Minnesota Twins 2018 positional recap, part 3- Second basemen
By Matt Smith
In part 3 of an ongoing series recapping the 2018 Minnesota Twins season by looking at each position, we turn our attention to our second base.
If you’ve missed parts 1 or 2, where we’ve started covering the Minnesota Twins’ 2018 season position by position, here are links where you can get caught up with what we’ve previously covered:
Brian Dozier handled nearly all of the 2nd base duties before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers before the July 31st trade deadline. After that, Logan Forsythe, who was part of the return package for Dozier, drew most of the innings at 2B, though Gregorio Petit and Ehire Adrianza also got a few games here and there throughout the season. Willians Astudillo, Taylor Motter, and Eduardo Escobar each had a maximum of 9 innings as a second baseman this season as well, but that is negligible for our purposes here. First thing’s first, here is your 2018 Minnesota Twins’ second basemen recap.
2018 recap
Heading into the season, second base was one of our most stable positions. Brian Dozier was coming off his 5th consecutive season where he played in more than 145 games, and his 2016 and 2017 seasons were fantastic. In 2016, he smashed 42 home runs while slashing .268/.340/.546, and in 2017 he hit 34 home runs while slashing .271/.359/.489. He was entering the final year of his contract, and expectations were high. He was expected to continue to be one of the best offensive threats in the Minnesota Twins’ lineup, hopefully leading the team to another postseason appearance.
That never happened.
Through May, Dozier was batting just .233 with 8 home runs. Through June, he was down to .217 with 11 home runs. By the end of July, he sat at .227 with 16 home runs. At this point, the Minnesota Twins elected to trade him to the Dodgers. He was due to become a free agent at the end of the season, and all signs pointed towards him signing elsewhere, so the front office decided to take what they could get for him. It was an understandable decision, given that the team was entering August with just a 44-59 record, 12 full games back from the Cleveland Indians in the division.
As part of the return for Dozier, the Twins received Logan Forsythe, who was mainly included for financial reasons to keep the Dodgers under the luxury tax limit. Plus, the Twins needed a 2B for the rest of the season, so including Forsythe worked out well both ways. He got off to a great start with the Twins, posting a .308 average and a .406 OBP in August. His production fell considerably in the final month of the season, though, posting a .207 average and a .303 OBP in September. Forsythe will become a free agent upon the conclusion of the World Series, so there is no guarantee he will be back with the team next year.
Gregorio Petit and Ehire Adrianza rounded out most of the rest of the Twins’ second basemen in 2018. Both held more of a backup utility role than solely a 2B role. Petit, a 33 year old journeyman of sorts, performed admirably, posting a line of .247/.313/.279 in 29 games. Petit was outrighted off the 40-man roster earlier this month and is expected to become a free agent and seek a minor league contract. Adrianza had a solid season for the Twins, appearing at SS, 3B, 2B, 1B, LF, and DH. He slashed .251/.301/.379 across 114 games, a respectable line for a backup utility player. Adrianza is entering his 2nd year of arbitration and likely will remain with the Minnesota Twins in 2019.