twins have multiple legitimate options to partner next to Correa up the middle. They could go with 2024 Do-It-All-Star Willi Castro ORleft-handed hitting machine Edouard Julien , who was out of order last summer ORnewly acquired minor league veteran Mickey Gasper ORformer top prospect Brooks Lee .
Willi Castro penciled in as Minnesota Twins second baseman
In a pinch, any of the above players could play a competent big league second base. Well, unless Julien can't hit again. If that happens, his baseball career is in trouble. But in reality, it probably doesn't matter how Julien, or any of the other second base options play down in Fort Myers.
Because unless there's an injury in the infield, there really is no competition at second base, according to Dan Hayes (The Athletic) . Even if the Minnesota Twins are trying to sell 2B as an open competition, Hayes reported Tuesday that Rocco's plan is to have Willi Castro take the bulk of reps there, health permitting.
"In an ideal world, the Twins would be injury-free as they embark for St. Louis two weeks from now. Were they to be in such a position, the Twins likely would give the bulk of their plate appearances at second base to Castro, the team's reigning most valuable player."
Of course, Castro is Rocco's swiss army knife, who can play any position on the field. So any injury the Twins suffer, will likely require Willi to move positions, thus opening up second base for one of the other guys.
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Willi Castro was an All-Star for the Minnesota Twins in 2024. He also looked like a potential trade candidate this offseason given the arbitration salary increase. That didn't happen and he's now looking like the Opening Day second baseman.
When injuries hit, shuffling is imminent at 2B
Baldelli told The Athletic that, as of this moment, he doesn't see a player that will get 600 plate appearances at second base, because there will be a lot of shuffling at that position throughout the season, but those will mostly be due to injury, according to the Twins. When healthy, it's Willi Castro's job to lose.
Where does that leave Brooks Lee? Probably down at Triple-A St. Paul. If the Twins are focused on playing time for Willi Castro, then Lee won't get starting reps on a healthy team. At 24 years old , he's a kid who needs to be playing, even if that means getting reps at a lower level.
Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
Related: Insider Calls Minnesota Twins Starter a Breakout Candidate
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If that isn't going to be with the Twins, then he needs to get those reps with the Saints. Brooks was quoted in Hayes' story, and you can tell he knows his fate, barring an injury he does not want to see happen to one of his teammates.
Lee is following a rookie season in which he hit well early before cooling off, batting .221/.265/.320. He's more eager to prove he belongs than he is focused on winning a job.
"We just get better every day," [Brooks] Lee said. "At the end of the day, we're teammates. So I really wouldn't view it too much as competition. If we all get better at what we're doing, then it's great to be a better team, and that's what matters."
It's hard to put a ton of weight on Spring Training statistics, but Lee needed to do everything he could to put the .221/.265/.320 slash line from 2024 behind him. He's responded with a .267 batting average and .757 OPS so far down in Florida. Barring an unforeseen injury, it won't matter how well he hits though (see below).
Tale of the Minnesota Twins second base situation
Of the four players who have supposedly been vying for time at second base with the Minnesota Twins this spring, Mickey Gasper has played the best, by far, followed by Brooks Lee, then Eddie Julien. The crowned starter at 2B, Willi Castro, is batting .174 with a .557 OPS. Anyone who says Spring Training performance matters is a liar.
| Name |
Games (at 2B) |
Average |
OPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willi Castro |
9 (3) |
.174 (4-23) |
.557 |
| Brooks Lee |
10 (4) |
.267 (8-30) |
.757 |
| Edouard Julien |
9 (5) |
.240 (6-25) |
.705 |
| Mickey Gasper |
9 (5) |
.375 (9-24) |
.971 |
Last season, Castro played six different positions for the Twins. He got 40 games at second base, which trailed his time in the outfield and at shortstop, much of which was due to Correa's injury issues in the second half.
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The Minnesota Twins may plan to play Castro more, come the regular season, but they have maintained his positional flexibility this spring, where he has played just three of his nine appearances at second base. If he is going to open the year as the regular second basemen, it would make sense for the Twins to stack some starts for him over the next couple weeks.
Related: Minnesota Twins Make First Round of Spring Training Cuts
It's a very real possibility that Gasper winds up being the backup second baseman for the Twins to start the season. It makes more sense to have him sit and fill in, when necessary, while Brooks Lee gets reps across the river. Gasper got a taste of the big leagues for the first time last season with the Boston Red Sox . The 29-year-old has an impressive career .317/.422/.498 slash line at Triple-A.
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