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Kyle Farmer had the best year of his career in 2023. As the primary backup infielder, he was a league-average hitter who filled in at shortstop, second base, and third base for prolonged stretches. He was also the other half of rookie Edouard Julien, subbing for him against lefties and ending games as a defensive replacement—both facets of the game Julien struggled with.
Twins brass was hopeful that he’d fill a similar role in 2024, as they signed him to a contract with a mutual option for 2025 that guaranteed him $6.5 million this year. Unfortunately, no part of the run-it-back plan has worked out.
In 2023, Farmer had three distinct duties that made up his role:
- Be the top reserve at second base, third base, and shortstop;
- Platoon with Julien (or Nick Gordon) as a starter or pinch-hitter; and
- Be a late-inning defensive replacement at second.
Over the first third of this season, that role has slowly been reduced. The first indication came after Royce Lewis’s Opening Day injury. With third base open, the Twins turned to Willi Castro over Farmer. Farmer didn’t start a game at third base until the fifth game of the season and started only two games at third in the team's first 10 games.
Then, Carlos Correa was placed on the injured list in mid-April. Farmer—traded for to be the starting shortstop ahead of 2023—was forced into everyday action at... third base. The Twins slid Castro over to shortstop, a position at which many question Castro’s efficacy. During Correa’s 16-game absence, Farmer started 10 games—seven at third, two at second, and just one at shortstop.
Castro getting the nod over him at third made some sense—Castro has the better bat, and a team can reasonably opt for more offense, especially when trying to fill the hole left by Lewis. But when both third base and shortstop were vacant, and Farmer primarily slotted in at third, that seemed to speak to how the Twins view his glove. But surely they still trust him over notorious butcher Julien at second?
Not so fast, partner. Julien must have spent his winter working with Ozzie Smith, because he’s improved his defense by leaps and bounds. The former surefire candidate for a move to either first base or DH is grading out pretty well by the eye test and elite by the statistics (4 Outs Above Average, though with a weak arm).
So, the Twins have ceased using Farmer as a second-base defensive substitution. He has not come in as a straight defensive substitution a single time this season. He has pinch-hit and finished the game at second base 10 times—but that’s more related to platoon matchups than to his defensive prowess.
It should be noted that he has retained his role as the top reserve at second. The only other player to play second base this season (other than Julien) is Austin Martin, who was moved there mid-game once and is currently in the minor leagues. Farmer still appears to be the first alternate at the spot, which counts for something.
Farmer resumed his role as a defensive replacement, for a stretch, but at third base. The primary third baseman over the past month, José Miranda, is not lauded for his defense at the hot corner. Seven times this season, Farmer’s entered the game as a straight defensive substitution for Miranda in the late innings.
However, even that role also seems to be on its way out, as Manuel Margot has entered the game twice in the last week to bump Castro from the outfield to third base. It’s only happened a couple of times, but that pattern would seem to suggest a preference for Castro’s defense at third (to disastrous results, on Monday against Kansas City).
At this point, Farmer has been relegated to merely being Julien's top backup second baseman and platoon partner. He’s only started 24 of the team’s first 55 games—12 at second (all against lefties), 11 at third (filling in for Lewis and Correa), and one at short (filling in for Correa).
At this point, he’s effectively 2019 Jonathan Schoop—a right-handed reserve second baseman—without the luxury of Luis Arráez’s flexibility, as Julien is almost exclusively a second baseman. But Schoop also had an advantage over Farmer: he was hitting in 2019.
After 55 team games and 101 plate appearances, Farmer has a .514 OPS (50OPS+). His underlying metrics are in the cellar. And he isn’t doing the one thing he’s being counted on for—hitting lefties. He’s even worse against lefties than overall, with a .505 OPS in 46 plate appearances.
Admittedly, this is a small sample, but such is the nature of these discussions. Farmer has carved out a career for himself, but the ceiling was never high. Now, his role has been whittled away, and he hasn’t succeeded in the only real responsibility he has left.
For a Rocco Baldelli team, that might be a problem. The skipper loves having flexibility and distinct roles for everyone on the team, making use of their abilities, but Farmer isn’t showing those traits this year.
Furthermore, Royce Lewis is bound to return any day, and global top-100 prospect Brooks Lee is also nearing major-league readiness. The infield is getting crowded, and Farmer’s utility has diminished considerably. There have been many questions about what the move to accommodate the reinstatement of Lewis will be, but maybe the Twins have been telegraphing it to us the whole time.
Without Farmer, they would need to figure out who Julien’s backup is (Castro, Lee, Martin, etc.), but many other options have more utility now. Farmer is well-respected in the clubhouse, but it really seems like he’s being squeezed out of a role right now.
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