Offseason Handbook: Brooks Lee Was Here... Can Twins Pin Their Hopes for 2025 on Him?

[Seth Stohs]

After a humbling rookie season, how much should the Minnesota Twins bet on and rely upon Brooks Lee in 2025? 

Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

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The old saying in sports goes something like this. “A starter should not lose his job because of injury.” 

Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman joined the organization this offseason, playing for his home state team. He was leading the team in tackles, but he has missed time in recent weeks due to injury. When he comes back, it shouldn’t be as a bench player. He will come back and take over his spot. 

Karl Anthony Towns missed a lot of the 2023-2024 NBA season with injury, but as soon as he was healthy, he returned to the Minnesota Timberwolves starting lineup. 

Carlos Correa missed two months of the 2024 season with a second bout of plantar fasciitis. When he returned to the lineup, he was playing shortstop and batting in the middle of the Twins lineup. 

Similarly, the way an organization feels about a prospect should not change based solely on injury either. 

When Royce Lewis first tore his ACL a few years ago, it altered his timeline to the big leagues, but I can’t imagine anyone in the organization worrying about Lewis’s long-term future. When Miguel Sano and Alex Kirilloff missed seasons in the minor leagues due to Tommy John surgery, they remained top 20 global prospects. 

Likewise, Twins fans need to look beyond the offensive struggles of Brooks Lee in the big leagues in 2024. Yes, the numbers weren’t “good.” There is no denying that. 

In his first six big-league games, the Twins prospect went 11-for-24 (.458) with one double and one home run. Over his next 20 games, he went 14-for-75 (.187) with one double and one home run. He missed more time with injury, and he returned to play 24 games in September. He went 13-for-78 (.178), though he had four doubles, a triple, and a home run. 

Fortunately, that isn’t the full story of Brooks Lee, baseball player. As we all know, the Twins were thrilled when Lee fell to them with the eight-overall pick in the 2022 draft out of Cal-Poly, San Luis Obispo. The coach’s kid, he was called by many the most pure overall hitter in that year’s draft. 

After signing, he reached Double-A Wichita for their playoff run that season. That’s where he started the 2023 season, and when he was promoted to Triple-A later in the season, he was leading all Double-A hitters in doubles. In 125 combined games (between Double-A and Triple-A), he hit .275/.347/.461 (.808) with 39 homers, three triples, and 16 home runs. While his numbers in St. Paul dropped, it really was just the batting average. His walk rate dropped 1%, and his strikeout rate increased by 0.8% His Isolated Discipline and his Isolated Power both remained strong. In fairness, he appeared to be just months away from being big-league ready. 

He was invited to big-league spring training again and really impressed coaches and teammates. Unfortunately, just days before the start of the season, he was optioned to St. Paul. When the Saints announced their Opening Day roster, we saw Lee on the Injured List. 

Originally the injury was called back spasms. After further evaluation, he was diagnosed with a herniated disc. According to Twins Daily’s resident physical therapist Lucas Seehafer (click here to review much more detail on the particular injury and rehab), non-surgical recovery averages around six months. In baseball, there is a program that is designed for eight weeks. 

Lee worked through that program, and began a rehab assignment on May 20th. He played five games in the Florida Complex League. Then he played five rehab games for Low-A Fort Myers. On June 5, he returned to the Saints. 

In 20 games, he hit .329/.394/.635 (1.029) with five doubles and seven home runs. He appeared to be back in form. At that point, Royce Lewis was injured and Lee was promoted to the big leagues. On July 3rd, he made his debut. 

After those first six games, it was a struggle for the talented switch-hitter. He wasn’t himself at the plate, His walk rate dropped to just 5.9% His strikeout rate dropped just under 15% 

The goal isn’t to walk, but it is to have an approach at the plate where you don’t go outside of the zone and attack strikes. It’s an example of the phrase that a player needs for the game to slow down. You hear about that with quarterbacks often. The pass rushers get to him a lot quicker. Holes that he easily ran through in college close much quicker. And open receivers just don’t stay open quite as long. How a quarterback responds to the changes and how quickly he can slow the game down in his mind, the better. 

How quickly can Brooks Lee slow the game down? His reputation as a professional hitter, even long before he was actually a professional hitter speaks to his ability to make adjustments. Unfortunately, because his season was broken apart by a two-month injury at the beginning of the season, and another month of missed time meant that he never really got real extended, consecutive time to make needed adjustment. 

In 2011, Mike Trout played in his first 40 games with the Angels. He hit .220/.281/.390 (.672) with 11 extra base hits in 135 plate appearances. Fair to see that the game slowed down for him the next year when he was an All Star, Silver Slugger, the AL Rookie of the Year, and finished second in MVP voting. 

That was Trout’s Age-19 season. 2024 was Brooks Lee’s Age-23, so we aren’t comparing apples to apples. But it’s important to point out that you certainly can’t judge a player's career and potential by their first 40 or 50 games, good or bad. 

What Would I Do? 
Let’s just pretend for a moment that Derek Falvey hired me as an assistant general manager. On Day 1, my responsibility was to make a case for one transaction for this offseason. 

For me, I would try to lock up Brooks Lee to a long-term contract. The comparison I would use would be the contract that the Detroit Tigers signed Colt Keith to a year ago. 

Colt Keith was the fifth round pick of the Tigers in the 2020 draft out of high school in Biloxi, Mississippi. Always a solid prospect, Keith made big strides in 2023. That season, Keith, like Lee, split the season between Double-A and Triple-A. It’s fair to say that Keith arrived in Triple-A about six weeks before Lee did. In 126 games combined, he hit .306/.380/.552 (.932) with 38 doubles, three triples, and 27 home runs. 

Before the 2024 season, Colt Keith ranked in the top 30 overall prospects by Baseball America (#28), MLB Pipeline (#22), and Baseball Prospectus (#22). Brooks Lee ranked #35 at Baseball America, #18 at MLB Pipeline, and #52 at Baseball Prospectus. 

Before the start of this season, the Tigers and Keith agreed to a six-year, $28,642,500 deal that includes options for up to three more seasons. If those are picked up, it would be worth up to about $65 million over nine years. He got a $2 million signing bonus. He made $2.5 million in 2024, $3.5 million in 2025. He will make $4 million in both 2026 and 2027. Then he’ll make $5 million in 2028 and 2029. 

The minimum salary in MLB was up to $740,000 in 2024 (he got $4.5 million). The minimum salary moves up to $760,000 in 2025 and to $780,000 in 2026. Instead of making about $2.4 million over those first three years, he will make $12 million over that time. Then for his three arbitration seasons, he will play for a combined $14 million. If things go well, they could make $4-10 million more than that. But then the Tigers will have options to keep him for up to three of his free agent seasons at very reasonable amounts. 

Because of that signing, the Tigers called Keith up to the big-leagues for Opening Day and kept him up all season. In 148 games, he hit .260/.309/.380 (.689) with 15 doubles, four triples and 13 home runs. He played second base. He walked just 6.5% of his plate appearances and struck out 19.8% of the time.

It was a year of ups and downs. He hit .154 with a .387 OPS in March/April. Then in May he hit .343 with a .881 OPS in May. In June, he hit .220 with a .567 OPS. Then in July he hit .322 with a 1.048 OPS. In that month, he hit seven of his 13 home runs. Then his OPS was .628 and .664 in September/October. 

If Brooks Lee is open to a similarly-constructed contract signed by Colt Keith, I would sign it, feel great about it and hand him the Twins second base job. Lee’s track record of offensive prowess is much longer than Keith’s, and if they believe in him like they have said all along that they believe about him, the contract would pay for itself with a solid Return on Investment. Let him work through any of those ups and downs. 

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How concerned are you about the rookie struggles of Brooks Lee? How do you see him fitting into the Twins plans moving forward? Is the idea of locking him up to a long-term contract logical at this point?

 

 

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[LambchoP]

Let's see if he can handle the starting second base job and hit well enough all year before we start talking extensions. With our payroll crunch we have a few years before we have to worry about any of that. I'm really hoping some of his struggles last year were injury related. I really do not trust Julien at all at this point so I'm hoping Lee comes to spring training healthy and motivated to earn the starting job at second.

[tony&rodney]

Brooks Lee has a very high floor, regular infielder (most likely at third base) who projects to hold down a lineup spot in MLB for a number of years.

I would attempt to trade Brooks Lee for Jeferson Quero of Milwaukee. Both teams would be super reluctant to give up their young budding players but this also fills a need for both teams. Furthermore, I would ask about extending the deal to include Ryan Jeffers and Louie Varland while Milwaukee sends back Devin Williams. 

I like Brooks Lee but am hoping to find infielders with better foot speed and a higher defensive ceiling. However, I doubt that the Twins are active this winter, although it seems they should be looking to upgrade the roster.

Keeping Brooks Lee, I would put him at third base and bat him in the nine hole. I think he will flourish in time. That time could be this year.

[DJL44]

9 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Brooks Lee has a very high floor, regular infielder (most likely at third base) who projects to hold down a lineup spot in MLB for a number of years.

I agree with this assessment. Royce Lewis also matches that description. That means the Twins are going to have to pick one for 3B and a) trade the other OR b) play the other one out of position.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

Count me as a person who is on the fence about Brooks Lee's future.  I don't think that he is going to wash out and be out of the league, but I'm not sure he is destined for stardom either.  This year, to me, is his prove-it year.  Up until now he hasn't even close to lived up to the image the hype machine created for him. 

For many teams, with a normal payroll, signing him to the contract you outline above would be a chance worth taking, as that is only the kind of money that you would pay someone who is just "decent", plus having an option for some additional years is nice.  But for the Twins, on the limited budget that they often have, long-term money isn't a great thing to add to the bottom line.  I THINK he will be at least OK, but I definitely don't know that.  I know that this is a ridiculous comparison (apples to Buicks?), but the Dobnak contract seemed like a good idea at the time and now we would really like that measly $3M back for this year's payroll. 

[Blyleven2011]

Brooks Lee got a taste of MLB baseball  , was injured yes , played right around average  defense  but under performed to his standards of hitting I'm sure ...

 he struggled at the plate   , I would think he starts in AAA St Paul  and then be brought  up , sometimes  a small taste in MLB will give a player some more confidence going into his second year even though he struggled his first year  ...

He just has to figure out what went wrong and make the adjustments ( could have been the injuries that zapped his hitting )  , from what I hear , he has better knowledge of the game than most ....

[Mike Sixel]

Lee got a lot of first round money, he's not a 5th round pick signing that kind of extension, IMO.

I'd likely have him in AAA, playing SS and 2B, waiting for Julien to hit or not......or CC to get hurt or not. 

I'd be ok if they just put him at 3B or 2B and leave him there in Mpls for years, though. I don't trust Lewis to ever be healthy for a year......and they have Keaschell and maybe others that can play 2nd....soonish. (maybe even Eeles)

[bean5302]

Colt Keith was 21 and had a 300 PA sample size at AAA when he was signed. At age 21, Keith had an ISO of .234 in AAA, and he has plus plus raw power.

Brooks Lee was 23 when the Twins called him up, and between 22-23, he had a 282 PA sample size at AAA.
Keith age 21 vs. Lee age 22-23
PA 301 vs 282
AVG .287 vs .266
OBP .369 vs .330
SLG .521 vs .500
ISO .234 vs .245
OPS .890 vs .830

Now on to MLB
Keith age 22 vs. Lee age 23
PA 556 vs 185
AVG .260 vs .221
OBP .309 vs .265
SLG .380 vs .320
OPS .689 vs .585
wRC+ 97 vs 62
ISO .120 vs .099
EV 87.8 vs 85.8
Max EV 109.4 vs 107.4
Max Throw 81.9mph vs 83.1mph
Speed 27.7 vs 25.6
Home to 1B 4.32 vs 4.56
Swing Speed 71.3 vs 69.3


In virtually every conceivable way Colt Keith is better than Brooks Lee. Stronger, faster, younger, better track record, better results, better expected results. Keith raked against fastballs, was well above average against offspeed stuff, but struggled a bit against some breaking balls. Brooks lee couldn't hit fastballs. That's an enormous gap in projectability. It's expected for a 22 year old rookie to struggle a bit against MLB breaking balls, but not nearly so much to see a rookie have major struggles against both 4 seam and sinking fastballs.

Lee's bat speed may be a major issue in regard to that since his swing speed is far below average, likewise his max exit velocity suggesting Lee's power tool is well below average. He was one of the slowest runners in all of MLB. Lee's arm is better than Keith's, but Lee's arm is still well below average for a SS/3B. Keith's arm is a tick weaker than Julien's so it's going to be a major issue for him to work on if he doesn't want to be relegated to LF/1B/DH, but apart from that... I mean, what did Lee show? There were valid reasons why Lee struggled against MLB pitching. Limited raw power, slow bat speed, inability to catch up to MLB fastballs, large areas of the plate he couldn't cover, slow down the baseline to first. On top of that, while he was smooth, his physical skill set limited him defensively as well.

This article absolutely bleeds desperation like a skydiver in a spiral pulling the emergency cord after cutting a failed main chute away. Even Jim Crane operating without a GM wouldn't give Lee a Colt Keith contract.

[RpR]

 

Posted 3 hours ago

"After a humbling rookie season, should the Minnesota Twins bet on and rely upon Brooks Lee in 2025? "

NO!

[chpettit19]

Brooks Lee feels like a ball player. He looks to have some of the better instincts on the team already. But he's always been limited physically. I want Brooks Lee on the Twins, but I don't want the Twins banking on Brooks Lee being a cornerstone. I don't see cornerstone. I hope he makes me look silly for saying such a thing, but Royce Lewis looks like a cornerstone, Brooks Lee does not. That doesn't mean he should be tossed aside, but he never lit AAA on fire and very clearly got overwhelmed by major league pitching. 

I don't worry about extending him at all. Injuries have now presented themselves as a concern for him as well and I'm not doing long-term extensions with guys I don't think are cornerstones and I can't trust to stay healthy. Only guy I'm looking at extending at this point is Jenkins if their coaches think he's close to a lock to add power and fly to the majors this year. They don't have any other young guys I see as "aircraft carriers" as Dan O'Dowd would say. If Brooks proves me wrong and becomes Chipper Jones then he can have Correa and Buxton's money when their deals run out. But I'll take my chances on that. He's not a guy you need to be worrying about extending yet.

[tony&rodney]

Seth, perhaps Brock can float an article over on your Brewer site asking what the Beer faithful feel about an exchange of Quero and Williams for Jeffers and Lee?

[DocBauer]

I really liked what I saw of Lee defensively last season. He's got a good first step, good glove, and great baseball instincts. I think the Twins want him at 2B for 2025...barring him being traded as part of a deal for another addition to the team which I think is a possibility...while still being a viable option as a backup SS/3B.

I believe he's a natural hitter with a good approach, and excellent bat to ball skills that not everyone has. I see very good doubles power with double digit HR power, though I'm not convinced yet he has 20HR power. But that's OK.

He's been advanced very quickly through the system based on talent and "readiness" in so many ways. His ST would have had him on the ML club DAY TWO when Lewis went down except for his own injury.

Personally, I dismiss his offensive numbers with the Twins last year. His hot first couple of weeks might have been a bit of an illusion, but his college and MILB numbers and projections scream quality hitter. But not only was he a rookie, but he suffered the "Twins curse" of naturally getting injured right away with a shoulder issue.

I'm sorry, but I can't downgrade a kid making his rookie debut, then getting hurt, and putting up poor numbers after that. It's just a part of "crap happens". (Especially to top Twins prospects it seems).

He's got all the ability and intangibles to be a good, quality ML player for years! He hits like many believe, and can provide the doubles and double digital HR power he appears to have, he's very good!. And a potential All Star. He can crank 20HR and hit like expected, he's a multiple time All Star.

I'd settle for the middle of those 3 options, but hope for the latter. But I am not down on him and his unfortunate/disappointing rookie debut. 

[RpR]

50 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

I really liked what I saw of Lee defensively last season. He's got a good first step, good glove, and great baseball instincts. I think the Twins want him at 2B for 2025

The ONLY place he was good last year was at Third Base, better than Miranda ,or Lewis, who was the worst there.

 

[JD-TWINS]

19 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I agree with this assessment. Royce Lewis also matches that description. That means the Twins are going to have to pick one for 3B and a) trade the other OR b) play the other one out of position.

Second base is hardly playing either “out of position”……..particularly Lee. Those are the two spots these guys fit into, unless, as I’ve mentioned here before, they move Lewis to 1B & leave Lee at 3B and find out who’s deserving of 2B between Keaschall & Julien.

Ideally, the best offensive infield, assuming guys are playing up to expectations by mid-summer is left to right, Lee - Correa - Keaschall - Lewis. Very doubtful they go this route so somebody is getting moved between now and mid-March. (Julien - Miranda - Keaschall - somebody)

Am trying to manifest a trade for Boston’s 1B Casas …….. how about Lee & Duran to the Red Sox? We get a more proven bat and everyday first baseman and Boston gets Lee’s flexibility and upside along with a controllable replacement for Kenley Jansen. Am I nuts?

[RpR]

Trade Julien to the Seatle Pilots.🥸

[Fatbat]

I would hope that Lee and the FO get together on a contract like that. Do one with Lewis also.  As far as playing in a certain position, thats probably a fluid situation depending on the health of several teammates as well as if Keaschall knocks the door down and arrives in May ‘25 to MLB.  Lee is worth more than Julien and LK could quickly be worth more than Julien and Miranda. 
 

starting lineup in game #1? Lee at 3rd, C4 at SS, Lewis at 2nd, Miranda at 1st. Julien at DH. Or some sort of position shuffle/shuffle?

the position options/configurations are endless with Castro/Martin/LK in the mix.  
 

Do not expect a trade to be made. The FO is going to double down on staying in house and promoting young guys. We are gonna be thee money ballers. 

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

Second base is hardly playing either “out of position”……..particularly Lee. Those are the two spots these guys fit into, unless, as I’ve mentioned here before, they move Lewis to 1B & leave Lee at 3B and find out who’s deserving of 2B between Keaschall & Julien.

Ideally, the best offensive infield, assuming guys are playing up to expectations by mid-summer is left to right, Lee - Correa - Keaschall - Lewis. Very doubtful they go this route so somebody is getting moved between now and mid-March. (Julien - Miranda - Keaschall - somebody)

Am trying to manifest a trade for Boston’s 1B Casas …….. how about Lee & Duran to the Red Sox? We get a more proven bat and everyday first baseman and Boston gets Lee’s flexibility and upside along with a controllable replacement for Kenley Jansen. Am I nuts?

I agree that playing them at 2B isn't really playing them out of position. I'd like to see them have a plan figured out now, though, and give one of them the offseason to get work in and come into spring with their feet under them. I'm not nearly as against moving people around as others around here, but I think it'd be a waste of the offseason to not have Lewis or Lee working out at 2B with a plan of being the primary 2B to start the year. Having any of Lewis, Lee, and Correa working out at the the same position as their primary spot this offseason doesn't make sense. At least to me. Pick a spot for each of them and let them work, while also having Lewis and Lee get some extra work at other spots as insurance.

It will be interesting to see if somebody will get moved this offseason. I wanted them to trade Julien last offseason. I'm not sure this offseason is the offseason to unload any of those guys. Keaschall has never played in the majors, but if he's the only one who's good AND can stay healthy you can't risk trading him. Can Lee, Correa, Lewis, or Miranda stay healthy? Can Julien make enough contact to be good again? I'm not against trading any of them (really hurts me to say that about Lewis), but every other team is asking the same questions so their value is just not there. Twins really painted themselves into a corner with so much of their roster that it's hard to move their guys. Any move carries extra risk now. 

Interesting trade. I'd want another lower level piece coming back from Boston to make up for the extra control they're getting with Lee, but that's interesting. Little injury concern with Casas who hurt himself swinging last year and missed most of the year, but he could be a nice middle of the order bat for the Twins. Especially if you think he has 1 more gear and can OPS .900.

[DJL44]

11 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

I agree that playing them at 2B isn't really playing them out of position.

If the choices are Lewis or Lee at 2B, I'll take Willi Castro.

[Riverbrian]

Can the Twins pin their hopes for 2025 on Brooks Lee. 

No they can't. They need decent insurance. They need competition for each and every roster spot. 

They need to avoid all eggs in one basket. 

The worst thing they can do is just hand him the job out of spring training Que Sara Sara. 

[chpettit19]

3 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

If the choices are Lewis or Lee at 2B, I'll take Willi Castro.

Even if they told Lewis or Lee today that they're the everyday 2B? If Lewis or Lee can't be a better overall baseball player than Willi Castro at 2B then they should've traded one of them before last year.

[RpR]

2 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

Can the Twins pin their hopes for 2025 on Brooks Lee. 

No they can't. They need decent insurance. They need competition for each and every roster spot. 

They need to avoid all eggs in one basket. 

The worst thing they can do is just hand him the job out of spring training Que Sara Sara. 

They need to resign Farmer at a lower wage.

[DJL44]

11 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Even if they told Lewis or Lee today that they're the everyday 2B? If Lewis or Lee can't be a better overall baseball player than Willi Castro at 2B then they should've traded one of them before last year.

I think Lewis would be a better fit at 2B than Lee but I don't think he wants to play there. He's better defensively at 3B. Castro is more athletic than either of them (throws harder, runs faster, better lateral range). The Twins have a lot of guys who can play 3B (Castro, Lewis, Lee, Miranda). Trading one of them to balance the roster is probably a better idea than trying to play them all out of position. Castro is the only one on that list I would want playing 2B or the OF.

For 2025 I would go Lewis at 3B and Miranda at 1B in MLB. I would play Lee at 3B and Julien at 1B in AAA. I would find another 2B and a plus defensive outfielder. Second basemen are the cheapest spot to fill in free agency or trade.

[bean5302]

21 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Even if they told Lewis or Lee today that they're the everyday 2B? If Lewis or Lee can't be a better overall baseball player than Willi Castro at 2B then they should've traded one of them before last year.

Castro's pretty good, man. He's not the 6 WAR guy some TD folks were projecting after a month or two of lucky SSSS this year, but he is a solid wRC+ 110 type of hitter with plus defense at 2B. Easily a projectable 3 WAR guy. It's a money issue, and long term issue. Lee is probably around for 5 more years, Lewis around for 4 more. Castro costs 4-6x as much, and "he gone!" after this coming season.

[bean5302]

3 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I think Lewis would be a better fit at 2B than Lee but I don't think he wants to play there. He's better defensively at 3B. Castro is more athletic than either of them (throws harder, runs faster, better lateral range). The Twins have a lot of guys who can play 3B (Castro, Lewis, Lee, Miranda). Trading one of them to balance the roster is probably a better idea than trying to play them all out of position. Castro is the only one on that list I would want playing 2B or the OF.

For 2025 I would go Lewis at 3B and Miranda at 1B in MLB. I would play Lee at 3B and Julien at 1B in AAA. I would find another 2B and a plus defensive outfielder. Second basemen are the cheapest spot to fill in free agency or trade.

With a healthy quad, Lewis "should be" quite a bit faster than Castro, but it's tough to know if Lewis will ever get back close to what he was before all the leg injuries. It's tough to gauge arm strength between the two with all the "positional flexibility" preventing them from playing a static position long enough to get throwing speeds listed at the same position on Statcast, but the two are pretty similar if you look at their infield throwing speed. Can't look at overall "arm" because it includes a lot of high velo outfield throws for Castro. Lewis probably has a 60 grade arm. Castro's throws from SS last year would put him in the 70 grade arm category, but there's no history of that. Kinda odd.

I'm not sure what Lewis is thinking about 2B long term. I know he didn't like being suddenly and forcibly moved off 3B to a position he'd never played or practiced on a side of the infield he'd never played while he was fighting a slump in the middle of a playoff push in favor of a rookie who wasn't performing. I'm not sure why Baldelli just didn't put Jhoan Duran at 3B. Strong arm, that one.

[chpettit19]

28 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I think Lewis would be a better fit at 2B than Lee but I don't think he wants to play there. He's better defensively at 3B. Castro is more athletic than either of them (throws harder, runs faster, better lateral range). The Twins have a lot of guys who can play 3B (Castro, Lewis, Lee, Miranda). Trading one of them to balance the roster is probably a better idea than trying to play them all out of position. Castro is the only one on that list I would want playing 2B or the OF.

For 2025 I would go Lewis at 3B and Miranda at 1B in MLB. I would play Lee at 3B and Julien at 1B in AAA. I would find another 2B and a plus defensive outfielder. Second basemen are the cheapest spot to fill in free agency or trade.

I don't think that's a fair representation of what Royce said. Royce said he was nervous about moving to a position he'd never played before in the middle of a playoff push. Much like he never said he never slumped, he said he didn't do the slump mindset. But I don't care where he wants to play. If you can't sit down with him and have an adult conversation with him on November 5th about the makeup of the roster and his best fit being at 2B then he isn't somebody I want on the roster. You're not asking him to move to pitcher or catcher or CF. You're asking him to move to another IF position. It's done all the time by far more established players than him. I think Lewis and Lee could, and would, both play 2B. But reasonable minds can disagree.

If both Lee and Lewis' future home for the Twins are 3B and neither have any future at any other position I'd trade one of them this offseason if they have any sort of real value at all. If neither of them can play anywhere else they have no combined value to the Twins and carrying them both is a waste of resources.

[chpettit19]

24 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Castro's pretty good, man. He's not the 6 WAR guy some TD folks were projecting after a month or two of lucky SSSS this year, but he is a solid wRC+ 110 type of hitter with plus defense at 2B. Easily a projectable 3 WAR guy. It's a money issue, and long term issue. Lee is probably around for 5 more years, Lewis around for 4 more. Castro costs 4-6x as much, and "he gone!" after this coming season.

Unless you use OPS+ and bWAR and then he's a 105 and 2 OPS+ and WAR guy. I'm not saying he's useless, but if Lee and Lewis aren't better than 105-110 OPS+ or wRC+ and 2-3 WAR the Twins, and many around here, are going to be disappointed. Willi Castro is absolutely a useful baseball player. But he shouldn't be a better option at any infield position than Royce Lewis or Brooks Lee. And I'm not even a huge Brooks Lee guy.

[bean5302]

2 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Unless you use OPS+ and bWAR and then he's a 105 and 2 OPS+ and WAR guy. I'm not saying he's useless, but if Lee and Lewis aren't better than 105-110 OPS+ or wRC+ and 2-3 WAR the Twins, and many around here, are going to be disappointed. Willi Castro is absolutely a useful baseball player. But he shouldn't be a better option at any infield position than Royce Lewis or Brooks Lee. And I'm not even a huge Brooks Lee guy.

Yes, if you include the positions where he doesn't field well to hurt his defensive contributions, and look at him from the absolute worst possible projection possible, you can get him alllllllll the way down to 2 WAR.

[chpettit19]

29 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Yes, if you include the positions where he doesn't field well to hurt his defensive contributions, and look at him from the absolute worst possible projection possible, you can get him alllllllll the way down to 2 WAR.

I used a different source. That source didn't like how he fielded at most any position. You chose to use a source that painted him the best possible light. I showed the other side. That's how this works. He had 1.6 bWAR this year so I actually moved him UP to 2. He's never had a wRC+ of 110 in his career (in a full season), but that didn't stop you from claiming he was a 110 wRC+ hitter. The entire point of my post was that you chose to use the source that painted him the most positive. I just showed the other side and then gave the entire range between the two, and actually moved the WAR up by not saying 1.5-3.

Generally speaking, between Fangraphs and Baseball Reference Willi Castro is a 2-3 WAR player with a 105-110 wRC+/OPS+ bat. That is definitely a useful player. But the expectations for both Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee are higher than that. Not sure why any of that is controversial.