What is the Biggest Question at the Second Base Position for 2024?

[Hunter McCall]

With Jorge Polanco dealt to the Mariners and Edouard Julien set to take over, what is the biggest question to be answered at the keystone for the Twins, entering 2024?

Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

In recent years, the Twins have seen quite a bit of turnover at the second base position. After Brian Dozier was dealt away in mid-2018, the Twins have seen Jonathan Schoop, Luis Arráez, and now Jorge Polanco all come and go as the teams’ regular starter. With 2023 rookie standout Edouard Julien set to take over as the team’s primary second baseman surrounded by depth pieces like Kyle Farmer and Willi Castro, the second base position is in good hands heading into 2024.

With second base being so tightly held down, it leads to the biggest question surrounding the position. Where will Brooks Lee find playing time? The former Cal Poly shortstop and first-round draft pick will start the season in St. Paul, but will almost certainly make his major-league debut in 2024. However, if the Twins are healthy, his path to regular playing time is muddied.

The Twins like position flexibility, and have built a roster full of guys who can play multiple positions. It would be within the realm of possibility for the team to utilize this to rotate their nine starters daily to maximize playing time for all their guys, but it would involve many moving parts. For example, Julien could play second one day, while Lee acts as the DH. The next day, Julien plays first, Alex Kirilloff moves to left field, Matt Wallner serves as DH, and Lee plays second. 

This rotation strategy would allow the Twins to schedule routine days off for all their guys, but it’s far from a flawless plan. First and foremost, it’s a tall order to expect young players to develop defensively when bouncing all over the diamond. This plan would also assume that Byron Buxton is healthy enough to play in the field daily, and won’t need days as the team’s DH. The team could also just bite the bullet and move Julien to first base full-time, but this would come at the expense of Kirilloff and newly signed Carlos Santana. With limited experience at first, it's not a guarantee that Julien would be any good defensively.

No matter how you try to piece all the playing time together, it’s hard to envision a way to make it all work consistently for the following years. While it’s a good problem to have too many good, young players, if not properly managed, it could hinder player development. For this reason, I still think the best course of action would be to pursue a trade.

The easiest way to answer the question of how all the pieces will fall together is to turn Lee into a starting pitcher at the deadline. Using him to headline a trade package could gain them a starting pitcher you want to take the ball in a playoff game. Trading top prospects is never easy, but it could turn the Twins from contenders to win the AL Central to contenders to win the World Series. Is it the price that needs to be paid?

With a surplus of talent at the second base position, the biggest question heading into the season will be how they make it all come together. We know Julien and Farmer are set to hold down the position in a likely platoon, but if Brooks Lee is to make the team, how will they find him playing time? Or will he be traded? Seeing how this all develops is one of the things I’m most looking forward to in the coming season!

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How do you think the Twins will balance all their pieces? Will they trade Brooks Lee? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! Go, Twins!

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[Jocko87]

The only question is how many times we have to hear this. I did, so now you have to.

[Brett]

Given the FO’s history of trading bat-first, defense-challenged middle infielders, isn’t it possible that the mid-season trade for a frontline starter is centered on Julien?

[D.C Twins]

How long will it be until Lee is the starting 2B and Julian is the starting 1B (mixed with DH)?

[Rod Carews Birthday]

With a solid beginning to the season in St. Paul, Lee's trade value will likely be at it's peak, so that would be the time to pull off a trade if that is the direction they go.  The question is whether Julien's proven success has a higher value than the potential for success that Lee represents, and that is an answer that is TBD.  Trade markets can be a little irrational, so it's not a sure thing one way or the other. 

[Karbo]

I would move Julian to 1st if Lee tears it up in AAA. Then try to trade an outfielder. Kepler, Wallner, and AK could be trade bait. Even if they can only get a good draft choice. They have Jenkins who by all reports should be a star in another year or 2 coming along, and Larnach who they seem to have given up on.

[DocBauer]

I understand the premise here, but not sure I agree that there is any issue. Seldom does a team ever have all 13 position players healthy and rostered at all times. You run with the top/best 13 and try to have some depth available. 

Like last season when Julien was brought up, Lee will get his shot initially...more than likely...due to injury. How long he stays up, maybe for good, maybe for a few weeks, maybe a month, depends on how healthy the roster is. 

Julien can play 2B/1B/DH and Lee can play all 3 INF spots, (I'm not counting 1B). With Julien a primary DH, Kirilloff is the predominant 1B. Santana fills his best role which is a RH bat off the bench and rotating in at 1B.

Santana and Farmer will almost undoubtedly be gone for 2025, suddenly there is room for Lee AND Julien, and possibly Miranda too if he gets healthy and gets his bat right again. Julien remains in the lineup almost every day but rotating spots. Lee and Lewis can cover SS, as can Castro, and Castro can also cover 2B/3B. 

I just don't see a real problem here unless everyone is healthy all year long and doing great and we we're trying to play with 14 or 15 guys. And how often does that happen?

[Rod Carews Birthday]

7 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

I understand the premise here, but not sure I agree that there is any issue. Seldom does a team ever have all 13 position players healthy and rostered at all times. You run with the top/best 13 and try to have some depth available. 

Like last season when Julien was brought up, Lee will get his shot initially...more than likely...due to injury. How long he stays up, maybe for good, maybe for a few weeks, maybe a month, depends on how healthy the roster is. 

Julien can play 2B/1B/DH and Lee can play all 3 INF spots, (I'm not counting 1B). With Julien a primary DH, Kirilloff is the predominant 1B. Santana fills his best role which is a RH bat off the bench and rotating in at 1B.

Santana and Farmer will almost undoubtedly be gone for 2025, suddenly there is room for Lee AND Julien, and possibly Miranda too if he gets healthy and gets his bat right again. Julien remains in the lineup almost every day but rotating spots. Lee and Lewis can cover SS, as can Castro, and Castro can also cover 2B/3B. 

I just don't see a real problem here unless everyone is healthy all year long and doing great and we we're trying to play with 14 or 15 guys. And how often does that happen?

I am in agreement with you, however, the question could be whether the Twins would be better off parting with one of Julien/Lee in a trade for a starting pitcher, and that's a really tough one to answer.  If you can pull off an Arraez/Lopez type trade it's a no brainer, but it could also be a Mahle trade, which would be terrible.  If you keep them both, you could have Julien/Lee/Correa/Lewis, with Kirilloff as DH for the next four years or so, which is a pretty good group if they are all playing to capabilities.

[Doctor Gast]

Julien talents & future has always been 1B that's where he should have been playing from the beginning. With Julien at 1B we wouldn't have redundantly signed Santana. Having switch-hitting Lee at 2B now & in the future makes us a much better team. No way we trade him. Santana is the problem, it's him who takes away valuable ABs from our players. I doubt we can trade Santana, -Kiriloff & Miranda aren't worth that much- Julien trade value has peaked or is close to it but by himself, he won't be able to obtain a SP we need.

So hold Lee at AAA until we need him which is probably sometime after the AS game. Move Julien to primary 1B/DH (Julien will have a lot easier time transitioning to 1B than 2B) together with Kiriloff, Kiriloff DH/ RF/ 1B, Miranda 1B & Santana as a safety net (if he's healthy & producing) hopefully if all players are playing well he sits on the bench wasting the $ we gave him like Gallo.

[mikelink45]

 I would not do it.  Lee has real star potential.  We can move Farmer, Castro, Santana, ,Kepler next year. There will be room for him.  Give him some ABs this year and look at what he needs next year.

[Gamblerssoftball]

4 hours ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

With a solid beginning to the season in St. Paul, Lee's trade value will likely be at it's peak, so that would be the time to pull off a trade if that is the direction they go.  The question is whether Julien's proven success has a higher value than the potential for success that Lee represents, and that is an answer that is TBD.  Trade markets can be a little irrational, so it's not a sure thing one way or the other. 

How can you come to the conclusion that Lee's trade value will be at its peak with a hot start at AAA? I would think he's years away from having monster trade value. And then we will all say he's untouchable! My hopes, anyway! The same with Lewis and Julien. Optimism abounds.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

6 minutes ago, Gamblerssoftball said:

How can you come to the conclusion that Lee's trade value will be at its peak with a hot start at AAA? I would think he's years away from having monster trade value. And then we will all say he's untouchable! My hopes, anyway! The same with Lewis and Julien. Optimism abounds.

Trade value is often driven by age/service time/controllability and what is perceived as the potential upside.  It's what makes some of the pitchers the Twins want so difficult to get.  They are projectable and controlable (i.e. cheap), making them very valuable in trade -- many of them (perhaps most) are actually less valuable (in trade talks) once they pitch a year or two and don't show the same upside.  Many of them never recover that lost value.  Lee and Julien are much the same.  The more he looks like "can't miss" with no service time, the more valuable he becomes.  It's why Julien (who has absolutely done more at a higher level), may or may not be more valuable in trade than Lee, as Julien has some service time.  As I said in my post, there is plenty of irrationality in trade talks and values, but if you're trying to make a trade, you have to buy into it. 

[Gamblerssoftball]

10 minutes ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

Trade value is often driven by age/service time/controllability and what is perceived as the potential upside.  It's what makes some of the pitchers the Twins want so difficult to get.  They are projectable and controlable (i.e. cheap), making them very valuable in trade -- many of them (perhaps most) are actually less valuable (in trade talks) once they pitch a year or two and don't show the same upside.  Many of them never recover that lost value.  Lee and Julien are much the same.  The more he looks like "can't miss" with no service time, the more valuable he becomes.  It's why Julien (who has absolutely done more at a higher level), may or may not be more valuable in trade than Lee, as Julien has some service time.  As I said in my post, there is plenty of irrationality in trade talks and values, but if you're trying to make a trade, you have to buy into it. 

I realize that you are right about how trade values are thought of by owners/FO. My thoughts are that they over value service time. So few really become great. I'm glad I don't make those decisions!

[CCHOF5yearstoolate]

9 hours ago, Brett said:

Given the FO’s history of trading bat-first, defense-challenged middle infielders, isn’t it possible that the mid-season trade for a frontline starter is centered on Julien?

Given Julien's production as a rookie & how that matched up with his projections the last year or so, I highly doubt it. And though it's unlikely he stays at 2B because Brooks Lee will be a very good defender, I wouldn't necessarily call him 'defense-challenged'. He was significantly improved by the end of 2023. 

[2Twins1Puck]

I would trade Julien over trading Lee.. Lee has promise of being a generational talent & is a switch hitter. Julien really doesn't hit Lefty's well and Farmer won't be around to platoon forever.. (maybe Austin Martin) but I think you could get the same kind of quality arm in a trade by throwing Julien and some other young prospects like say De Andretti, Schobel kind of level. If it really came down to it maybe Rodriguez or Gonzalez.. Jenkins and Lee could be a real force in the organization, and compliment Correa, Lewis, and Buxton well. I personally would avoid trading them at all costs.

[Major League Ready]

15 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

 I would not do it.  Lee has real star potential.  We can move Farmer, Castro, Santana, ,Kepler next year. There will be room for him.  Give him some ABs this year and look at what he needs next year.

Good point.  Let's not manage for only this year.  Kirilloff looks like a darn good option for LF next year.  The flexibility of these players allows for many options when injuries occur or rotating the DH.  One of those players could even be moved at the deadline.  I doubt Lee gets moved this year or next.

[Fatbat]

The Twins have already Polo, Gordon and Miller in the last few weeks. Lee isn’t getting traded because he is a future building block of the team. And who is to say they will make room for him at 2B.  Positional issues always work themselves out as needs arise. 2B is Juliens and Farmer will fill in sometimes. Things will inevitably change later in the season or in 2025. 

[jmlease1]

Is the question "what is the biggest question at 2B in 2024" or "when will Brooks Lee be in MLB and where will he play?" because I don't think they're the same question at all.

The biggest questions at 2B in 2024 are: will Julien continue to improve defensively, will Julien get any opportunities vs LHP to see if he can improve there, can Farmer effectively punish LHP when he does play and hold up against RHP, and can Julien make a little more contact when he does swing at pitches in the zone?

You might notice that Brooks Lee isn't involved in any of those. Because if Julien is hitting like he did last season and fielding like he did at the end of the year, the only way Brooks Lee comes up to play 2B in 2024 is going to be based on injury. Maybe it's Julien going down, or Kirilloff getting hurt and Julien moving to 1B. Lewis getting hurt again (please, no!) and Lee jumping in at 3B. And that's ok. I'm a huge Brooks Lee fan; absolutely thrilled that we were able to draft him and I think he's going to be an excellent player for the Twins. But last season was his first full season as a pro, and he didn't exactly light AAA (which was a hitter's environment) on fire. 

We don't need to be looking to clear space for Lee to play in MLB this year; space will likely make its own way through injury or ineffectiveness as it almost always does. 2025 might be where the tougher decisions will happen...but 2024 performance will probably dictate some of that as well.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

8 hours ago, 2Twins1Puck said:

I would trade Julien over trading Lee.. Lee has promise of being a generational talent & is a switch hitter. Julien really doesn't hit Lefty's well and Farmer won't be around to platoon forever.. (maybe Austin Martin) but I think you could get the same kind of quality arm in a trade by throwing Julien and some other young prospects like say De Andretti, Schobel kind of level. If it really came down to it maybe Rodriguez or Gonzalez.. Jenkins and Lee could be a real force in the organization, and compliment Correa, Lewis, and Buxton well. I personally would avoid trading them at all costs.

I like Lee.  I think he has a chance to be good.  However, calling him a possible "generational talent" seems like an impossible bar for him to achieve and a recipe for fan disappointment.  That's one of the things that led to people being critical of Joe Mauer, who was an exceptional player.  You're not just calling him a star or even a hall of famer, but someone who will be one of the icons of the game, and that's too much.  Remember, if he isn't absolutely dominating in the minors (i.e. video game numbers), he is pretty unlikely to do that in the majors. 

[joefish]

I don't like the defensive outlook for 2b. We have depth, yes, but I have to question the defense. 

[JD-TWINS]

9 hours ago, 2Twins1Puck said:

I would trade Julien over trading Lee.. Lee has promise of being a generational talent & is a switch hitter. Julien really doesn't hit Lefty's well and Farmer won't be around to platoon forever.. (maybe Austin Martin) but I think you could get the same kind of quality arm in a trade by throwing Julien and some other young prospects like say De Andretti, Schobel kind of level. If it really came down to it maybe Rodriguez or Gonzalez.. Jenkins and Lee could be a real force in the organization, and compliment Correa, Lewis, and Buxton well. I personally would avoid trading them at all costs.

Let’s see if Lee can hit at AAA before there is a trade or a “generational talent” proclamation. Julien has a better outlook on March 3, 2024 - he hit 16 HR’s and an exceptional OBP as a Rookie. Absolutely no reason to consider trading him!

Btw, Lee’s OPS from right side is mid .600’s as a Pro………so he’s (at this point) another good left handed hitter.

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, joefish said:

I don't like the defensive outlook for 2b. We have depth, yes, but I have to question the defense. 

Why? Julien was neutral by the end of his Rookie season……Farmer is slightly plus at 2B. Don’t understand.

[ToddlerHarmon]

On 3/2/2024 at 11:22 AM, DocBauer said:

I just don't see a real problem here unless everyone is healthy all year long and doing great and we we're trying to play with 14 or 15 guys. And how often does that happen?

I agree that I don't see that anyone is blocked. I'd go even further and say that the current situation gives us a great chance to evaluate Julien and Kirilloff on defense, and Lee's offense in AAA, which so far hasn't made it clear that he is an MLB starter. And given that Santana will wither if he gets 500 AB, I don't think there's much of an issue even if everyone is healthy at the end of the season.

[JD-TWINS]

21 hours ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

Trade value is often driven by age/service time/controllability and what is perceived as the potential upside.  It's what makes some of the pitchers the Twins want so difficult to get.  They are projectable and controlable (i.e. cheap), making them very valuable in trade -- many of them (perhaps most) are actually less valuable (in trade talks) once they pitch a year or two and don't show the same upside.  Many of them never recover that lost value.  Lee and Julien are much the same.  The more he looks like "can't miss" with no service time, the more valuable he becomes.  It's why Julien (who has absolutely done more at a higher level), may or may not be more valuable in trade than Lee, as Julien has some service time.  As I said in my post, there is plenty of irrationality in trade talks and values, but if you're trying to make a trade, you have to buy into it. 

After his Rookie year - getting his defense to neutral - .380 OBP - 16 HR’s in less than 400 AB’s ……….if Julien isn’t viewed as high or higher than any guy that hasn’t hit a bunch (at a high level) in AAA the GM’s are nuts.

[JD-TWINS]

22 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

 I would not do it.  Lee has real star potential.  We can move Farmer, Castro, Santana, ,Kepler next year. There will be room for him.  Give him some ABs this year and look at what he needs next year.

Farmer - Santana - Kepler are all gone in ‘25 & Castro can control his value forward as he’s still inexpensive…… & versatile!!

Lee is on the ‘25, 26 man roster unless there’s a real unforeseen happening.

Wallner in RF is the only OF certainty for ‘25.

Lee - CC - Julien on the dirt seem to make most sense. How Team covers 1B - LF - DH are the question marks to me (Lewis-Kirilloff) for ‘25……..along with CF, obviously, hoping Buxton is playing 40-80 games there going forward.

I really like Lewis in LF every day - this allows a comeback for Miranda at 1B in a platoon with Kirilloff at 1B …….also, all 3 get AB’s at DH. Kirilloff can play some LF - Lewis can play some 3B, particularly v. LH pitching, to rest Lee.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

2 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

After his Rookie year - getting his defense to neutral - .380 OBP - 16 HR’s in less than 400 AB’s ……….if Julien isn’t viewed as high or higher than any guy that hasn’t hit a bunch (at a high level) in AAA the GM’s are nuts.

I agree.   However I think we all know that GM’s are certainly nuts.  Hence the irrationality I referred to earlier.  

[specialiststeve]

4 hours ago, joefish said:

I don't like the defensive outlook for 2b. We have depth, yes, but I have to question the defense. 

When Lee arives he has a shot a the Gold Glove at that position... 

We are good. 

Biggest question is when will Lee take over at 2B.. My guess is either AK or Santana get hurt and then the Lee time will arive. 

[Melissa]

16 hours ago, 2Twins1Puck said:

I would trade Julien over trading Lee.. Lee has promise of being a generational talent & is a switch hitter. Julien really doesn't hit Lefty's well and Farmer won't be around to platoon forever.. (maybe Austin Martin) but I think you could get the same kind of quality arm in a trade by throwing Julien and some other young prospects like say De Andretti, Schobel kind of level. If it really came down to it maybe Rodriguez or Gonzalez.. Jenkins and Lee could be a real force in the organization, and compliment Correa, Lewis, and Buxton well. I personally would avoid trading them at all costs.

Welcome to Twins Daily!

[DocBauer]

Just an interesting note about Julien. Just read a piece...Sports Illustrated maybe?...that Julien worked hard this offseason on facing LHP back home in Canada. He set up a pitching machine to approximate balls coming from that side, and hired a local LHP to throw to him as well. I don't recall all the details about location of pitches he was specifically working on to make better contact on, or hold up on, but this kid seems to be a real grinder. He's worked very hard on his defense previously to go from sometimes awkward to decent. And he recognizes that he's got work to do to improve his bat against same side arms. While Lee is almost certainly going to be the primary 2B in the future, Julien just keeps working to make himself better. 

[Hunter McCall]

On 3/2/2024 at 10:27 AM, Brett said:

Given the FO’s history of trading bat-first, defense-challenged middle infielders, isn’t it possible that the mid-season trade for a frontline starter is centered on Julien?

It's possible, but my guess is they commit to the player who is more of a proven hitter in the majors. Additionally, Julien's defense continues to improve so I wouldn't consider him a complete liability just yet.

They could trade Julien but it seems like a risky move to thrust Lee into the lineup without knowing he'll be any good. This of course could all change if Lee comes up and starts tearing the cover off the ball.