How Good Has Twins First Baseman Ty France Been So Far?

[Cody Pirkl]

Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

 

The Twins invested as little as possible at first base this offseason, when they gambled $1 million on a Ty France rebound. He was immediately given the starting job, because of their confidence that 2024 was an injury-marred fluke for the former Reds and Mariners first baseman. Whether their faith has been vindicated is a complicated question.

France is tied for second on the team with 23 RBIs, behind only Byron Buxton. Often hitting in the heart of the lineup, he's seen a wealth of opportunities to impact games, and has made the most of them. He’s slashing .378/.408/.444 with runners in scoring position. His contact-oriented approach and use of all fields make him an excellent option for getting the job done when there are baserunners to cash in. We’ve also seen some brief hot streaks from France, who earned himself Player of the Week honors in April.

Despite his repeated success in big situations, France’s overall performance leaves much to be desired. Currently slashing .256/.319/.357, he owns a 96 wRC+, which is all the more unimpressive at first base, where the bar to clear offensively is higher. After struggling to a .670 OPS in 2024, he became a fringe MLB player. In 2025, he holds an OPS of .676, albeit in a very tough year for hitters.

For what it’s worth, France does appear to have bounced back from his injury-plagued 2024 campaign. His average exit velocity of over 89 mph is a career-high, leading to a career high in expected slugging percentage and a vast discrepancy between his wOBA and xwOBA. He’s been unlucky so far, which isn’t necessarily predictive but gives reason to have hope moving forward—if he can continue with the same process he’s employed.

Defensively, the Twins talked up France’s abilities throughout spring training. It's surprising to hear, given a career-long sample size of defensive metrics indicating that he was extremely limited in the field. So far, the defense has been solid but unexceptional. He hasn’t made any significant defensive mistakes, but his limited range has shown up occasionally.

France’s overall profile is among the more interesting ones on the Twins’ roster. His 0.1 Wins Above Replacement tells the story of a basically fungible player and the 10th-most valuable position player on the team, right behind Jonah Bride. Surely, such a low mark in the all-encompassing WAR measure points to a player who makes little impact on a big-league roster—except that France has been a significantly impactful player, as evidenced by his team-leading Win Probability Added. As unimpressive as the overall body of work is, he’s answered the bell when the team needed him most. That counts for something.

Bottom-line measures might disdain France and downplay his value, but we’ve repeatedly seen him impact the most pivotal parts of games. On one hand, it could be argued that these opportunistic successes are not sustainable. On the other hand, he’s underperformed his expected numbers. If one of these regresses to the mean, it could quickly change the perception of France’s season. If both do, he’ll likely remain a solid contributor to the lineup. It’s an interesting storyline to watch as the season marches on, especially if the Twins remain in contention as the trade deadline nears.

Has Ty France been good this season? It’s hard to say no, given all the impactful moments we’ve seen from him in 2025, despite his modest overall body of work. Perhaps the rest of the season will give us a more definitive answer.

 

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[dxpavelka]

Suffice to say they've gotten more out of him than 90% of  the articles and comments on this site prior to the season thought they would.  I'm sensing a trend.  Donovan Solano, Carlos Santana, France.  It's almost like they know what they're doing.

[Patzky]

Anecdotally.. when a run is needed there's nobody I would rather have at bat than.. France, Bader, Larnach, Clemens, Jeffers.

 

[Riverbrian]

He's been fine for someone who cost one million. 

In total... His 88 OPS+ says below average. 

For somebody who has 188 plate appearances, plays every day at 1b, hits in the 4th spot in the lineup. He has been way below average. 

For somebody who won't be back next year. This isn't a success story so far. 

 

[Hrbeks Divot]

While I’d much rather have a $20M first basemen that can mash and play solid defense, this is the choice the FO made for 1B and I’m satisfied with what he’s given the Twins for $1M. I don’t see a traditional 1B of the future in the system so unless they decide to sign a free agent it’s likely what we’ll get moving forward as well.

[arby58]

At this time of year, any discussion of performance needs to carry the 'small sample size' warning label. We've seen both sides of how this can play out: Gallo started off really strong and then faded. Santana started off slow and then picked it up as the year went along. 

I think it is fair to say that when you offer little more than the league minimum to a player, you can't expect a lot more than average output. In that sense, given some of the performance to date, this looks like a solid move for the Twins. That said, they really need to find their 1B for the future, because France is serviceable but not super impactful.

[arby58]

10 minutes ago, Hrbeks Divot said:

While I’d much rather have a $20M first basemen that can mash and play solid defense, this is the choice the FO made for 1B and I’m satisfied with what he’s given the Twins for $1M. I don’t see a traditional 1B of the future in the system so unless they decide to sign a free agent it’s likely what we’ll get moving forward as well.

Interestingly, Luke Keaschall played 13 games at 1B in 2024 at Wichita, which was more than CF (11) or 2B (10). 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

France is a professional major league player. He has been a good addition at a great price. 

[MinnInPa]

France is doing just fine.. you get what you pay for. Currently performing as good as any hitter on this weak hitting team..and he's not a walking K machine

[Western SD Fan]

This was the opening day lineup when everyone was healthy (except Lewis of course).  If you consider subbing Lewis in for Miranda and moving him into the 4 or 5 spot.  France is meeting expectations for the contract he signed and where he was expected to hit in the lineup: the 6 or 7 spot. 

[Riverbrian]

9 minutes ago, Western SD Fan said:

This was the opening day lineup when everyone was healthy (except Lewis of course).  If you consider subbing Lewis in for Miranda and moving him into the 4 or 5 spot.  France is meeting expectations for the contract he signed and where he was expected to hit in the lineup: the 6 or 7 spot. 

It's a good point but "when everyone is healthy". is a pretty rare occurrence and when they are not all healthy, they rise.  

I'm not here to rip France apart. He's a fine European country. He is costing just a hair over the minimum and he just might be a better option in 2025 than the choices we have on the farm at the moment but he won't be back next year and we will bringing a France doppelganger next year to replace him... if he is indeed  better than the options we have on the farm.  

I've been making this point for years now and I won't stop making it.  

All 13 roster spots matter because when the injuries occur, the guys chosen for bench roles are suddenly starters. Signing a low dollar free agent and saying good enough only works if everyone stays healthy and all teams rarely stays healthy. The guys who were signed to hit at the bottom of the order, rise to middle of the order and become critical quickly.

If you want a strong 1 through 9 of above average hitters, it's really hard to get there but you can get there. Everyday playing time for an average performer is not how you get there. An 88 OPS+ that can't be replaced is not how you get there. Honest competition for spots 1 through 13 on the roster is the only way to get there.      

There's an old saying: Those who live near the water will eventually be in the water. We are in the French Waters now.     

[bean5302]

France hasn't been good as a 1B, but he's been... borderline adequate as a bench player. While his expected metrics are higher, I don't see a strong link to his batted ball data and a surge in production the xwOBA would suggest. That said, France isn't being paid the kind of money a starting position player in MLB should be making. France is being paid to be a bench bat. Offensively, his production is right on par with last year thanks to almost nothing other than singles. Defensively, he's okay, and thankfully, last year's defensive train wreck was a total aberration.

[thelanges5]

🇫🇷 has proven my thinking about him wrong so far. Nice surprise for 1 million bucks even if he isn’t what you’d want from a first baseman, production wise.

Can we get Larnach a first baseman‘s mitt? That could be his position for 2026 and beyond.

I like Billy Amick but he is at Cedar Rapids so likely a couple years away.

[Muppet]

He's a hell a lot better than the alternatives... an injured Kirilloff, or squeezing in someone who absolutely doesn't belong like Miranda or Julien. From the view from radio, it looks like the infield defense is remarkably better than advertised and I'd bet first base plays a big part in that. He might be a downgrade from Santana and he might just be league average... but just like Vazquez and Kiersey, he'll occasionally pull out a big hit that gives the Twins a win. At the same time, he doesn't seem to lose many (or any) games due to misplays or a string of extremely poor at bats. 

The Twins will have to find their superstars at other positions, but they should at least feel secure with Frenchie at 1b. 

[Rod Carews Birthday]

15 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

If you want a strong 1 through 9 of above average hitters, it's really hard to get there but you can get there. Everyday playing time for an average performer is not how you get there. An 88 OPS+ that can't be replaced is not how you get there. Honest competition for spots 1 through 13 on the roster is the only way to get there.      

I was with you on most of your post, but you lost me here.  Absolutely we want a strong 1 through 9 of above average hitters, but honest competition or not, it can only happen if there are 9 above average hitters available and in your team’s control.  I’m not saying that there may not be a spot here or there occasionally that might be better filled internally than externally, but I think you have you may have oversimplified the matter. 

As for France, I would call him OK, but pretty bad for the position he plays.  He’s probably been better than advertised (which was atrocious) defensively and does seem to have a knack (luck? SSS?) for hitting with runners on base.  At the moment, he seems to be mostly healthy, which on this current team, is probably his most important quality.  France is the country we have, so let’s enjoy the sights as best we can. 

[Fire Dan Gladden]

Frankly I read this headline and expected to see an outpouring of negative comments attacking France and the organization. Call me pleasantly surprised to see realistic comments and expectations.

While not putting up rockstar numbers, he is adequate for the moment. For $1M, nobody should have been expecting the moon. We all want the $20M masher at 1B, but you have to pick and choose with this organization. The Twins have been fairly successful picking 1B from the scrap heap over the last few years...

[Rod Carews Birthday]

3 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Frankly I read this headline and expected to see an outpouring of negative comments attacking France and the organization. Call me pleasantly surprised to see realistic comments and expectations.

While not putting up rockstar numbers, he is adequate for the moment. For $1M, nobody should have been expecting the moon. We all want the $20M masher at 1B, but you have to pick and choose with this organization. The Twins have been fairly successful picking 1B from the scrap heap over the last few years...

Agreed, especially with the comment of the Twins being fairly successful picking first basemen from the scrap heap.  It’s a very large improvement from when they used to try to do that with a pitching rotation!

[Road trip]

France is my old '79 Dodge Omni.  Not fast, not powerful, not safe, and most certainly not sexy.  But it was cheap, it was reasonably dependable, and for several years it was all I could afford.  There was value there, if you accepted all the limitations.  I replaced the Omni when I could afford something better.  I don't know when or if the Twins will reach that point for 1B.

[slick83]

Ty France has been a great addition. We need more professional at bats which he gives us. We need run producers with runners in scoring position which he gives us. Use the eye test vs many of the idiotic stats thrown out there. If Corrrea (35million dollar man) could produce as well as France we would celebrate him as a great deal. Reality is for a million bucks Ty France has been a great pick up.

[Major League Ready]

1 hour ago, arby58 said:

Interestingly, Luke Keaschall played 13 games at 1B in 2024 at Wichita, which was more than CF (11) or 2B (10). 

I knew he had played some 1B but I don't see them putting a player with Keaschall's athleticism at 1B on a permanent basis.  That would deplete his value.  Keaschall eventually takes over the Castro role where he plays everyday but in several different positions unless they decide to put Lewis at 1B, Lee at 3B and Keaschall at 2B.  The key is probably how well Lewis plays defensively at 3B.  He has looked better lately and the throws have been good.

[Riverbrian]

20 hours ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

I was with you on most of your post, but you lost me here.  Absolutely we want a strong 1 through 9 of above average hitters, but honest competition or not, it can only happen if there are 9 above average hitters available and in your team’s control.  I’m not saying that there may not be a spot here or there occasionally that might be better filled internally than externally, but I think you have you may have oversimplified the matter. 

I didn't mean to lose you. I will stand over here and waive my arms until you find me. 😎  

France is our everyday 1B. Making France your everyday 1B is not how you get there.

He's been fine we have both certainly seen worse but to better put this in perspective. He was signed for one million (Non-Guaranteed) and almost immediately declared every day by Rocco. You can only sign a vet for one million dollars which is barely above the minimum because the other 29 teams were not willing to pay him two million dollars. Minor league deals were mostly likely the only thing on his table. This is the guy who is our everyday 1B. 

I don't want to get wrapped up in the money part alone so let's just look at his current OPS. Now there is plenty of season to go. That OPS could go up or it could go down and I won't try to predict the direction but it currently sits at .672 for 2025.

2024: Last year it was .670 for the year. It was .662 with Seattle (300 AB's) which led to his getting DFA'd at the deadline. DFA'd from one of the worst offensive teams in the majors last year. The Reds took a shot... picked him up cheap and he finished with a .683 for the Reds (179 AB's). 

2023: His OPS was .703 (587 AB's). 

His numbers right now are no different than what caused Seattle to DFA him. No different than the numbers he produced that led to getting nothing but minor league deals and led him signing a one million dollar (non-guaranteed) contract as a 30 year old. 

The fact that he looks good to some of us can only speak to how easy it is to look good comparatively in Minnesota when he looks good producing the same numbers. 

Bottom line: He has become irreplaceable apparently in Minnesota. In the lineup every day or we hurt our chances of winning and he has reached this lofty territory producing the same numbers that got him cut. 

If that's the case... we have settled for a below average place holder at a premium hitting position and in the process we have made it harder to get to a strong lineup card 1 through 9 because we have settled and made him irreplaceable.

Strong from top to bottom is already very hard to do... we certainly don't need to make it harder but apparently nobody else is currently being interviewed for the job. There will be no interview for McCusker or anybody to see if he can OPS .710 or higher. France simply can't be replaced or it hurts our chances of winning is a problem.        

If you are going to play everyday and keep others from competition. You better hit like an everyday player or you have set your bar too low.  

[MGM4706]

He is Ok but the Twins need more from that position. Just like they need more from the Catching position when Jeffers is out.

[LA Vikes Fan]

Serviceable is the prefect word for France in my opinion, assuming what we've seen is what we'll get.  "Average place holder" also puts it well. He's ok, and wouldn't be too bad if we could get him to the 7 or 8 hole in the order. 

The more important question is where is the actual above average guy to take his place in the second half of this year or next year. I like the idea of making Larnach and everyday 1B given that we have few if any 1B prospects in the minors and lots of OF prospects.  The other guy that might be intriguing is Clemons, maybe in combination with Bride. I hear Clemons wasn't so good when he played there earlier this year but practice and repetition helps so maybe he can get better. I don't think France's averageish defense is a high bar to clear. 

The other guy that should be playing 1B regularly at AAA and in practice is Miranda.  Playing Mike Ford or Severino at 1B in St. Paul makes little sense to me since neither looks like he can hit enough to be an everyday MLB 1B. Miranda has hit well in MLB before (and so has Julien although I am less sanguine about his chances going forward) and is behind Lewis, Lee, and maybe even Castro or Keaschall at 3B.  Give Miranda a 1B glove, play him there every day for the next month to 6 weeks and see what you have. That can give us a little clarity on the position going forward and help inform whether we try to keep France, find another France/Santana/Gallo type for next year, or promote internally. To me, that's how you build - with information not just projection. 

[DJL44]

He's been fine, about as expected. I thought it was better to give the playing time to Jose Miranda or Julien but Miranda has been awful this year, even at AAA and Julien has been below replacement value. Signing Ty France to be the everyday 1B is more about the opportunity lost than the production gained.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

46 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

I didn't mean to lose you. I will stand over here and waive my arms until you find me. 😎  

France is our everyday 1B. Making France your everyday 1B is not how you get there.

He's been fine we have both certainly seen worse but to better put this in perspective. He was signed for one million (Non-Guaranteed) and almost immediately declared every day by Rocco. You can only sign a vet for one million dollars which is barely above the minimum because the other 29 million teams were not willing to pay him two million dollars. Minor league deals were mostly likely the only thing on his table. This is the guy who is our everyday 1B. 

I don't want to get wrapped up in the money part alone so let's just look at his current OPS. Now there is plenty of season to go. That OPS could go up or it could go down and I won't try to predict the direction but it currently sits at .672 for 2025.

2024: Last year it was .670 for the year. It was .662 with Seattle (300 AB's) which led to his getting DFA'd at the deadline. DFA'd from one of the worst offensive teams in the majors last year. The Reds took a shot... picked him up cheap and he finished with a .683 for the Reds (179 AB's). 

2023: His OPS was .703 (587 AB's). 

His numbers right now are no different than what caused Seattle to DFA him. No different than the numbers he produced that led to getting nothing but minor league deals and led him signing a one million dollar (non-guaranteed) contract as a 30 year old. 

The fact that he looks good to some of us can only speak to how easy it is to look good comparatively in Minnesota when he looks good producing the same numbers. 

Bottom line: He has become irreplaceable apparently in Minnesota. In the lineup every day or we hurt our chances of winning and he has reached this lofty territory producing the same numbers that got him cut. 

If that's the case... we have settled for a below average place holder at a premium hitting position and in the process we have made it harder to get to a strong lineup card 1 through 9 because we have settled and made him irreplaceable.

Strong from top to bottom is already very hard to do... we certainly don't need to make it harder but apparently nobody else is currently being interviewed for the job. There will be no interview for McCusker or anybody to see if he can OPS .710 or higher. France simply can't be replaced or it hurts our chances of winning is a problem.        

If you are going to play everyday and keep others from competition. You better hit like an everyday player or you have set your bar too low.  

All of this is mostly true, but where is that replacement supposed to come from?  I’m not seeing anyone in the Twins system that is breaking down the door to do that.  Is it POSSIBLE that one of their minor leaguers could surprise and do well at the MLB level?  MAYBE, but they are probably more likely to be worse and also lack the veteran-ness that isn’t super important, but not completely useless to the team.  I agree that I would love to have someone better than France at 1B, but I’m missing where those candidates are going to come from right now.  It’s the “can’t replace somebody with nobody” conundrum.  

Yes, they could/should have spent money on someone better, but they didn’t do that,  So, here we are.  Enjoy the scenery of France, without wondering if a trip to Spain or Germany would have been nicer.  

[Rod Carews Birthday]

52 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

I didn't mean to lose you. I will stand over here and waive my arms until you find me. 😎  

It was probably all of the rain!

[Sjoski]

3 hours ago, MinnInPa said:

France is doing just fine.. you get what you pay for. Currently performing as good as any hitter on this weak hitting team..and he's not a walking K machine

Yes... excellent point......who can forget the walking K machine.

Why did Miguel Sanó bring a spoon to the batter’s box?
Because every time he swung, he served up another Snow-KKK-Cone!

Twins payed a lot for the Kone....over 34 Million. 

[jmlease1]

Ty France has been...meh. He's playing like an acceptable reserve, not a starter, but he's getting starter's time. That's not thrilling. The defense has been fine, a bit better than originally advertised (he does do a nice job scooping the low throw, but doesn't cover much ground out there and occasionally looks lost trying to track a pop-up in foul territory) but not exactly something to crow about. As a hitter, he's still showing the power outage that made it easy for Seattle to move on from him. At the plate, he looks a lot like the same Ty France we've seen the last few years.

The WPA has been nice, showcasing good hitting in important spots, and hopefully he starts getting a bit luckier at the plate...but he looks a lot like a reserve-quality player taking a full-time role that he isn't producing for. Especially if he can't find some more pop in his bat. It's not a disaster or anything, but this is exactly the kind of player that people start trying to talk up intangibles for because the stats just don't merit the playing time.

[Fire Dan Gladden]

1 hour ago, Riverbrian said:

I didn't mean to lose you. I will stand over here and waive my arms until you find me. 😎  

France is our everyday 1B. Making France your everyday 1B is not how you get there.

He's been fine we have both certainly seen worse but to better put this in perspective. He was signed for one million (Non-Guaranteed) and almost immediately declared every day by Rocco. You can only sign a vet for one million dollars which is barely above the minimum because the other 29 million teams were not willing to pay him two million dollars. Minor league deals were mostly likely the only thing on his table. This is the guy who is our everyday 1B. 

I don't want to get wrapped up in the money part alone so let's just look at his current OPS. Now there is plenty of season to go. That OPS could go up or it could go down and I won't try to predict the direction but it currently sits at .672 for 2025.

2024: Last year it was .670 for the year. It was .662 with Seattle (300 AB's) which led to his getting DFA'd at the deadline. DFA'd from one of the worst offensive teams in the majors last year. The Reds took a shot... picked him up cheap and he finished with a .683 for the Reds (179 AB's). 

2023: His OPS was .703 (587 AB's). 

His numbers right now are no different than what caused Seattle to DFA him. No different than the numbers he produced that led to getting nothing but minor league deals and led him signing a one million dollar (non-guaranteed) contract as a 30 year old. 

The fact that he looks good to some of us can only speak to how easy it is to look good comparatively in Minnesota when he looks good producing the same numbers. 

Bottom line: He has become irreplaceable apparently in Minnesota. In the lineup every day or we hurt our chances of winning and he has reached this lofty territory producing the same numbers that got him cut. 

If that's the case... we have settled for a below average place holder at a premium hitting position and in the process we have made it harder to get to a strong lineup card 1 through 9 because we have settled and made him irreplaceable.

Strong from top to bottom is already very hard to do... we certainly don't need to make it harder but apparently nobody else is currently being interviewed for the job. There will be no interview for McCusker or anybody to see if he can OPS .710 or higher. France simply can't be replaced or it hurts our chances of winning is a problem.        

If you are going to play everyday and keep others from competition. You better hit like an everyday player or you have set your bar too low.  

While everybody wants to be the Dodgers, very few teams have rockstars at every position. Finding cheap, serviceable players at positions of need is very important. You can argue how "serviceable" France is, but I don't think he is the biggest problem the Twins have at the moment, especially looking at the injuries and sub-par play this team has seen from players expected to contribute.

I do think Keaschall might have an opportunity to take some AB from France at some point this season (again... injuries), but there is nobody France is blocking in MiLB. Considering the cost/benefit, I am having a hard time finding an argument against France at the moment.

[jmlease1]

9 minutes ago, Sjoski said:

Yes... excellent point......who can forget the walking K machine.

Why did Miguel Sanó bring a spoon to the batter’s box?
Because every time he swung, he served up another Snow-KKK-Cone!

Twins payed a lot for the Kone....over 34 Million. 

Sano is an easy target for some people, but the reality is when Sano was healthy he hit, and produced on offense. It might not have been in a style that you approve of, but the production was there and the contract he signed wasn't a terrible one...he just couldn't stay healthy. Was some of that maybe his own fault, due to less than elite conditioning? Maybe, but no one can prove it one way or the other. (there's no questions about Buxton or Correa's conditioning, or Joe Mauer's, but they've struggled to stay healthy too)

BTW? through 7 seasons Sano was worth 8.9 bWAR. Ty France is currently at 8.3 in his 7th season, with basically the same number of games, PA, etc.