Two Free-Agent Fits for Minnesota Twins at Shortstop

[TNtwins85]

7 hours ago, GNess said:

If the Twins can't find a SS option clearly better than Lee internally or in the bargain bin of free agency they. just need to go with Lee. Why waste very limited resources on a player who doesn't provide a likely upgrade. Sad reality for a franchise that seems to draft SS on the regular.

Every team drafts 5 shortstops, 5 center fielders and a million starting pitchers every year. Makes you wonder how all the other positions are filled……..lol!

[The Mad King]

Adralton Simmons available?

Mark Bellanger?

Just find the best defensive guy you can

[Mahoning]

Brooks Lee is 24 and everyone at Twins Daily has already concluded that he is a fraud, a bum, and a bust. Hmmm.

[TwinsDr2021]

17 hours ago, DJL44 said:

The Twins might have the least SS depth in the major leagues. Brooks Lee is one of the worst fielding SS in baseball. His backup is a 32-year-old who never made it. Culpepper played a half-season in Double-A last season and shouldn't be counted on in 2026 at all. They have almost nothing at SS.

Culpepper turn 23 next month and was the 21st overall pick, if he can't be counted on to get experience next year, he was just another wasted pick by a terrible front office. He may fail or struggle next year but we have seen that having guys in the majors until 24 or 25 hasn't been a successful strategy. 

[TwinsDr2021]

5 hours ago, Mahoning said:

Brooks Lee is 24 and everyone at Twins Daily has already concluded that he is a fraud, a bum, and a bust. Hmmm.

Exactly and guys like Keirsay, Fedko and Eeles (and every other non prospect on the wrong side of 25, remember when people were clamoring for Chris Williams?)are the solution. All older and have no where near the talent Lee has. 

[DJL44]

2 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

Culpepper turn 23 next month and was the 21st overall pick, if he can't be counted on to get experience next year, he was just another wasted pick by a terrible front office. He may fail or struggle next year but we have seen that having guys in the majors until 24 or 25 hasn't been a successful strategy. 

He can’t be counted on to contribute to a winning team. There’s a less than 10% chance he improves to a level that would make him an above average major leaguer. If you are counting on everyone making their 90th percentile projection you will be disappointed.

We should be thrilled if he’s better than Brooks Lee by August.

[DJL44]

Players usually don’t get better on defense in their mid to late 20s. Lee doesn’t have the physical tools to become a plus defensive SS. He is a slow runner and his throwing arm is below average. If he is able to add an extra step on defense and an extra 10 mph on his throws in one offseason you should suspect PED use.

[TwinsDr2021]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

He can’t be counted on to contribute to a winning team. There’s a less than 10% chance he improves to a level that would make him an above average major leaguer. If you are counting on everyone making their 90th percentile projection you will be disappointed.

We should be thrilled if he’s better than Brooks Lee by August.

Why? Aren't rookies on winning teams every year? Now I don't think the Twins will be winning team next year, but if you can't expect a 23 year old first round pick to be a league average player or slightly better that at age 22 in AA had a slash line of .285/.367/.460/.827, who can you ever expect? Rookie and young guys are brought up at this age all the time. If mean if we thought this than Keaschall shouldn't have been brought up and shouldn't have played as well as he did. 

[DJL44]

18 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

Why? Aren't rookies on winning teams every year? Now I don't think the Twins will be winning team next year, but if you can't expect a 23 year old first round pick to be a league average player or slightly better that at age 22 in AA had a slash line of .285/.367/.460/.827, who can you ever expect? Rookie and young guys are brought up at this age all the time. If mean if we thought this than Keaschall shouldn't have been brought up and shouldn't have played as well as he did. 

People had that expectation for Brooks Lee. He had posted a good batting line at AAA. How did that work out?

[TwinsDr2021]

26 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

People had that expectation for Brooks Lee. He had posted a good batting line at AAA. How did that work out?

I would say Lee established that he has the skills to a be a major league player, at what position and at what level a player is still to be determined, but for a rookie I wouldn't say it was terrible but for sure not as good as we hoped for. 

I would also say having him in the majors doing what he did, was better than wasting another year in the minors. 

Now I am not for having rookies all over the diamond, but with Lewis at 3B, Lee at 2B, Keachall at first/second/left field, Buxton, Jeffers, Wallner, Martin, there is room for a rookie or two to get significant playing time this year. 

[Mike Sixel]

34 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

People had that expectation for Brooks Lee. He had posted a good batting line at AAA. How did that work out?

So, never try a rookie? That's no way to build a team, any team, but especially one that needs to spend less. Really, if you expect them to be bad next year, play the rookies so they aren't rookies in 27 and beyond....

[DJL44]

5 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

I would say Lee established that he has the skills to a be a major league player, at what position and at what level a player is still to be determined, but for a rookie I wouldn't say it was terrible but for sure not as good as we hoped for. 

I would also say having him in the majors doing what he did, was better than wasting another year in the minors. 

I would say that should be the expectation for Culpepper. Not terrible, but not as good as you'd hope for. Culpepper has spent half a season at Double-A so there's probably some more growth needed at AAA before you start challenging him with major league pitching. Look at how long it took Byron Buxton to adjust to MLB pitching.

Quote

So, never try a rookie? That's no way to build a team, any team, but especially one that needs to spend less. Really, if you expect them to be bad next year, play the rookies so they aren't rookies in 27 and beyond....

I would say betting your season on a rookie with a half-season at Double A with a backup plan of a 32-year-old nobody or whatever you find on the waiver wire is no way to build a team. Powerball has better odds.

Did people forget what happened when Terry Ryan traded away Span and Revere and handed the job to Aaron Hicks in 2015? Did you enjoy watching Clete Thomas play CF for a 66-win team? It's the same plan.

[Mike Sixel]

54 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I would say that should be the expectation for Culpepper. Not terrible, but not as good as you'd hope for. Culpepper has spent half a season at Double-A so there's probably some more growth needed at AAA before you start challenging him with major league pitching. Look at how long it took Byron Buxton to adjust to MLB pitching.

I would say betting your season on a rookie with a half-season at Double A with a backup plan of a 32-year-old nobody or whatever you find on the waiver wire is no way to build a team. Powerball has better odds.

Did people forget what happened when Terry Ryan traded away Span and Revere and handed the job to Aaron Hicks in 2015? Did you enjoy watching Clete Thomas play CF for a 66-win team? It's the same plan.

I was responding to not playing him at all next year.... Great teams play this kind of guy less than a half year into next year all the time. Losing teams sign bad veterans and block this kind of player. 

No one is betting their season on this team. It has one relief pitcher, no first baseman, one catcher, an unknown at second and third. There is no realistic path to winning next year given their budget and lack of players. 

Your point about Buxton is mine.... It takes time to adjust, adjust while the team is bad. 

[TopGunn#22]

This is kind of depressing.  Can we just recruit Greg Gagne off of a Senior Softball roster somewhere?  I'll bet he's the fastest guy on his team.  

[DJL44]

21 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I was responding to not playing him at all next year.... Great teams play this kind of guy less than a half year into next year all the time. Losing teams sign bad veterans and block this kind of player. 

No one is betting their season on this team. It has one relief pitcher, no first baseman, one catcher, an unknown at second and third. There is no realistic path to winning next year given their budget and lack of players. 

Your point about Buxton is mine.... It takes time to adjust, adjust while the team is bad. 

That's fine. With that perspective you also trade Ryan, Jeffers and Lopez this offseason.

It's always hard to determine the context for people's comments. Are they based on trying to win in 2026 or in 2028? "Culpepper or bust" is a plan for competing in 2028. Even then, I'd keep Culpepper in AAA until he earns the promotion. It didn't do the Twins any good to waste a couple seasons of service time developing Aaron Hicks in the majors instead of in the minors. Give playing time to someone younger than Fitzgerald (Chad Stevens looks interesting, for example) and see if you can develop a second player who can help in 2028. If they don't work out, then you can still promote the rookie.

The 2012/2013 Twins are relevant here. Terry Ryan wouldn't tear it all the way down after a bad 2012. He kept Morneau, Willingham, Perkins and Duensing and held onto Kevin Correia for the whole season instead of cashing him at the trade deadline. The team wasn't good again until 2015 and all of those guys (except Perkins) were gone. He filled in gaps with Clete Thomas and 39-year-old Jamey Carroll. Perkins got to play in 3 All-Star games but didn't pitch in the postseason in the prime of his career because Terry Ryan wouldn't cash in his all-star lefthanded reliever for more talent.

[Mike Sixel]

8 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

That's fine. With that perspective you also trade Ryan, Jeffers and Lopez this offseason.

It's always hard to determine the context for people's comments. Are they based on trying to win in 2026 or in 2028? "Culpepper or bust" is a plan for competing in 2028. Even then, I'd keep Culpepper in AAA until he earns the promotion. It didn't do the Twins any good to waste a couple seasons of service time developing Aaron Hicks in the majors instead of in the minors. Give playing time to someone younger than Fitzgerald (Chad Stevens looks interesting, for example) and see if you can develop a second player who can help in 2028. If they don't work out, then you can still promote the rookie.

The 2012/2013 Twins are relevant here. Terry Ryan wouldn't tear it all the way down after a bad 2012. He kept Morneau, Willingham, Perkins and Duensing and held onto Kevin Correia for the whole season instead of cashing him at the trade deadline. The team wasn't good again until 2015 and all of those guys (except Perkins) were gone. He filled in gaps with Clete Thomas and 39-year-old Jamey Carroll. Perkins got to play in 3 All-Star games but didn't pitch in the postseason in the prime of his career because Terry Ryan wouldn't cash in his all-star lefthanded reliever for more talent.

As this FO refused to trade Kepler. I really don't want bad veterans signed to multi year deals. I really don't know what earns a promotion means? How good, how long, does a player need to be? 

My comments are firmly rooted in 2027 and beyond, yes, 100 percent. 

[jorgenswest]

I am not sure Culpepper matches the prospect status of players that jump quickly into the majors. Perhaps the rankings are wrong about him but he appears to be a third or fourth tier prospect. Those guys mostly become major leaguers. They hover between 50 and 150 in the rankings. He is not among the top 10 shortstop prospects in the MLB pipeline. Fangraphs has him at an FV 45+ and number 22 at SS. I think he is better than that. Those rankings should change this winter. If he moves to an FV55 in Fangraphs those are the kinds of players that might skip a level. I look forward to seeing how he is viewed after the midseason rankings.

[ashbury]

14 hours ago, Mahoning said:

Brooks Lee is 24 and everyone at Twins Daily has already concluded that he is a fraud, a bum, and a bust. Hmmm.

Brooks Lee is 24 and everyone at Twins Daily still thinks he's this young prospect who needs a few more years of seasoning before he emerges as a star.  😁

(Nobody asked, but my actual opinion on Lee is probably between the two extremes.)

[DJL44]

30 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I really don't know what earns a promotion means? How good, how long, does a player need to be? 

Is the player one of the best 5 at his position for his current level in the minors? If not, he probably should stay put.

[NYCTK]

4 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Losing teams sign bad veterans and block this kind of player. 

Every team hires veterans. Like the two teams in the World Series for which these two veterans played.

People here looked incredibly foolish throwing a fit about Harrison Bader and they'd likely look just as foolish over a mediocre middle infielder veteran signing. They would almost certainly be a significant upgrade over Ryan Fitzgerald just like Bader was a significant upgrade over Keirsey. 

No one's being blocked. 

[karcherd]

47 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

No one's being blocked. 

Like when Wallner wasn't brought up from the minors in 23 o4 24 so the likes of Kepler and Margot could keep getting ab's.  Even Miranda should have been given a shot at 1B over any of the veterans they brought in like Gallo and even Santana.  I know he fizzled last year, but in the years prior he was blocked.

[Fred]

On 11/11/2025 at 10:57 AM, stringer bell said:

Rojas said that he would play one more season and he would prefer to stay with the Dodgers. Given his post-season performance and what he offers outside the lines, I doubt he leaves Los Angeles. 

If the Twins want to go with a good field-no hit option, Kreidler is probably as good as any free agent option. Bonus, he played center field a few games for the Tigers. Kreidler also appears to have pretty decent speed. Swiping a young guy with a good glove in the Rule V makes sense for a team that doesn't have a plus fielding SS all the way down to Cedar Rapids.

I don't see having another no-hit guy on the 26 man roster as a good thing. Somebody on the bench needs to be a viable Pinch Hitter. And if he starts, well, it's nice to have more than 5 guys in your lineup that make the opposing pitcher nervous.

[dxpavelka]

On 11/11/2025 at 4:59 AM, Doctor Wu said:

Free agents shortstops? Really, after all these shortstops we have drafted in recent years there is some sort of urgent need to sign a free agent? No, and no again. Let Lee and/or Culpepper sink or swim this coming season. We have more pressing needs than shortstop at this point. 

Could not agree more.

[TwinsDr2021]

17 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Look at how long it took Byron Buxton to adjust to MLB pitching.

What? Buxton was up at 21 and struggled (46 games), age 22 put up 1.7 WAR in 92 games, .714 OPS, not great but decent, at age 23 was 18th in the MVP, age 24 was a wash out, and has been pretty darn good (when healthy since),

I would rather see the Twins do what the Tigers did with Castro, give the guy an actual shot when he is young and if it isn't what you hoped let them go before paying them as opposed to the likes of Miranda and Julien (and a list of players people think are the solution to the twins issues) who spend extra time proving themselves and then wasting 3 to 4 years in their prime trying to figure out what they are. 

I would rather see Culpepper (and for that matter EROD) start up, struggle get send down and comeback up, then wasting the year having them try to prove something that can't be defined or having a role player get hot and block them (you know somebody like Clemens or Martin) 

 

[NYCTK]

14 hours ago, karcherd said:

Like when Wallner wasn't brought up from the minors in 23 o4 24 so the likes of Kepler and Margot could keep getting ab's.  Even Miranda should have been given a shot at 1B over any of the veterans they brought in like Gallo and even Santana.  I know he fizzled last year, but in the years prior he was blocked.

2023 he won the job and was the starting LF in the ALDS, so I don't know how you can say he was blocked. He had a difficult task of becoming an everyday starter with both CF and DH tied up, and Kepler having a long track record in RF, so they only had one actual position of flexibility to even work Wallner into the lineup.  

And in 2024, he was given the job and played himself out of it. He was striking out in half of his plate appearances and continued to struggle when he was demoted to AAA. He then he eventually played his way back to the majors. 

Matt Wallner was not blocked. 

[karcherd]

50 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

2023 he won the job and was the starting LF in the ALDS, so I don't know how you can say he was blocked. He had a difficult task of becoming an everyday starter with both CF and DH tied up, and Kepler having a long track record in RF, so they only had one actual position of flexibility to even work Wallner into the lineup.  

And in 2024, he was given the job and played himself out of it. He was striking out in half of his plate appearances and continued to struggle when he was demoted to AAA. He then he eventually played his way back to the majors. 

Matt Wallner was not blocked. 

In 2024 he started 7 of the first 13 games and had 25 ab's, not sure how that considered he played himself out of a job when he was never given a real opportunity.  And then it took over a month when he started hitting in the minors before calling him up.  And he was not 22 years old at the time, they needed to find out what they had in him, not keep trotting out aging veterans which was what happened.  And Kepler was not hitting and had not done so in 3 years, so yes he was blocked.

[TwinsDr2021]

1 hour ago, NYCTK said:

2023 he won the job and was the starting LF in the ALDS, so I don't know how you can say he was blocked. He had a difficult task of becoming an everyday starter with both CF and DH tied up, and Kepler having a long track record in RF, so they only had one actual position of flexibility to even work Wallner into the lineup.  

And in 2024, he was given the job and played himself out of it. He was striking out in half of his plate appearances and continued to struggle when he was demoted to AAA. He then he eventually played his way back to the majors. 

Matt Wallner was not blocked. 

In 22 Wallner played 18 games in the majors, after playing 128 in AA (OPS of 1.033) and AAA (839), there was no reason he couldn't or shouldn't have been brought up earlier.

[howeda7]

Roll with Lee. Culppper can be an option by the All-Star break. Bring back Willi Castro for $5 million to be utility. If Lee gets hurt it's probably Fitzgerald for a few months.

[NYCTK]

1 hour ago, karcherd said:

In 2024 he started 7 of the first 13 games and had 25 ab's, not sure how that considered he played himself out of a job when he was never given a real opportunity.  And then it took over a month when he started hitting in the minors before calling him up.  And he was not 22 years old at the time, they needed to find out what they had in him, not keep trotting out aging veterans which was what happened.  And Kepler was not hitting and had not done so in 3 years, so yes he was blocked.

He was terrible in spring training and struck out in half of his plate appearances at the start of the season and continued to play terrible in AAA, a 620 OPS in his first 150 PAs back in St. Paul. He did then seem to make some adjustments, really cut down his Ks and his next 150 PAs he had a 1100 OPS and he earned a promotion.

Like I said, he won the starting job and was the primary LF in the playoffs the year prior. He was given the playing time his performance dictated both in 2023 and 2024. 

Ergo, he wasn't blocked. 

 

1 hour ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

In 22 Wallner played 18 games in the majors, after playing 128 in AA (OPS of 1.033) and AAA (839), there was no reason he couldn't or shouldn't have been brought up earlier.

He wasn't really any good in '22, and those AAA numbers aren't all that impressive for a defensive liability. So it makes sense that he started '23 in AAA again. 

He's a major league player now, and many fans here are asking to trade him because he's so bad. But we're simultaneously supposed to believe the Twins organization screwed him over because he was so clearly a good player in seasons prior. Maybe the Twins understood he was a bat only player that was going to strike out in 30% of his PAs and that really limits how valuable a player he could be. 

 

[Mike Sixel]

6 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

He was terrible in spring training and struck out in half of his plate appearances at the start of the season and continued to play terrible in AAA, a 620 OPS in his first 150 PAs back in St. Paul. He did then seem to make some adjustments, really cut down his Ks and his next 150 PAs he had a 1100 OPS and he earned a promotion.

Like I said, he won the starting job and was the primary LF in the playoffs the year prior. He was given the playing time his performance dictated both in 2023 and 2024. 

Ergo, he wasn't blocked. 

 

He wasn't really any good in '22, and those AAA numbers aren't all that impressive for a defensive liability. So it makes sense that he started '23 in AAA again. 

He's a major league player now, and many fans here are asking to trade him because he's so bad. But we're simultaneously supposed to believe the Twins organization screwed him over because he was so clearly a good player in seasons prior. Maybe the Twins understood he was a bat only player that was going to strike out in 30% of his PAs and that really limits how valuable a player he could be. 

 

Except Wallner isn't bad over his career. Those saying so just haven't adjusted to the modern game.