Enough Speculation: The Twins Already Have Their Answer at First Base

[Seth Stohs]

There have been several names mentioned as potential Twins first base options. In reality, the choice should be really easy. 

Image courtesy of © Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

I keep hearing name after name being suggested as a first-base option for the 2025 Twins. A year ago, the Twins brought in veteran Carlos Santana on a one-year, $5-million deal. The then-37-year-old had a strong season, posting a .749 OPS with 26 doubles and 23 home runs. He was tremendous defensively and earned his first career Gold Glove Award for his work around first base. Santana was a godsend when Alex Kirilloff again struggled to stay on the field and ultimately was forced to retire after the season at age 27, due to extreme back pain.  

Last month, Santana signed a one-year, $12 million deal with the Cleveland Guardians, where he spent a dozen professional seasons. With Kirilloff’s November retirement, many Twins fans have pointed out that the Twins have a void at first base. 

“We’re going to have to lean on some of the internal guys to take on some of those at-bats for sure, at least in terms of backup consideration," said Derek Falvey, shortly after the end of last season. "And then we’ll just have to see how the offseason plays out there.” 

In other words, on the Twins' list of offseason priorities, first base (rightfully) didn’t rank highly. The Twins have acted accordingly. After DFAing Yunior Severino, he returned on a minor-league contract. They brought in 32-year-old Mike Ford on a minor-league contract. He hasn't done much in the big leagues after hitting 12 homers in 50 games for the 2019 New York Yankees. He did hit 16 home runs for the Mariners in 2023, but then he split the 2024 season between the Reds, their Triple-A affiliate, and Japan. 

Armando Alvarez was also signed to a minor-league deal. The 30-year-old made his MLB debut in 2024 with the Oakland A’s. He had 39 plate appearances. He has played all over the infield defensively.  

They did acquire infielder Mickey Gasper in a Christmas Eve trade with the Red Sox. He made his big-league debut in 2024, but he went 0-for-18 with four walks and eight strikeouts in 23 plate appearances. Before his promotion, he played 44 games at Double-A Portland and 48 at Triple-A Worcester. You can put him into the same category as Ford and Alvarez, but he does have a 40-man roster spot and will be competing for a utility role and to keep said place on the roster. 

Raise your hand if you thought the Twins would be a player for free agents such as Christian Walker, Pete Alonso, or even Paul Goldschmidt. Now, put them down and go to the corner.

Here is a list of remaining free agents who could play first base: Ty France, Justin Turner, Rowdy Tellez, Anthony Rizzo, Jose Abreu, Yuli Gurriel, and Jared Walsh. They could bring back Miguel Sanó. Joey Gallo would play well defensively at first base. 

You could go with a 40-year-old Turner, or you could try a veteran like Rizzo, who has posted injury-marred OPSes of .706 and .637 despite being a left-handed hitter in Yankee Stadium. Does a 38-year-old José Abreu appeal to you, coming off a disastrous stint in Houston? 

Alternatively, you could use two offensive-minded internal options, both of which have had strong stretches and fought significant struggles. 

José Miranda is still just 26 years old. He has played 286 MLB games over the past three seasons. In two of those seasons, he posted OPSes over .750. In 2024, Santana posted a .749 OPS, which made him a finalist for a Silver Slugger Award. Offensively, there is little doubt in my mind that Miranda can meet or exceed Santana’s performance (with the necessary caveat of assuming health).   

In 2023, Edouard Julien came up to the Twins early in the season and became one of their most reliable, consistent hitters. He showed the skill set that made him an intriguing prospect over his 2021 and 2022 minor-league seasons. First and foremost, his eye at the plate was impeccable. He posted an OPS of .839 due to a superb walk rate, 16 doubles, and 16 home runs. Many of his extra-base hits were driven to the opposite field. Everything about Julien’s 2023 led us to believe he could be a fixture at the top of the Twins lineup for years to come. 

Then came 2024, and he was again really consistent. Unfortunately, it was a consistent struggle. He hit just .199. His strikeout rate increased from 31.4% to 33.9%, while his walk rate fell from 15.7% to 11.0%. Julien often toes the line between patience and passivity. In 2024, he appeared more passive. It feels like we have seen the two extremes for Julien. Combined, he’s got a .742 OPS over those two MLB seasons.   

The Twins need to get Miranda and Julien a ton of work at first base this spring. Bring in Justin Morneau. Bring in Joe Mauer. Bring back Doug Mie… OK, maybe not that one. Get them a ton of innings at first base in spring training, then go with it into the season. Show confidence. Tell them their job is to catch the ball at first base. Keep it simple. Keep it positive. Fans will have to understand this, as well. Gallo is still available, if you want plus-plus defense at first base. 

Julien has played in five big-league games at first base. He has made just two starts there. Last year in St. Paul, the Quebecois made six starts at first base and had two errors in 57 innings. He only played second base in the minor leagues in 2022 and 2023. In 2021, he made 20 starts at first base. 

Miranda has played significantly more first base in his career. In St. Paul, he played six games in 2024, eight in 2023, five in 2022, and 28 in 2021. In 2024, the stocky boricua played about 100 innings over 13 games for the Twins. In 2023, he played just two innings over two games, but in 2022, he played 77 games at first base for the Twins. He had just three errors.

And yes, I know that errors are not the best way to judge the work of a first baseman. Saving infielders from errors is the more significant factor, meaning the ability to scoop balls in the dirt or knowing when to leave the base to catch the ball. Bunt plays and how far to move from the bag to field grounders can also be learned. 

I assume both players have been getting some work at first base throughout the offseason. We know they also have been working out and working in the cage. Good hitters make adjustments to the adjustments that were made to them. Add in a new voice. The three Twins hitting coaches in 2024 were let go after the season, replaced by Matt Borgschulte, Trevor Amicone, and Rayden Sierra. Sierra worked with Julien in Fort Myers in 2021. Borgschulte played a significant role in Miranda’s jump from “the talent is there” to a legitimate prospect with massive numbers in St. Paul in 2021.  

Willi Castro can purchase a first baseman's mitt if he wants to, and add it to his collection of gloves to bring to the ballpark every day. 

The Royals have Cole Ragans. The Tigers have Tarik Skubal. The White Sox have Martin Perez. There is a chance that those three are the only left-handed starting pitchers in the AL Central, at least early in the season. 

In my opinion, and assuming health, Miranda should start at first base in two out of every three games, playing matchups. Julien should take the rest of those starts. The other can spend time as the DH, which should be split between many players. Miranda would make about 108 starts at first base in that situation, with Julien starting around 54. It’s a situation where both should get 400 to 450 plate appearances when considering DH time, pinch-hitting opportunities, and such. 

Sure, you can try to collect lightning in a bottle on a one-year contract with an aging veteran again. Or, you can provide an opportunity for two mid-20s players who have shown their potential. Miranda has four seasons of team control remaining, and Julien has five. They should just try to get one of those guys over the hump and into a full-time, potentially long-term job.

Oh, and be sure to get Luke Keaschall and his Trout-like swing plenty of starts at first base in Wichita and St. Paul this season. 

View full article

[Mike Sixel]

Preach 

[HerbieFan]

Couldn't agree more Seth.  Me personally....I don't ever need to see Mickey Gasper, Mike Ford, etc in a Twins uniform.  The question that keeps popping into my head is "Why do we have no one in the system that seems to be able to play 1B?"  Why do we have to wait until guys like Julien get to the bigs and THEN realize he can't play 2B....so, what's left?  Let's just move him to 1B.  The signing of Santana shows the FO values a good defensive 1B, but organization seems to do absolutely nothing to develop one?

[Cory Engelhardt]

I absolutely prefer this route to any of the free agents still available. 

[RpR]

Miranda is better at Third than Lewis; send Lewis to First and leave Miranda at Third.

Give Julien his walking papers.

[Heiny]

Julien scares me.  I would love for him to get back to being an above average hitter and cut his strikeouts by about 30%, but I'm skeptical.  He looks like he wants to be a homer masher, but with his eye at the plate, he should be a high contact hitter.  And let the homer come naturally.  Maybe he will figure it out and I hope he does, but my confidence level is low.  That's why I would like to go after Mountcastle or Casas.  But if we end up with what we have I am ok with that.  I actually think that Miranda should get the great majority of innings but if he gets hurt or performs poorly, then I see a problem.  But hey, that's the fun of watching the games.  If we knew exactly what was gonna happen, well what fun would that be.

[Fire Dan Gladden]

When he was signed, I don't think the intention was to have Santana be the full-time 1B.  His performance kind of forced the issue.

I don't think Julien is a realistic option at 1B.  It feels like his Twin's career is on fumes at the moment, with this year being a make-or-break scenario.  He is probably a prime candidate for a change-of-scenery type move.

I agree that we have every reason to be optimistic about Miranda.  Playing him at 1B seems like a logical decision.  However...  I am not one of those ready to hand him the keys.  His inconsistency at the plate and field is what is causing this ruckus.  Bring in someone that can adequately handle 1B along with 2B or 3B as insurance.  

[nicksaviking]

So Miguel Cabrera. 

This game is no fun Seth when you give away the answer right there in the photo.

 

[chpettit19]

I'm not a Julien believer. Don't think his swing will allow him to hit breaking balls well enough and they'll just keep throwing him more and more. But I do believe in Miranda. I think he can hit. I question his ability to stay healthy, but what else is new with this roster? I don't think 1B would be the best use at all of Keaschall's athleticism, but I think he'll be ready to debut at some point this year and am happy with him as the insurance for a major Miranda injury. 

If they could get Mountcastle or Diaz for cheap in trade I'd be good with that, but there isn't a single free agent worthy of blocking Miranda, in my opinion.

[jmlease1]

I'm in on Miranda being the primary at 1B. If he's healthy he'll hit, and he should field the position well enough that the lower defense should be worth it. I'd tell him to focus on receiving throws as much as possible working with Correa (who I'd bet will be an awesome teacher and helper in getting him adjusted) and Lewis (who needs some help with his scattershot arm).

And I'd be ok with Julien getting the first chance at backing up 1B (and 2B) with a little DH-ing in there. he might not be as good a hitter as he was in 2023, but he's better than he was in 2024.

Rather see either get a chance over bringing in another washed up vet with little chance of upside and a big chance at falling through the floor.

[HelmetTip]

Since his rookie season I've been a big fan of Miranda. His shoulder injury basically ruined '23 & he was on fire with the bat in '24 until his back injury: 

"Through Jul. 10, Miranda had posted an .888 OPS when he was placed on the IL with a back injury. Upon his return at the end of July, it was immediately apparent that Miranda’s back was still not right. In just over 150 plate appearances over the last two months, Miranda posted a .543 OPS."

His defense was neutral at first base. But if he can produce like he's done when he's healthy, I agree with the Twins not bringing in someone, especially another one year, 53 year old rental.

[Brett]

I would go with letting our young players who have had some success have a crack at a full-time spot rather than some fringe roster vet who hasn’t shown much.

[sweetmusicviola16]

Miranda yes. Julien no. Please not Julien, needs to prove himself. The remaining available FA's no. Internal option or a fair trade yes. I know a trade will bring out 1,000 opinions on this board, but I really don't want Julien or a washed up veteran FA at 1B.

[Doctor Gast]

2 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

I'm not a Julien believer. Don't think his swing will allow him to hit breaking balls well enough and they'll just keep throwing him more and more. But I do believe in Miranda. I think he can hit. I question his ability to stay healthy, but what else is new with this roster? I don't think 1B would be the best use at all of Keaschall's athleticism, but I think he'll be ready to debut at some point this year and am happy with him as the insurance for a major Miranda injury. 

If they could get Mountcastle or Diaz for cheap in trade I'd be good with that, but there isn't a single free agent worthy of blocking Miranda, in my opinion.

I can't believe we agree on something chpetti19. The league had the book on Julien & many 1B/ DH types that had the same hitting approach. They have taken away his HR advantage, so he'll have to transform himself & if he can do that IMO he'll no longer profiles at 1B.

[gman]

As of today, anyway, Miranda is the best option for first base. But just like too many guys on the roster, he will be playing a position to which he has very little experience. However, its possible that by the end of the year he will have plenty of experience there.

[TCSquad]

Billy Beane: "You don't know how to play first base. Scott... It's not that hard, Scott. Tell him Wash."
Ron Washington: "It's incredibly hard."
Billy Beane: [Making an awkward, Brad-Pitt expression.] "Hey, anything worth doing is."

[Doctor Gast]

Miranda's last full MiLB season '21 ,  he was very impressive, he hit 30 HRs, 94 RBIs, 

.344

.401

.572

.973

Set him at 1B & let him recover 100%. & the above stats are what we can look forward to.

Like I stated before I don't trust Julien & I'll add I don't trust Gasper, Ford or Alvarez to support Miranda. I'd like to see Lewis and Keaschal brought in to support Miranda. IMO they both could use 1B to keep them healthy & productive during this time. Let's keep it inhouse if all possible.

[ashbury]

I could waste time disputing Seth's adjective "strong" to describe Santana's season, but our glove-only first baseman is in the rear view mirror and is Cleveland's problem now.  I'm totally on board with getting the most out of our in-house options, and stop wasting resources (roster space more so than money) on retreads.

[sweetmusicviola16]

5 minutes ago, TCSquad said:

Billy Beane: "You don't know how to play first base. Scott... It's not that hard, Scott. Tell him Wash."
Ron Washington: "It's incredibly hard."
Billy Beane: [Making an awkward, Brad-Pitt expression.] "Hey, anything worth doing is."

This is precisely why no to Julen at 1B. You take a younger player who is now overwhelmed at the plate already and then throw him at a position that he has next to zero time at who is not known for his glove work anyway. It's not difficult to see how this will end.

[Doctor Gast]

34 minutes ago, TCSquad said:

Billy Beane: "You don't know how to play first base. Scott... It's not that hard, Scott. Tell him Wash."
Ron Washington: "It's incredibly hard."
Billy Beane: [Making an awkward, Brad-Pitt expression.] "Hey, anything worth doing is."

Everybody thought Scott Hatteberg couldn't play 1B, he didn't have the experience. But they showed everybody that he could.

[stringer bell]

I think there’s recency bias against Julien. Everything went wrong and he lost confidence, but he has the ability to be a fine hitter. Last year at this time, Miranda and Larnach were afterthoughts, but they got their chance and performed well enough to be in the Twins’ plans in 2025. 
 

The same thing could happen for Julien in the coming season. 

[Rhyno006]

Quote

Bring back Doug Mie… OK, maybe not that one.

Ok, stupid side question, but what happened with Mientkiewicz and his role(s) in the Twins minor league system? I feel like I remember something happening but can't remember for the life of me.  

[sweetmusicviola16]

Headrick a Twin no longer. Now a NYY.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

1 hour ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

When he was signed, I don't think the intention was to have Santana be the full-time 1B.  His performance kind of forced the issue.

I don't think Julien is a realistic option at 1B.  It feels like his Twin's career is on fumes at the moment, with this year being a make-or-break scenario.  He is probably a prime candidate for a change-of-scenery type move.

I agree that we have every reason to be optimistic about Miranda.  Playing him at 1B seems like a logical decision.  However...  I am not one of those ready to hand him the keys.  His inconsistency at the plate and field is what is causing this ruckus.  Bring in someone that can adequately handle 1B along with 2B or 3B as insurance.  

Agreed on Julien and Miranda. 

[TheLeviathan]

Miranda is the right choice, but I really hope he put some work in on his body to help be a more durable, nimble player.

Our depth behind him is "wreck the season" levels of bad.

[Teddy]

33 minutes ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

Headrick a Twin no longer. Now a NYY.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/yankees-claim-brent-headrick-designate-owen-white.html

Sounds to me like there's another move in the works and they needed to clear a 40-man spot.

[Doctor Gast]

46 minutes ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

Headrick a Twin no longer. Now a NYY.

That was quick & under the radar but I guess not sneaky enough

[Vanimal46]

I haven’t seen an article age this poorly in quite some time. Well done! 

[jmlease1]

It's interesting how quick some people are to give up on Julien. Dude was 7th in RoY voting in 2023, and deserved it. He's hit at every level of professional baseball, including a longer period of success in MLB than failure. One poor year (and it unquestionably was poor) and it seems like there are a lot of people ready to throw him on the scrap heap. I mean, people get mad about the Twins letting Rooker go, and he was worse than Julien, having shown far less MLB success than Julien, and couldn't stick with 2 others teams (including KC, who desperately needed a power-hitting corner OF/DH type at the time). And people still use him as an example for why the twins decision-making is bad.

But we're supposed to give up on Julien?

[jmlease1]

9 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

I haven’t seen an article age this poorly in quite some time. Well done! 

I like nothing about this signing. France hasn't hit since 2022, was an undeserving all-star who rode 2 hot months into getting a nod, isn't a very good defender, and doesn't even profile as a platoon player. Unless Miranda is hurt, I'd much rather have Miranda out at 1B.

I hope he hasn't been promised the starting job (but I'm probably wrong) and if he stinks (which is likely) I hope the Twins are willing to cut their losses on the crappy veteran for once rather than keep running them out there hoping to recoup value. but I doubt it.

Basically, I hope I'm wrong about Ty France. but I don't think I am.