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The trade itself didn’t come as much of a surprise, but the timing and return for Jorge Polanco did. Monday night, the Twins traded one of their two longest-tenured players away. They shipped Polanco to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for four players: major-league pitchers Anthony DeSclafani and Justin Topa, and prospects Gabriel Gonzalez (a High-A outfielder) and Darren Bowen (a Low-A pitcher).
The return package opened some eyes, even as Twins fans expected Polanco would be dealt this offseason. He was the odd man out in a crowded infield here, but a highly-valued asset for teams in need of an All-Star-caliber second baseman. Seattle was the team to land the deal out of those interested, and they paid a higher price than many had been expecting.
Now, the Twins infield has cleared up its depth at each position, and the team has a bit more flexibility to shuffle players between the two spots to the right of the keystone.
Second Base
1. Edouard Julien
Second base was Polanco’s position for the last three seasons and the breakout rookie season of Edouard Julien hastened the end of Polanco’s time with the Twins. Julien’s performance at the plate was phenomenal, as he posted a .263/.381/.459 triple-slash with a 130 OPS+. His plate discipline is the strongest asset he brings to the Twins. His defense, not so much.
Julien did not start the 2023 season as a solid defender at second, as he had a lot of errors and fumbles with the ball. But as the campaign went on, he made substantial improvements. Still, his defensive skills at second being what they were prompted the Twins to try him out at first base.
Per the FanGraphs depth chart projection of the Twins, Julien is expected to start at second 52% of the time this season. It may be slightly more or slightly less, pending how the rest of the season plays out with injuries and performance. But second base is likely not the only position Julien plays this year.
2. Kyle Farmer
Farmer remains the Twins' utility infielder for 2024. His versatility will give the Twins and Rocco Baldelli the luxury to give Julien, Carlos Correa, and Royce Lewis a day off each week at their position, if they’re so inclined.
Second base appears to be the position where Farmer will see the majority of his playing time, as Julien’s defensive prowess is still unclear at second and a timeshare between him and Kirilloff at first appears more likely than it did at the end of the season.
The majority of the games Farmer played for the Twins in 2023 were at second, playing at the position for 45 games. It’s also the position FanGraphs projects him to play the most, at 16% of the time. Farmer will shuffle around the infield on a weekly basis this season and be the best right-handed platoon option at second until Brooks Lee is called up.
3. Brooks Lee
A week ago, Twins general manager Thad Levine said on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio, “We're going to employ the strategy of when [Brooks Lee] tells us he's ready to go, we're going to get him up in the big leagues."
That's a non-answer about when we'll see the top prospect in the upper levels of the farm system, but it does hint that Lee has a strong chance of making his MLB debut before Memorial Day. If and when Lee shows he’s big league ready, he’ll likely find his way into the role Farmer has now.
Lee would be the perfect platoon mate opposite Julien, to face left-handed pitchers and play second base. Until games start in spring training, it’ll be too early to call if Lee will be on the Twins’ active roster full-time before May, but if he does, second base will be the position at which he sees the most playing time.
FanGraphs has Lee projected to play second for the Twins in 10% of his games played, the most at any position.
4. Nick Gordon
Gordon’s 2023 season was cut short with a broken tibia on May 17. His absence from the team was noticeable on the field, but he was still uplifting on the bench as the club made their playoff push. However, players such as Farmer and (especially) Willi Castro stepped up and stopped the gap.
Castro, in particular, surprised everyone in 2023, with some even considering him the team MVP. With Byron Buxton announcing his return to playing center field, Castro will line up as his primary backup; the Twins have (so far) held off on pursuing other players at the position.
Gordon seems better-suited to be a backup in the outfield. The infield depth ahead of him at second base, with Julien, Farmer, and soon Lee, suggest that Gordon’s opportunities at the position will be limited.
First Base
1. Alex Kirilloff
Kirilloff has yet to have a season in the majors that wasn’t plagued by injury. For now, he's set for spring training and expecting to be healthy for the season, following a shoulder injury that left him off the roster for the Twins final postseason game and led to surgery in the fall.
If Kirilloff can overcome the biggest hurdle, this could be the best season of his career so far. His time in the outfield is all but done. FanGraphs has Kirilloff set to play at first 64% of the time for the Twins this year, and it’s likely that that number is only limited by his career splits against left-handed pitchers.
2. José Miranda
Miranda has a lot of question marks surrounding him as he enters Spring Training. Will he remain healthy? If so, can he perform at the same level he did as a rookie in 2022? If not, can he maintain a level of performance sufficient even to keep him in the major leagues?
Miranda’s best chance of cracking the Opening Day roster is as a platoon option at the corner infield positions, specifically as the first base platoon partner for Kirilloff. His plate appearances in the majors are still limited, but he’s a much better hitter in his pro career against lefties than righties.
A .774 OPS against lefties (compared to a .680 OPS against righties) might be good enough for Miranda to earn playing time at the start of the season. FanGraphs had him with the second-highest percentage of playing time at first for the Twins, at 26%. His biggest hurdle will be overcoming the sophomore slump and proving it was only that.
3. Edouard Julien
Julien played at first for 17 innings in 2023 and practiced at the position before games frequently at the end of the season.
Pending Kirilloff’s health and performance as the season goes on, Julien would make a solid replacement for him at first, if Miranda cannot reestablish his footing in 2024. With two other players who can play solid second base behind Julien on the depth chart. It would not be a surprise to see Julien play anywhere from 30-50 games at first base this season.
Opening Day is less than two months away and a lot will play out and shake up before the Twins' roster is set for March 28. While Polanco’s presence will be missed as a clubhouse leader and selfless player, the optimism to come out of his departure lies in the opportunity presented to the players who can fill in at first and second base.
Whom do you want to see soak up the biggest share of the newly available playing time after the Polanco trade? Weigh in yourself, below.
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