What Should the Twins Do at First Base?

[rstuedem945]

Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

 

Coming out of the 2025 season, first base looked like one of the weaker positions on the Twins’ roster. The front office added veteran bats in Victor Caratini and Josh Bell to provide depth and offensive production, while also hoping to solidify the designated hitter role. Despite that, the position has become another question mark for a team searching for consistency early in the season. While the free agent additions have largely underperformed, a bright spot has emerged in Kody Clemens, whose strong two-way play has given the Twins stability both offensively and defensively. With prospects beginning to heat up in St. Paul and pressure mounting to improve the lineup, the Twins now face important decisions about how to handle first base moving forward.

Clemens leads the way for this first base group. In 128 plate appearances, he's batting .245/.345/.441, with 14 extra-base hits. He's been worth 3 runs above average at the plate and a whopping 5 in the field, according to Baseball Reference. Advanced metrics back up Clemens’s raw numbers, too. He hits the ball hard in the air at a solidly above-average rate; that's a sustainable way to generate above-average offense. He's continued (and even improved upon) his performance from last season. He should be the starter moving forward, as he has been most of the season.

The main issue with that, at the moment, is the two free-agent signings the Twins made who have made starts at first base this season. Victor Caratini was signed as the backup catcher this offseason and has played first base 13 times so far. Caratini has been around a league-average bat the past few seasons, but so far this year, the same can’t be said. He’s currently slashing .192/.294/.231 in 126 plate appearances. A little bit of that is bad luck—he has the same .329 xwOBA he had last season, but last year, his actual wOBA was .318, and this year, it's .249. However, we're also seeing the risks of signing a switch-hitter away from Houston, one of the best parks in the league for finding extra-base hits down the lines. Here are Caratini's batted balls so far this year, mapped onto his new home park in Minnesota.

Now, here are the same batted balls overlaid onto the dimensions of Daikin Park in Houston, which Caratini called home for the last two years.

Four balls that have been flyouts this season would clearly have been extra-base hits of some kind had he hit them in Houston. Factor in weather, and another three or four might have been, too. That's the difference between Caratini's more productive recent past and his current dreadfulness, right there. He's still controlling the strike zone reasonably well, and the weather will be more conducive to hitting as the weather warms, so Caratini also belongs in the mix. In all likelihood, though, he'll spend a good chunk of that time at catcher.

Josh Bell is another story. The 33-year-old slugger has been 11 runs below average so far in 2026, according to Baseball Reference, and his advanced numbers back that up. He’s slashing .210/.275/.315, with 3 home runs in 178 plate appearances. Signed in December, Bell hasn’t been great defensively and hasn’t been the past few seasons either, but it appears the Twins know that and are using him there sparingly: he only has 8 appearances at the position so far, compared to 34 at DH. Given that his deal is a one-year contract worth $7 million (with a mutual option for 2027), Bell is the most likely candidate to be moved on from at some point this season.

There are two prospects in St. Paul who’ve been spending time at first base, though neither is knocking very loudly on the door to the majors. Aaron Sabato has been especially hot of late, slashing .319/.396/.830 so far in May, bringing his slash line this year to .281/.343/.652 with 8 homers. Sabato was the Twins’ first-round pick back in 2020 out of the University of North Carolina, and the 26-year-old could see some time with the big-league club this year if he continues hitting (though it's a long shot). Gabriel Gonzalez hasn’t been nearly as good at the plate, slashing .207/.280/.396 in 182 plate appearances. First base is a new experience for the 22-year-old, who didn’t appear in a game at the position before this season. Acquired in the Jorge Polanco trade with the Mariners, Gonzalez will look to get back to his offensive numbers from last year to factor into the first base conversation this year.

Although the Twins entered the season expecting their veteran additions to strengthen the lineup, the results at first base have largely fallen short of expectations. Clemens has certainly earned the opportunity to remain the everyday starter, thanks to his strong defense, improving offensive profile, and encouraging underlying metrics. Caratini’s struggles may not be permanent, but his new home park will never permit him to put up the numbers he managed in Houston. Bell’s continued decline makes him the most likely candidate to lose playing time or eventually be moved. Ultimately, the Twins’ best path forward may be trusting Clemens at first base, while remaining flexible with the rest of the position as the summer months rapidly approach.

 

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[AJray15]

I do not understand why they’re refusing to call up Kyler Fedko. He’s hitting even better than he did last year and has experience at first base. Can be a platoon option with Clemens there and in the outfield with Larnach. It’s so confusing.

[Riverbrian]

We spent 14 million on Bell and Caratini to handle the DH, 1B spots and it's the minimum making Clemens winning the 1B position battle.

These are typically slugging positions: 

Bell cost us 7 million and his slugging is currently .315

Caratini cost 7 million and his slugging is currently .231

I will not understand this off-season. 

 

[laloesch]

it would seem to me that the Twins should be looking to draft 1st base prospects in the upcoming draft.

[Whitey333]

Proving players hit in bad luck is dicey and also somewhat suggestive.  Plus it's a good excuse for poor performances.   Poor free agent signings may be a better answer.

[thelanges5]

Gonzalez is starting to heat up at AAA. He’s on the 40 and right handed. If he keeps it up, it seems like he’s got the path of least resistance.

[dxpavelka]

9 minutes ago, laloesch said:

it would seem to me that the Twins should be looking to draft 1st base prospects in the upcoming draft.

Not a lot of "1st base prospects" in drafts.  Aaron Sabato I suppose but those results speak for themselves.  Most first basemen were drafted at other positions and ended up at 1B after not making elsewhere.  To that end, our 1B of the future is probably going to come from among Lewis, Lee, Keaschall, Mendez or Gonzalez.  Maybe Walker Jenkins settles in there if playing the OF is deemed to contribute too much to his ongoing health concerns. 

[CRF]

If Clemens is the apparent best option at 1B...then, we're in trouble. He's a utility player, nothing else. Bell and Caratini have been pretty much non factors so far. Get one of the StP guys up here and see what they can do. 

[stringer bell]

Among players with 100 plate appearances, Clemens ranks 15th in OPS for first baseman. That is middle of the road production. He is adding value with his glove and has recently done a good job against left handed pitching (SSS). At this point, he should be playing every day and certainly in there against right handed pitching. I'm not overly confident he'll sustain his good hitting, but for now Clemens at first base is not a problem. 

Will Clemens continue the Twins run of one-off Gold Glove winners? It seems it is more possible than the surprise of Ty France winning the hardware last year. He's easily the best defensive first baseman the Twins have and according to BBRef and The Fielding Bible, he is among the best in MLB.

It is amazing how fast perceptions change. When the Twins went on their nice run in April and briefly were in first place, Bell and Caratini were certainly a big part of their success. Now a month and a half later, both are being dismissed as horrible off-season signings. 

Bell and Caratini are both in their early 30s with substantial track records. Bell has always been an above average hitter and Caratini has been about average as a hitter while mostly being a backup catcher. As much as I suspect Clemens will regress to the mean, I am about equally confident that the two veterans will also move closer to their career norms. 

Caratini figures to be a key guy in 2027 if there is a season and he is a Jeffers trade or injury away from being the Twins primary catcher. He should play less until he gets the bat going. Bell really isn't part of the future at all since he has a one-year contract and has negative value if he doesn't hit. 

[mikelink45]

I am more concerned with Catcher and Caratini than 1B where it seems you can move almost anyone.  I remember Santana getting off to a terrible start too and then heating up with the weather.  I suspect Bell might do that to, but he is DH and Clemens has one the 1B lottery right now.

[arby58]

12 minutes ago, CRF said:

If Clemens is the apparent best option at 1B...then, we're in trouble. He's a utility player, nothing else. Bell and Caratini have been pretty much non factors so far. Get one of the StP guys up here and see what they can do. 

Right now, Clemens is not a worry for the Twins. Leads the team in doubles, has a .445 slugging percentage, closing in on .800 OPS and has the fourth-best WAR among offensive players. As the article notes, he's also good defensively at 1B. I'm far more worried about Lewis - and Keaschall, for that matter - than Clemens. If/when he falls into Bell territory, then we can talk about bringing somebody up from AAA.

[Jeff K]

As others have noted; Caratini was picked up to be our catcher after the trade deadline.  At least that move makes sense.  The Bell signing was incomprehensible.  Another DH on a team full of poor fielders.  I do hope that Gabriel Gonzalez continues to improve his hitting.

[arby58]

I thought there was a way to delete posts?

[tony&rodney]

8 minutes ago, arby58 said:

I thought there was a way to delete posts?

Just highlight and erase the second post. Then add a short one line comment of some sort. Site has issues today.

[Scott51104]

I think Clemens is doing OK for 2026. I remain hopeful that the Twins 2027 first baseman currently plays LF for Saint Paul.

[Blyleven2011]

I hope this article doesn't jinx Clemens  , he's been fine defensively and his hitting is hot right now , keep playing him regularly as the hot hitter ...

[thelanges5]

1 hour ago, AJray15 said:

I do not understand why they’re refusing to call up Kyler Fedko. He’s hitting even better than he did last year and has experience at first base. Can be a platoon option with Clemens there and in the outfield with Larnach. It’s so confusing.

Hopefully Fedko‘s performance continues to press the issue. I think they showed us what they think of him when they didn’t bring him up after the fire sale and didn’t protect him in the rule five draft.

For my money, I’d rather watch struggling youngsters with upside than this motley crew we have currently.

[old nurse]

A quick check of his splits in Houston would suggest that is OPS fallout is not because of he is not hitting in Houston. 

[jorgenswest]

Clemens is also defensively solid at 2B. The league average at that position is 98. It is 116 at 1B. Of course these are useless comparisons. The Twins need Clemens at 1B. He is a better defender than Keaschall at 2B so maybe they should flip but he is almost certainly the better defender at 1B. I wonder if Clemens could play a league average 3B.

I don’t think I would give a roster spot to Fedko. His strikeout rate is a career high. His walk rate is a career low. I can only compare chase rate and swinging strike rate with last year AAA but they have both moved in the wrong direction. His BABIP is greater than every of his lines with the exception of a shorter stop for 2022 Fort Myers. Slash stats need a huge sample. If this years were combined with strike out and walk rates moving in the correct direction combined with a BABIP in line with career I would trust them a little more. Sabato has similar strikeout and walk rate concerns.

I can see a future as a bench short sided platoon bat for Fedko. He can run the bases and play around the outfield and 1B. He even started at 2B twice. Sabato is no help on the bench. He needs to hit well enough to be a major league starter at 1B or DH to have a spot. McCusker was somewhat similar. He really only helps with a big bat. If they want to give Sabato a shot I would be more comfortable with a future DFA if he doesn’t work out.

[old nurse]

2 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

We spent 14 million on Bell and Caratini to handle the DH, 1B spots and it's the minimum making Clemens winning the 1B position battle.

These are typically slugging positions: 

Bell cost us 7 million and his slugging is currently .315

Caratini cost 7 million and his slugging is currently .231

I will not understand this off-season. 

 

The sad reality is that 6-7 million in baseball doesn’t buy much on the free agent market for a portion player.  That is what was wrong with this off drain. 

[David HK]

For 2 years now, I've been p*ssing and moaning about making Brooks 3B and moving Royce to 1st. It makes so much simple dang sense.  Cripe, he should have been given the mitt over the winter back in 24. 

Now, I'd be totally fine with Sabato or Fedko given a shot, but a REAL shot, not the usual Twinkie shot, where they get one at bat every 3-4 days, and if it's not a HR every time, well, then, they're just not ready!  Get Sabato up here, give him 2-3 solid weeks of starting and see what happens. Surely couldn't be any worse than our 2 "marquee signings." If he flames out, then it's Fedko's turn. But my God, this same old same old ain't cutting it!  At least pretend you're trying something new.  This pwnership and management prove daily how much they hate us.

[Sampson5]

Im just hoping after bell is traded at the deadline that they ball up sabato so we can finally see if he can provide any value as a former 1st rounder . Clemens beens the only option who currently playing above his expectations probably a key reason twins have went from few games over .500 to around 5 or so games under .500

[Fire Dan Gladden]

Ride the hot hand. Clemens has been earning it. Caratini inherited the Vazquez curse, and will start hitting again when he leaves Minnesota. Bell's career has earned him more time to see if he can turn it around, but not too much time.

[Captain John]

The best first baseman currently on the Twins roster (and that is not saying a whole lot) is Clemens and he should be playing every day until the Twins bring up up some youngster that proves he can take over from Clemens. Bell is doing nothing but they say he gets hot after the AS break or right after the Twins trade/dump him.

[Major League Ready]

My point of view is a long-term solution.  It's not as if fixing 1B will put us in contention.  I would even argue it's not high on our list of problems.  Clemmons is just fine there for now.  Hopefully, Gonzalez's recent resurgence continues, and he gets an opportunity at some point.  He has looked great the last few games.  

There are actually a few guys that could eventually fill the role.  Amick may be better suited for 1B and he has looked good lately.  Menendez looks like he will hit but I am not convinced he won't be a liability in the OF.  I would like to see him get more time at 1B.  

I have been a Sabato hater for a long-time so I would love it if he continued to get better at contributes.  Maybe he can be our Max Muncy.  Muncy got some ML time at age 24-25 but he did nothing until he was 27.  I don't see Fedko as a solution.  He might be a decent bench player given his versatility.  Too bad Roden got hurt I was curious to see if he got some time at 1B.  I like the idea of having better athletes at the position.  

[Riverbrian]

6 minutes ago, old nurse said:

The sad reality is that 6-7 million in baseball doesn’t buy much on the free agent market for a portion player.  That is what was wrong with this off drain. 

Agreed.

Every once in awhile you get a decent season out of them and there is still time to get a decent season out of these two. 

However there are often times that what you get out of them isn't much better than what cheaper options will provide. 

 

 

[jmlease1]

3 hours ago, AJray15 said:

I do not understand why they’re refusing to call up Kyler Fedko. He’s hitting even better than he did last year and has experience at first base. Can be a platoon option with Clemens there and in the outfield with Larnach. It’s so confusing.

It's not really that hard to figure out: Fedko isn't on the 40-man and he's probably seen mostly as being AAA depth in case of injuries. He's not someone that they can DFA off the 40-man, so once he's on, he's on. We only have 18 position players on the 40-man right now; it seems unlikely they're dropping any pitchers without adding a different pitcher, so who from the 18 would you like to DFA to make room for Fedko? (I guess you could move Roden to the 60-day IL, but you're just kicking the can down the road since his injury doesn't appear to be season-ending at this point)

Sabato has the same problem. Until the team is willing to DFA someone like Outman or a position player picks up a season-ending injury it's going to be hard for someone to crack the 40-man. They're not cutting Bell in May and eating the salary and demoting Lewis doesn't open up space on the 40-man.

The solution for now is to play Clemens more, Bell and Caratini less. Maybe next month they'll be willing to cut bait on Outman, but for guys like Fedko & Sabato, not being on the 40-man means we're not seeing them any time soon.

[farmerguychris]

I gotta say, I'm a fan of bringing up Fedko and/or Sabato to give them a try.  I think deep down, the leaders (minus the owner) know this team isn't doing anything great this year - why not try something new.  Once one of our current 1B gets injured (we know they love depth and will not release any of them), hopefully Fedko (who I prefer because can play multiple positions) or Sabato will surprise them and refuse to be sent back down.

[amjgt]

What should the Twins do?
Probably alter their long-term strategy around the position.

What should the Twins do in the short term?
Probably plug their nose, hold their breath, and hope Clemens stays kind of hot. I'd be fine with Sabato or Fedko getting a real shot, but I'm not holding my breath for that.

 

[jkcarew]

And yet 1st Base is the one position on the dirt that doesn’t have negative bWAR this season. The only reason to focus there is that the mediocrity is due to veterans rather than guys we hoped would be part of a strong future for the club.

For now, Clemens deserves to be the every day player there. He can be spelled against certain lefties. IMO, you trade Clemens while he has value before you turn 1B over to a prospect(s) this season. Sabato a long shot, Fedko way more value in the OF. The most obvious future first baseman would be Lewis…if only. But I think Gonzalez and Mendez are both very possibly plus future hitters in the majors.