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Minnesota Twins: Analyzing the Twins’ options to rebuild the infield

By Chris Schad

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 03: Josh Donaldson #20 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after advancing to third base on a double by teammate Nick Markakis (not pictured) against the St. Louis Cardinals during the sixth inning in game one of the National League Division Series at SunTrust Park on October 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 03: Josh Donaldson #20 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after advancing to third base on a double by teammate Nick Markakis (not pictured) against the St. Louis Cardinals during the sixth inning in game one of the National League Division Series at SunTrust Park on October 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – JULY 22: Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees runs to third base as Luis Arraez #2 of the Minnesota Twins fields the ball hit by Gio Urshela #29 of the New York Yankees during the sixth inning of the game on July 22, 2019 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – JULY 22: Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees runs to third base as Luis Arraez #2 of the Minnesota Twins fields the ball hit by Gio Urshela #29 of the New York Yankees during the sixth inning of the game on July 22, 2019 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Move Luis Arraez to third base

We will go into the free-agent options for the Twins at third base shortly, but the possibility of Arraez landing at third base and trying to find a new second baseman on the open market is a real one considering the rookie phenom wasn’t all that great defensively in 2019.

While Sano struggled at third base, Arraez had the same issue filling in for Jonathan Schoop at second base. Arraez committed four errors in 49 games at second base last season, which doesn’t look horrible, but his UZR painted a different picture at -5.0 and a UZR over 150 games at -22.6. Those numbers were even worse in a very limited audition at shortstop, but that bleeding stopped when he was moved over to third base.

Much like his numbers at shortstop, Arraez didn’t spend much time at third base with 17 total games (15 starts) at the hot corner in 2019. While he didn’t invoke memories of Brooks Robinson, he was serviceable, not making an error and producing a 7.8 UZR/150 rating per FanGraphs.

Again, this is an extremely small sample size and it makes bringing in someone outside of the organization a more likely scenario. However, if the Twins want to sign a second baseman, moving Arraez to third and Sano to first could be one way to fill their needs around the horn.

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