Minnesota Twins 2025 Position Analysis: Second Base

[tony&rodney]

16 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Btw, as an aside, how’s that Wallner leading off experiment going?  lol.  I’d bet Wallner’s mentality has always been about driving in runs and/or hitting a long ball.  Now he’s being pressured into thinking like an on-base guy.  Messing with his head.  Rocco will ruin him yet.  

It is just an exhibition games but Wallner has looked totally out of sync, especially today against Atlanta.

[Gamblerssoftball]

16 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Is it too late to sign some washed up vet to a minimum deal to take the reps in the field and at the plate from our prospects? Clearly none of the usual suspects are worth investing in and/or seeing if they are actually suitable for the job. That seems to be the modus operandi around here.

Btw, as an aside, how’s that Wallner leading off experiment going?  lol.  I’d bet Wallner’s mentality has always been about driving in runs and/or hitting a long ball.  Now he’s being pressured into thinking like an on-base guy.  Messing with his head.  Rocco will ruin him yet.  

I'm sure it's all about getting him the maximum number of at bats this spring. If he's still batting leadoff in April, then I'd be more confused than him!

[RpR]

2 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Perception has become reality for some when it comes to Julien. Seeing the worst of Julien, particularly the called third strikes last year,  has made a few totally irrational about anything he does. Julien and Correa were the two best bats for the Twins versus Houston in 2023. Nobody can dispute that Julien fell apart after April last year, but the nonsense of some folks about releasing him/ doesn't belong on the 40 person roster destroys all credibility of those who post such comments. Julien was exposed by MLB pitchers, the Twins were pretty quick to demote him, and Edouard simply did not make the adjustment needed to reclaim a position. The situation as of today requires Julien to show he deserves a position on the 2025 team. 

Julien did well agaist Houston and stunk against Toronto.

If you are going ignore reality and think Julien is just having a temporay yip, your comments are wishful thinking foolish.

His bat is equivalent to Margo pinch hitting.

 

[DocBauer]

It is a.little crazy how 2B finishes the roster. If it's Castro as the #1, then Martin might become more important, or Keirsey, as an extra OF since they probably don't want Castro in the OF. But then who is the backup INF? You want Lee playing daily, but he's your best utility option if Castro is starting.

But if Julien is raking and earns a spot, in addition to DH and some 1B, he can play 2B and Castro can slide to SS to give Correa a day off. 

But if Lee takes over 2B, and Miranda and France control 1B, is there room for Julien? I mean, they could use another LH bat, and there has to be room for the 2023 Julien right?

But is that where a Gasper has a chance to make the club as a 1B/DH/PH? Sounds like too many 1B, but if Julien's bat does need AAA work, who becomes that last man?

So there's actually a lot of moving parts concerning how 2B gets settled.

[Connor Gould]

Rookie Julien was too good not to at least give a shot to come back to life. Miranda did last year, so it's possible. I was hoping that he would learn a lot from Carlos Santana as similar styles of hitters last year, but obviously it didn't work out. 

 

I think either of Julien or Lee playing well is important with regards to lineup construction. I don't like Wallner leading off when he could be middle of the order, but he has to do it by default since Correa lives in the 2 hole and Buxton/Lewis/Miranda don't have the patience. My ideal lineup looks like

 

Julien

Correa

Buxton

Lewis

Wallner

Miranda

Larnach

Jeffers

France

 

But Julien or Lee needs to step up or else it all falls apart

[dxpavelka]

The one thing I DON'T  want to see is that emergency that put Lewis at 2B

[twinstalker]

I really don't understand how Kyle DeBarge gets a mention and Payton Eeles doesn't.  What's going on here?  Maybe it's in the comments as speculation, I'll do a search.  It appears as malfeasance currently,  Not only because (lack) of Eeles but also because of DeBarge.

[twinstalker]

On 3/4/2025 at 1:13 PM, Nick Nelson said:

Lots of comments about Eeles. I thought about invoking him in this discussion but honestly I'm not sure what to make of him and how the team perceives him. Seems very odd to me he didn't get a camp invite as a 25-year-old coming off a really good season at Triple-A.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  Eeles would screw up the whole current pecking order, and Julien would have no chance.  They're currently trying to salvage Julien, for themselves or for trade.  Eeles likely shows himself at 2B right now to be better than at least one, if not all of the prospect-ish (inc. Lee and Julien), and it basically screws up everything the Twins hope to do.  If Eeles continues at AAA to play the way he plays, he'll get his shot this year.  But they've got to figure out the guys they've got, especially Julien.  Mentioning DeBarge and not Eeles, though, makes no sense.  I mean, look at what DeBarge did at low A at age 21.  Nothing about it projects to what Eeles did at AAA at age 24.