For the first time in his professional career, Minnesota Twins outfield prospect Gabriel Gonzalez has seen playing time at first base this year. The 22-year-old has started three games at the position with Triple-A St. Paul this season, and was slated to be the Saints' starting first baseman on Tuesday before being moved to left field due to Kaelen Culpepper and Alex Jackson being scratched from the lineup.
Gonzalez, whom the Twins acquired from the Seattle Mariners as part of the Jorge Polanco trade in the 2023-24 offseason, will likely make his MLB debut this season or in 2027. Minnesota outfielders Byron Buxton , Austin Martin , Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner are under contract through at least next season, and top Twins outfield prospects Emmanuel Rodrguez and Walker Jenkins are expected to be promoted to the majors before the end of this season. Therefore, there isn't much room on the Twins' roster for Gonzalez, a right-handed hitter, to play outfield. But there's room for him to play first base.
Josh Bell , Victor Caratini and Kody Clemens have been splitting the first base duties for the Twins this year. Bell is set to be a free agent after this season (unless his mutual option is surprisingly exercised). Caratini will likely play catcher more often next year unless the Twins extend Ryan Jeffers . It's doubtful the Twins view Clemens as a long-term starting first baseman. By giving Gonzalez reps at first base this season, Minnesota clearly plans for him to be the starting first baseman of the future.
Along with their abundance of established and promising outfielders, the Twins' instability at first base is likely another reason why the team is preparing Gonzalez to play the position in the majors. Minnesota hasn't had the same starting first baseman on back-to-back Opening Days since Miguel San in 2020 and 2021. The Twins' Opening Day starting first basemen over the past five years were Clemens (2026), Ty France (2025), Carlos Santana (2024), Donovan Solano (2023) and Jos Miranda (2022).
MLB Pipeline has Gonzalez ranked as the Twins' No. 7 overall prospect . Gonzalez has gotten off to a slow start to the 2026 campaign with Triple-A St. Paul, hitting .197/.256/.368 in 82 plate appearances before Tuesday's game.
After a rough 2024 season where he had a poor .706 OPS in 76 games with High-A Cedar Rapids, Gonzalez posted an outstanding .329/.395/.513 slash line with 15 homers, 38 doubles, three triples and 66 RBI in 123 games across three minor-league levels in 2025.
With Gonzalez, Jenkins, Culpepper and Rodrguez nearing their MLB debuts , the Twins' future appears very bright.
This article was originally published on www.puckettspond.com as Twins clearly planning for highly regarded prospect to be first baseman of future .
