Will Tristan Gray Take (Part of) Brooks Lee's Job?

[Ray Stuedemann]

Image courtesy of © Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

Shortstop has been a position in flux for the Twins since Carlos Correa was traded back to Houston at the deadline last year. Brooks Lee took over at that point, and while he didn’t exactly impress, the former first-rounder wasn’t replaced during the offseason and seemingly came into 2026 with the job locked down.

The Twins did make a few acquisitions to augment their depth at the position. Ryan Kreidler was claimed off waivers from the Pirates back in October, while veteran shortstop Orlando Arcia was signed to a minor-league deal in January. However, both guys were sent to St. Paul as part of the last roster cuts as Opening Day approached. That left Tristan Gray, acquired in a trade from the Red Sox in late January, as the backup. Many were confused by the decision, given that Gray is another left-handed bat in a team full of them, but nonetheless, he was in Baltimore for Opening Day.

Lee started the first two games in Baltimore, both times hitting in the last spot of the lineup. Both games showed similar results, with Lee striking out twice on Opening Day and once more on Saturday. One of those strikeouts came in the top of the 2nd on Thursday with the bases loaded, in a game the Twins eventually lost by one run. While it is an extremely small sample, Twins management and fans would love to see Lee turn it on soon, in what could be a make-or-break year for the 25-year-old.

Lee’s performance was poor, but it was a bit unexpected to see him omitted from the lineup Sunday for the deciding game of the series Sunday. Gray was penciled into the 9th spot, playing short, and similarly, he came up with the bases loaded in the top of the 2nd. Gray then laced a double to right-center, taking a 98.3-MPH fastball from Shane Baz 107.3 MPH to the gap. Gray added a single off Tyler Wells later, ending his day 2-4 with a double, 3 RBIs, and a strikeout.

The Twins began a series with the Royals Monday, and Lee drew the start again, going 1-3 with a single and another strikeout, bringing his line this year to .111/.111/.111, with 4 strikeouts in 9 plate appearances. The advanced metrics back up what we’ve seen, as far as any of it goes. His bat speed is the same as it was last year, and his fielding has yet to show improvement. In contrast to that, Gray provides additional value by being able to play every infield spot. His bat speed bests Lee’s.

Again, it's still early in the season, but one of the more intriguing questions surrounding the near future of the Minnesota Twins may be the usage of their shortstop position. How long of a leash does Lee have? How often do we see Gray throughout the first few weeks of the season? The first series against Baltimore demonstrated that Kody Clemens will likely play first base with right-handers on the mound for the opponent, which leaves Gray as a substitute at third or second base, as well as potentially gaining more starts at short as the year progresses. Manager Derek Shelton has some experience mixing around shortstops from his time in Pittsburgh—especially the 2023 season, when he had four players make more than 30 appearances there.

While the question posed can’t be answered instantaneously, the Twins should do everything in their power to set up Lee for success this year. He was a top-10 pick only four years ago and just turned 25. He dealt with injuries to his back that slowed his development, so the hope is that a full season will yield atypically large forward strides. If Lee doesn’t pan out, Gray started his regular season career in Minnesota with a bang, and could be a capable placeholder as the season progresses while former first-round picks Kaelen Culpepper and Marek Houston develop in the minor leagues. How long it might be before Gray gets that chance and the team shifts its gaze from Lee to his long-term replacements is worth watching.

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What are your thoughts on Brooks Lee? Does he make it to the end of the season as the starting shortstop? As for Gray, how much value could he provide for the Twins this year?

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[Hunter4848]

The Twins are embarrassingly rudderless already in this new season. They need to play Lee to see if they have anything there. Gray is a just a guy at this point in his career.

[Mike Sixel]

1 minute ago, Hunter4848 said:

The Twins are embarrassingly rudderless already in this new season. They need to play Lee to see if they have anything there. Gray is a just a guy at this point in his career.

10000000000000000%.

[NYCTK]

54 minutes ago, Hunter4848 said:

The Twins are embarrassingly rudderless already in this new season. They need to play Lee to see if they have anything there. Gray is a just a guy at this point in his career.

Same can be said for most of the roster at this point.

If we're saying, optimistically, that the Twins could be contenders in 2028 I don't see any position player on this roster that will be a real contributor aside from Luke Keaschall. Buxton could age gracefully (but would be on the last year of his contract), Wallner could be a decent DH, and Lee could potentially take a big turn and prove valuable somewhere, but otherwise, I don't see meaningful playing time for anyone in 2028 on this roster. 

That being the case, those 4 should be getting all the playing time their bodies will allow, at the position they could reasonably be expected to be playing in 2028, and everyone else just...disappear for all I care. 

 

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

It is sink or swim time for Lee, and really for a lot of players on this roster. Nothing to be gained by giving playing time to someone like Tristan Gray.

[Whitey333]

I agree with others on here.  Lee should be playing everyday to see if he can be productive.  Indicating that Lee could be on a short lease coukd certainly be said of several others on this team.  Rocco did a very poor job of helping to establish and develop young prospects at the major league level.  For several years the Twins have shown that they rarely develop their "can't miss" prospects.  They aren't going to be competitive at all this year so let's play and develop the young players.  Shelton may not be the one capable of doing that.

 

[Sjoski]

The "youth movement" has already stalled?

 

It's not even April yet!!!

[tarheeltwinsfan]

 A 162 game season is made up of a combination of series of "small sample sizes". I did not want to get off to a poor start this season. These March/April games count as much as the games in September...and maybe even more, psychologically.. 

[LA Vikes Fan]

1 hour ago, NYCTK said:

Same can be said for most of the roster at this point.

If we're saying, optimistically, that the Twins could be contenders in 2028 I don't see any position player on this roster that will be a real contributor aside from Luke Keaschall. Buxton could age gracefully (but would be on the last year of his contract), Wallner could be a decent DH, and Lee could potentially take a big turn and prove valuable somewhere, but otherwise, I don't see meaningful playing time for anyone in 2028 on this roster. 

That being the case, those 4 should be getting all the playing time their bodies will allow, at the position they could reasonably be expected to be playing in 2028, and everyone else just...disappear for all I care. 

 

I agree but would add Martin as a guy who could be part of the 2028 group. These guys need to play. 

 

[RpR]

1 hour ago, Whitey333 said:

I agree with others on here.  Lee should be playing everyday to see if he can be productive.  Indicating that Lee could be on a short lease coukd certainly be said of several others on this team.  Rocco did a very poor job of helping to establish and develop young prospects at the major league level.  For several years the Twins have shown that they rarely develop their "can't miss" prospects.  They aren't going to be competitive at all this year so let's play and develop the young players.  Shelton may not be the one capable of doing that.

 

Maybe it is because all this UNDEVELOPED talent in these rookies is in the mind of some on TD.

[Blyleven2011]

Most of us fans were all stunned that Gray made the roster out of spring training  ...

Gray is not a replacement for shortstop but can be a utility player at all positions on the infield  ...

Lee has been just an average 1st round player,  was he rushed and not given the proper development  , was he not properly handled by the previous manager  , is he a 3rd basemen , shortstop or a 2nd basemen  ...

Lee says he feels comfortable playing shortstop,  his natural college position and pro ball , he played there after the deadline and had mixed results , let's find out after a quarter of the season has past and see how hard he worked in the offseason on his game to improve and have this conversation again then ...

It would be nice if we could have a lineup called Murderers Row , but that takes talent and our system just isn't enhancing their talent  ...

[LA Vikes Fan]

Lee is off to a slow start but two games isn't enough to judge hm. Now, 15-20 games is and we will be there after this next game every day for 15 days swing. Meanwhile, Kaelen Culpepper is tearing it up in St. Paul. If both trends continue, the answer is obvious to me. Culpeper up, Lee down.  

[USAFChief]

Sure!

Investing in 30 year old career minor leaguers who have proven they can't hit is exactly what teams in the Twins position should be doing. 

[NYCTK]

7 minutes ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

I agree but would add Martin as a guy who could be part of the 2028 group. These guys need to play. 

 

I somewhat agree, in that I can see him on a good roster, but I still see him as a deeply flawed player that is optimistically a 12th man. Pinch runner with occasional starts at 2B and LF, and subbing in at SS when absolutely necessary. But because he can't play a good SS, I still wouldn't bet on him. If he were just a little bit better on defense, he could have made a good career as a utility player. 

I assume he'll be out of options come 2028, and 29 years, so I just think that role is going to be filled by someone else. 

[ashbury]

If Tristan Gray can take any part of Brooks Lee's job, it says more about Lee than it does about anything else.  We are transitioning from "let's see what we've got" to "you're 25 and need to start showing us something more."

[terrydactyls]

14 minutes ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

Lee is off to a slow start but two games isn't enough to judge hm. Now, 15-20 games is and we will be there after this next game every day for 15 days swing. 

I agree with the first sentence but the second sentence I cannot decypher.

"Now, 15-20 games is (questionable) and we will be there after this next game (game 5?) every day for 15 days (?) swing (at what?).

[Linus]

Many people are concerned about Lees eventual position. If he hits, they will find a spot for him. But if he keeps hitting like this he simply won’t be in the big leagues. 

[AceWrigley]

I think Brooks Lee's future is reserve infielder 2B, SS, 3B. He doesn't hit well enough or field well enough to start. That doesn't mean he can't have a meaningful MLB career as a quality reserve infielder. Yes he was a high draft pick, doesn't mean he should have been.

I've got no problem with Tristan Gray getting some time at shortstop right now. Yes he's 30 years old but he's never really been given a chance to hit in the majors. He's got 2 fairly recent 30-homer seasons at AAA and the Twins sure could use some offense. He might be stretched some defensively, but which Twin isn't these days.

[DJL44]

If they already feel that Lee can’t beat out Tristan Gray they need to option him to the minors and either call up Culpepper or make a trade for a SS. Tristan Gray is a white flag of surrender.

[Mahoning]

Gray came up twice with the bases loaded and put the ball in play both times. That makes him the Twins' best hitter so far this season; no one else has come close to doing that.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

1 hour ago, ashbury said:

If Tristan Gray can take any part of Brooks Lee's job, it says more about Lee than it does about anything else.  We are transitioning from "let's see what we've got" to "you're 25 and need to start showing us something more."

^And the FO^

[Coach]

Parent's/Coach's kid in youth baseball, always plays short, or pitcher. Forgive the stereotype, but it's true.  Brooks had no choice.  He is Daddies boy.  

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, Coach said:

Parent's/Coach's kid in youth baseball, always plays short, or pitcher. Forgive the stereotype, but it's true.  Brooks had no choice.  He is Daddies boy.  

That’s true of almost every major league player. In high school they pitched and played SS, CF or C.

[LA Vikes Fan]

5 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

I agree with the first sentence but the second sentence I cannot decypher.

"Now, 15-20 games is (questionable) and we will be there after this next game (game 5?) every day for 15 days (?) swing (at what?).

That was trying to say that we will have a much better handle on Lee after 15-20 more games and we start a swing of 15 games in 15 days tomorrow. 

[Fatbat]

I see a pattern developing where Lee or anyone else that underperforms, gets a day off to watch from the dugout. I kinda like how Shelty is going about this. Lee has not been wrecked by being promoted too soon to MLB, he is still developing into a role. What that is, is still tbd.

[JD-TWINS]

Lee - Bell - Caratini all switch hit.

Clemens - Outman - Larnach - Wallner - Gray hit left handed.

Buxton - Lewis - Martin - Jeffers - Keaschall hit right handed.

Screams BALANCED!! If anything, with 75% of pitchers being RH, one could say we might have another LH bat.

Can we please quit whining and embellishing some view that there are too many LH bats on the roster?

[Major League Ready]

10 hours ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

That was trying to say that we will have a much better handle on Lee after 15-20 more games and we start a swing of 15 games in 15 days tomorrow. 

We will also have a better handle on Culpepper in a couple of months.  Let's just hope they are willing to make the move if Culpepper is looking great in STP.  Same scenario with Jenkins / Rodriguez vs Larnach.  

[David Maro]

Watching Lee in the box is hard to watch. Every team tells the pitcher bounce the pitch because he will swing. This is who he is and looks like this is who he will be. It's time for Culpepper to get his chance and send Lee to St Paul to work on laying off those pitches. 

[Cris E]

14 hours ago, Coach said:

Parent's/Coach's kid in youth baseball, always plays short, or pitcher. Forgive the stereotype, but it's true.  Brooks had no choice.  He is Daddies boy.  

Most Daddy's Boy type players don't get drafted in the first round. He was a legit first rounder when chosen.

[LA Vikes Fan]

1 hour ago, Major League Ready said:

We will also have a better handle on Culpepper in a couple of months.  Let's just hope they are willing to make the move if Culpepper is looking great in STP.  Same scenario with Jenkins / Rodriguez vs Larnach.  

You're right, but I guess I don't want to wait a couple of months unless Lee shows some life at the plate at least. Right now, he's pretty much an automatic out and he provides negative defensive value at a key position. This team just doesn't have enough offense to survive without good defense.  I almost want to play Kreidler for a month if we want to give Culpeper time so at least we get above average defense form the SS spot. With that bat, though..... almost.