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Over the weekend, we reviewed what remains of the free agent market at first base. It was a pretty lackluster group even when it featured Carlos Santana, who signed with Cleveland a couple hours after the article went live.
Assuming they are not legitimate suitors for Pete Alonso, the best the Twins can now hope for in first base free agency is a 40-year-old Justin Turner, or someone like Connor Joe or Donovan Solano. While reuniting with Solano wouldn't be the worst idea, all things considered, I'd be looking for a little more upside at the position. These two potential options, both former Twins, intrigue me as possibilities.
Trade for LaMonte Wade Jr.
The Twins traded Wade to San Francisco in 2021 for reliever Shaun Anderson. It was a bad move. Anderson made all of four appearances for the Twins before moving on, while Wade has posted a 115 OPS+ over four seasons in The Bay. With two lefty-swinging fourth outfielders in their mix, Minnesota essentially picked Jake Cave over Wade; the former recently signed to play in the KBO, while the latter is coming off another strong season as a regular in the majors at age 30.
This offseason, the Twins have an opportunity to right their wrong. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that "many clubs believe first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. to be available – for a price, of course." It will take more than a fringy Anderson-type reliever to bring him back, but the cost of acquiring Wade could potentially be palatable.
Entering his final season of arbitration, Wade is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to make $4.7 million in 2025. That's a price tag the Twins should be able to make work. The relatively modest salary reflects some of the limiting aspects of Wade's value as a player, which also could tamper San Francisco's demands in a trade. He has been used pretty strictly as a platoon player, despite moderate success against lefties in a small sample. He's not considered a particularly strong defender, though he does offer some flexibility, with the outfield corners also in his bag.
Wade also does not offer prototypical power for a first baseman, but he offsets it with stellar discipline and on-base skills. I'd argue the Twins are in greater need of those traits versus another hard-swinging slugger. On basically a one-year deal in his age-31 season, Wade feels like a very solid fit for Minnesota's needs, depending on what the Giants are willing to accept in exchange.
If the Twins would prefer to focus on free agency, there's a more unconventional fit I've got my eyes on.
Sign Jorge Polanco and try him out at first base.
Admittedly, this is a more radical and experimental suggestion, but the Twins need to be open-minded in their hunt for impact and value. Polanco was not listed among the previous rundown of free-agent first basemen because, well, he's never played first base. Not in the majors or the minors.
He has, however, played every other infield position, and it doesn't seem like a stretch to believe Polanco could handle first capably. In fact, it's almost an inevitability that some team will try him there in order to prolong his career as a useful defender; Polanco was already grading out poorly defensively at second before undergoing knee surgery in October to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee. The concept of him making a move to first base has been discussed here as recently as one year ago, before he was traded.
Polanco turns 32 next July. He's got a long history of wear-and-tear on his lower body. And he did not hit in 2024, slashing just .213/.296/.355 in 469 plate appearances for the Mariners, who declined his $12 million option for next year. But previously Polanco had been a very consistent offensive performer, posting an OPS+ of 112 or above in every full season since 2019.
The Twins are well positioned to accept the risk involved with signing Polanco, since they have a reasonable baseline at first base between José Miranda and Edouard Julien. Plugging in Polanco would enable Minnesota to be patient with those two, neither of whom looked up to snuff at season's end, while also supplementing the infield depth lost in Kyle Farmer. Most importantly, Polanco would bring a proven switch-hitting bat that Rocco Baldelli clearly holds in very high regard.
The wisdom of signing Polanco hinges on how much he ends up being able to command, but there's reason to believe he could end up settling for a one-year deal in the range of what Santana made this year, maybe with some incentives added on top. Polanco's familiarity with the team, manager, facilities and players would theoretically be a differentiating draw.
It's possible Polanco's market may not heat up until later in the offseason, once he's able to showcase his readiness and recovery from the surgery. That would suit the Twins' purposes just fine, since they're currently focused on making a trade to open up payroll space and that might still take some time. If healthy, he'd be an exciting (re)addition to a lineup that, like Polanco, is looking to rebound and show what it's made of.
What are your thoughts? Do either of these potential reunions do anything for you? What are some other outside-the-box ideas for solving the need at first base given the team's circumstances? Let's hear from you in the comments!
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