P/C/1B/(3 SS)/(3CF)

[Whammy]

I saw someone Tweet this about the Brewers defense. Said another way, the Brewers are playing three starting caliber shortstops in their infield and three starting caliber centerfielders in their outfield. Then I got thinking, and the Twins might not necessarily we THAT far away from a similar thing by the end of next season.

OF - Buxton, Jenkins, and E-Rod can all play solid CF - I don't think we have to stretch anything to say we meet the criteria here.
IF - Lee, Culpepper, Houston - We're doing a little stretching here. I like Lee at 3B, but we've seen him at SS and it's probably generous to call him "starting caliber." Also it could be that by the time Houston gets to the majors we are saying similar things about Culpepper and an inevitable move to 2B.

I think the Rays have historically done a similar thing in the OF (three starting caliber CF), but maybe not as much in the IF. 

Regardless of if we're doing a little criteria stretching on the infield, it's great how the Twins have gone from a putrid defense at the beginning of 2026 to not having to squint too hard to see what could be a really strong defense by the end of 2027.

[Cory Engelhardt]

30 minutes ago, Whammy said:

I saw someone Tweet this about the Brewers defense. Said another way, the Brewers are playing three starting caliber shortstops in their infield and three starting caliber centerfielders in their outfield. Then I got thinking, and the Twins might not necessarily we THAT far away from a similar thing by the end of next season.

OF - Buxton, Jenkins, and E-Rod can all play solid CF - I don't think we have to stretch anything to say we meet the criteria here.
IF - Lee, Culpepper, Houston - We're doing a little stretching here. I like Lee at 3B, but we've seen him at SS and it's probably generous to call him "starting caliber." Also it could be that by the time Houston gets to the majors we are saying similar things about Culpepper and an inevitable move to 2B.

I think the Rays have historically done a similar thing in the OF (three starting caliber CF), but maybe not as much in the IF. 

Regardless of if we're doing a little criteria stretching on the infield, it's great how the Twins have gone from a putrid defense at the beginning of 2026 to not having to squint too hard to see what could be a really strong defense by the end of 2027.

Agreed. It’s exciting to dream on. And clearly it works.

 

[Linus]

Good topic clearly the Twins will be more athletic and faster going forward. This should bode well for defense and baserunning. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

So who is a really good defensive SS, without just waiting for Marek Houston, that the Twins should acquire this offseason that could be ready to play 3b/ss/2b for them? I know people in the past on this site have mentioned Jordan Lawler. Maybe that’s the play here, and then that puts Clemens either at 1b or in a utility role, or traded I suppose. But truly upgrading the defense as a whole has to be the priority no?

[The Great Hambino]

10 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

So who is a really good defensive SS, without just waiting for Marek Houston, that the Twins should acquire this offseason that could be ready to play 3b/ss/2b for them? I know people in the past on this site have mentioned Jordan Lawler. Maybe that’s the play here, and then that puts Clemens either at 1b or in a utility role, or traded I suppose. But truly upgrading the defense as a whole has to be the priority no?

That's a good question.  I would've said Neto if they hadn't already gone down that route only to discover the price was allegedly bonkers.  Maybe give that another go and see if it's a little more reasonable without Arte around?

[Cory Engelhardt]

4 hours ago, The Great Hambino said:

That's a good question.  I would've said Neto if they hadn't already gone down that route only to discover the price was allegedly bonkers.  Maybe give that another go and see if it's a little more reasonable without Arte around?

I don’t hate that idea. He is obviously at a low point value wise. Maybe Keith Beauargard thinks he could help with an adjustment to not strike out as often? He definitely has the arm strength for the position, and even with the strikeouts he's been an above 5 win player according to baseball reference for 3 years in a row.

I mean, Marek Houston would have to go, and for as good as Marek Houston was this year, his strikeout rate at AA this year wasn't far off from Neto's career strikeout rate in the majors. I'd be curious what else the Twins would have to offer. Maybe that is Emmanuel Rodriguez. But IF they do make that deal (let's say it's centered around Houston and Rodriguez, but could be different) that would certainly open the door for Tom to spend money on someone like Randy Arozarena.

I'm dreaming here. Just saying, if Tom wants to play to win, adding Neto and Arozarena to the lineup would be really fun,

[tony&rodney]

Any decent shortstop is going to cost, money or player assets. Mauricio Dubon is a worthy signing. Personally I think Culpepper works  for a year. It might even be an easier transition if Marek Houston arrives as a second baseman. All ideas should be on the table.

I have advocated for acquiring Jordan Lawlar, both in the past and recently. The shine is off of him now, although there are people who still think he is worth a bundle and my thoughts on having conversations with Arizona were trashed with doses of personal insult attached but no injuries incurred on my side. It's all just words, from any side. Lawlar isn't really an infielder any longer but could fill a backup role in the outfield and be an emergency infielder. He still has wheels and some pop. Perhaps the Twins could also explore the absurd and find out the cost of Elly De La Cruz. The Reds need infielders and pitching, but would take an outfielder too. Jenkins name would come up, but maybe an offer of a couple people who totalled over 50 home runs plus a young pitcher and something else gets discussed. I have no feel for where the front office is going with their thoughts on improving the roster. Rolling it back is the least palatable option.

[Cory Engelhardt]

7 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Any decent shortstop is going to cost, money or player assets. Mauricio Dubon is a worthy signing. Personally I think Culpepper works  for a year. It might even be an easier transition if Marek Houston arrives as a second baseman. All ideas should be on the table.

I have advocated for acquiring Jordan Lawlar, both in the past and recently. The shine is off of him now, although there are people who still think he is worth a bundle and my thoughts on having conversations with Arizona were trashed with doses of personal insult attached but no injuries incurred on my side. It's all just words, from any side. Lawlar isn't really an infielder any longer but could fill a backup role in the outfield and be an emergency infielder. He still has wheels and some pop. Perhaps the Twins could also explore the absurd and find out the cost of Elly De La Cruz. The Reds need infielders and pitching, but would take an outfielder too. Jenkins name would come up, but maybe an offer of a couple people who totalled over 50 home runs plus a young pitcher and something else gets discussed. I have no feel for where the front office is going with their thoughts on improving the roster. Rolling it back is the least palatable option.

I’ll just say, I’ve truly always loved your insights here.

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

I’ll just say, I’ve truly always loved your insights here.

Thank you. 

Just an old fan using my years of playing, coaching, and managing in a funny setting, this online site; nothing serious intended. I think all Twins fans would like to see better baseball, so we just keep hoping whether it is from New Zealand, Brazil, Kenya, Vietnam, The Middle East, or from the corner of Hennepin & Washington. Keep the faith.

[Whammy]

6 hours ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

So who is a really good defensive SS, without just waiting for Marek Houston, that the Twins should acquire this offseason that could be ready to play 3b/ss/2b for them? I know people in the past on this site have mentioned Jordan Lawler. Maybe that’s the play here, and then that puts Clemens either at 1b or in a utility role, or traded I suppose. But truly upgrading the defense as a whole has to be the priority no?

Perdomo - About 5 WAR per year over the last 3 seasons and 4 years of team control remaining

16 OAA at SS in 2026 and has around a 120 OPS+ over the last 3 years.

He'll probably cost us Marek Houston (and more) though.

 

[Cory Engelhardt]

28 minutes ago, Whammy said:

Perdomo - About 5 WAR per year over the last 3 seasons and 4 years of team control remaining

16 OAA at SS in 2026 and has around a 120 OPS+ over the last 3 years.

He'll probably cost us Marek Houston (and more) though.

 

This works for me too. Sounds good. 

[Whammy]

Perdomo for E-Rod and Houston.

Who says no?

God, that's terrifying but 5 WAR players don't grow on trees and he's locked up at a reasonable price for 4 more years. Judging prospect values is tough but I'm willing to look silly here.

I probably swallow hard and say yes to that.

[Whammy]

I'd add Wallner as a sweetener 😜

[Cory Engelhardt]

55 minutes ago, Whammy said:

Perdomo for E-Rod and Houston.

Who says no?

God, that's terrifying but 5 WAR players don't grow on trees and he's locked up at a reasonable price for 4 more years. Judging prospect values is tough but I'm willing to look silly here.

I probably swallow hard and say yes to that.

I’d imagine Arizona would want more, but that could be a fun starting point. Sounds good to me. 
With everything that happened towards the end of the year, I do think Arizona would listen on Ketel Marte. Just throwing it out 

[Whammy]

Just now, Cory Engelhardt said:

I’d imagine Arizona would want more, but that could be a fun starting point. Sounds good to me. 
With everything that happened towards the end of the year, I do think Arizona would listen on Ketel Marte. Just throwing it out 

Sooooo.... more than Wallner?

[Cory Engelhardt]

13 minutes ago, Whammy said:

Sooooo.... more than Wallner?

What if Wallner makes the deal less valuable? :)

[stringer bell]

When the Twins played the Padres, Provus said that like seven of their eight starters had been shortstops, so that seems to be a trend. Speed, range and arm play everywhere.

The Twins’ defensive deficiencies will be mitigated by two things—having a shortstop who is at least average defensively, and finding a place for Keaschall where he does the least harm. I think Luke can be adequate in the corner outfield and Culpepper will be average-ish at short and that would improve the Twins’ defense to “neutral”. Add in the range and speed of Jenkins and Rodriguez (and subtract Larnach) and the defense might be above average. The cherry on top is if Houston is as good as advertised and Culpepper can be a plus second baseman. We can dream can’t we?

[tony&rodney]

If the Twins are to retain Luke Keaschall, and I think they will, right field makes sense. Someone with an addiction to numbers will look it up but it seems like fewer balls are hit to right field than to left field. Keaschall improved rather dramatically during the course of last season on running down fly balls. He will improve further and I would want the better defenders in CF and LF. Luke doesn't have a great arm but if he can hit the cutoff that is not really an issue. The number of times a guy throws out a runner is usually not high. Wallner has a cannon and every team ran on him at will. Keaschall may be a DH but he will play in the field I think. 

The Twins put themselves in a tight spot for 2027 by being so uninterested in their roster for 3-5 years. Counting on all off Rodriguez, Jenkins, Roden, Culpepper, and Houston to find success is a numbers game as others have pointed out. Buxton, Clemens, and Caratini are not exactly reliable. Brooks Lee can likely be counted on as an average player. The front office and ownership needs to get it together or 2027 could be tough.

I'm not sure why Arizona would trade Perdomo. They have a pretty complete team and even with fails at LF, 1B, and DH along with some struggles by their starting pitchers the Diamondbacks won 86 games. The reason I have targeted Jordan Lawlar to fortify the Twins bench/depth is because he has been relegated to that status already by Arizona and their GM has specifically declared an interest in LH bats and starting pitching. Only the two clubs can know if there are fits between the teams. By Thanksgiving Day, we will know if Tom Pohlad and the front office have any intention of making the changes needed to improve the roster for 2027. 

 

[Whammy]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

I'm not sure why Arizona would trade Perdomo. They have a pretty complete team and even with fails at LF, 1B, and DH along with some struggles by their starting pitchers the Diamondbacks won 86 games. 

 

Somewhere along the way I got the impression that the Diamondbacks had a payroll issue. I could be wrong about that or it could have changed. 

[tony&rodney]

4 hours ago, Whammy said:

Somewhere along the way I got the impression that the Diamondbacks had a payroll issue. I could be wrong about that or it could have changed. 

What I read was that Arizona will not be replacing Gallen's salary and looking to fill positions without signing highly priced free agents. They hope to stay at or below last season in terms of player cost. They have a need and room for an Ober or Kremer contract as an example. 

[Brandon]

On 10/13/2026 at 9:33 AM, Cory Engelhardt said:

So who is a really good defensive SS, without just waiting for Marek Houston, that the Twins should acquire this offseason that could be ready to play 3b/ss/2b for them? I know people in the past on this site have mentioned Jordan Lawler. Maybe that’s the play here, and then that puts Clemens either at 1b or in a utility role, or traded I suppose. But truly upgrading the defense as a whole has to be the priority no?

Kreidler is your answer.  Culpepper will play SS most days but Kreidler will get his fair share of time at SS as well.  Why make a trade? Clemens can handle 2B until Houston comes up and Culpepper slides over to 2B.

[Cory Engelhardt]

5 minutes ago, Brandon said:

Kreidler is your answer.  Culpepper will play SS most days but Kreidler will get his fair share of time at SS as well.  Why make a trade? Clemens can handle 2B until Houston comes up and Culpepper slides over to 2B.

Because I want to try to improve. That's why. 

[mnfireman]

2016 Twins had 6 current/former SS (Dozier, Escobar, Plouffe, Nunez, Polanco, Santana (7 if you count Sano)) and 3 current/former CF (Buxton, Santana, Kepler (5 if you add Rosario and Shafer) and lost a Twins record 103 games. It's a fine line to be able to play these positions, and to actually be good enough to be a MLB starter at them. 

Growing up, most MLB players are the best players on their team and played either SS or CF, and probably pitched. Most of these kids that get drafted get moved off these positions not because they aren't athletic enough to play there, but because the game is much faster moving from level to level through college or/and MiLB.

Most of the Brewer players you are referencing, other than the starters at these positions, are below average when compared to their MLB peers, but are good enough to be used to fill in for short periods when needed. Not every team can target these types of players and be able to develop them to be successful at different positions (or buy into switching positions for the good of the team), whether it's due to coaching, the player's ego, or the fact that the player is just not that good (or some combo of these), we have seen this with the Twins many times. 

A team needs bona fide starters at most positions, a team of utility type players will not be successful long term. Getting coaches/managers and players alike to believe/buy into this is the big problem.

[The Great Hambino]

Who's the backup at 3B?

I don't think it's Lewis.  It won't be Clemens if he needs to be tethered to the right side of the infield.   I don't see anyone in the minors ready to take on that role.  

I guess that leaves one of the Kriedler/Gray/Ross trio, but is their roster slot eliminated if someone is brought in to start at 1B or 2B (only Ross has options remaining)?  In that case, can Clemens cover it as part of his utility duties?

Could be a sneaky problem area if Lee needs to miss time, especially if needs arise before Houston is ready to take over SS (perhaps Culpepper could provide cover at 3B in that case), which I'm not ready to assume will happen early in the season given all the pitfalls that can happen for a rookie -- look at how long it took Jenkins and Culpepper to get called up when some thought they could be debuting early in the season.

My guess is it's Kriedler on Opening Day, or Culpepper if they slide him over and put Kriedler at SS if Lee goes down.

 

 

[Whammy]

I feel like there is a 95% chance that either Kreidler or Ross are on the roster to start the season, specifically to be the backup at SS, 3B, and 2B. Ross has options, so he'd have to REALLY show something before the season to win that battle (or Kreidler could get injured). 

The 5% I'm leaving out there is for the possibility that we sign a higher caliber version of Kreidler, which I don't think is likely, but it IS possible. 

[jaimedude]

We need to improve most at Catcher in my opinion. Both defensively and the bat. Catcher is still the Twins weakest current mlb position. In the division. Twins hands down have the weakest catching of Central division foes. I would not mind a bullpen upgrade or two either. We have what one MLB catcher right now. If I'm the Twins I let Jeffers go elsewhere. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

55 minutes ago, jaimedude said:

We need to improve most at Catcher in my opinion. Both defensively and the bat. Catcher is still the Twins weakest current mlb position. In the division. Twins hands down have the weakest catching of Central division foes. I would not mind a bullpen upgrade or two either. We have what one MLB catcher right now. If I'm the Twins I let Jeffers go elsewhere. 

I care much less about the bat at catcher than I do the defense. 

I wouldn't at all be mad if Jeffers actually accepted the QO, but otherwise I hope he gets a big deal that he wants somewhere else. Seems like a good dude.

 

[stringer bell]

The Lee and Keaschall moves have already improved the defense, particularly moving Lee to where he is an asset. Having Clemens at either first or second base is acceptable--he is decent (or better) defensively and has been an above-average hitter in his time with the Twins.

I like Marek Houston's game and potential a lot, but I think it is a bit foolhardy to count on him in 2027 after half a season at AA. I do think leaving him a clear path to the majors and regular play is a good plan. Clemens' flexibility means they can add a second baseman or first baseman.

Keeping Jeffers for another season or more would continue the status quo at catcher. Good offense, something to be desired on defense. If Jeffers leaves (likely), the Twins have to bank on a Caratini bounceback and contributions from unproven players or players from outside the organization. I don't know who can fill out the position, but a good defender would help. 

[bean5302]

On 10/12/2026 at 11:56 AM, Whammy said:

I saw someone Tweet this about the Brewers defense. Said another way, the Brewers are playing three starting caliber shortstops in their infield and three starting caliber centerfielders in their outfield. Then I got thinking, and the Twins might not necessarily we THAT far away from a similar thing by the end of next season.

OF - Buxton, Jenkins, and E-Rod can all play solid CF - I don't think we have to stretch anything to say we meet the criteria here.
IF - Lee, Culpepper, Houston - We're doing a little stretching here. I like Lee at 3B, but we've seen him at SS and it's probably generous to call him "starting caliber." Also it could be that by the time Houston gets to the majors we are saying similar things about Culpepper and an inevitable move to 2B.

I think the Rays have historically done a similar thing in the OF (three starting caliber CF), but maybe not as much in the IF. 

Regardless of if we're doing a little criteria stretching on the infield, it's great how the Twins have gone from a putrid defense at the beginning of 2026 to not having to squint too hard to see what could be a really strong defense by the end of 2027.

Jenkins is a 50 grade runner. He can't cover CF effectively. It's like Brooks Lee at SS.
Rodriguez is a 60 grade runner. He might be able to cover CF.

Lee can't cover SS to save his life.

[Cory Engelhardt]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

Jenkins is a 50 grade runner. He can't cover CF effectively. It's like Brooks Lee at SS.
Rodriguez is a 60 grade runner. He might be able to cover CF.

Lee can't cover SS to save his life.

I know mlb puts out grades, but having seen Jenkins for only a bit in CF, I absolutely trust him more out there than I did Lee at SS. Doesn't mean Jenkins won't be stronger in a corner, but I don't think this is a fair comparison.

Rodriguez in CF should be solid too. I also really like his arm.