3 questions Minnesota Twins need answered heading into Spring Training

What’s the situation at First Base?

It might not appear as the most obvious question to outsiders, but Twins fans have been spending a lot of time wondering what the situation at first base will be once Spring Training ends.

Ideally, Alex Kirilloff is healthy and able to command a majority of the starts there. That’s no sure thing, though, as he’s been hampered by a wrist injury that isn’t getting better fast enough to know how much of an impact he’ll have in April.

To be fair, the Twins need him to be at his best in late-summer when they’re hopefully making a push for the AL Central crown. The flip side of that is his wrist acts up around then and the house of cards that appears to be the situation at first begins to fall.

So how do the Twins avoid that situation?

There’s talk that Joey Gallo could get starts at first but he hasn’t started a game there since 2018. Max Kepler was kicked around as an option at first a few years ago but he seems better suited as part of a corner outfield platoon (along with Gallo). Jose Miranda has spent time at first, but he’s slotted in as the Twins everyday third baseman next to Carlos Correa — who has played third but will probably stay at shortstop.

It doesn’t take much to see the connundrum Minnesota has at first. A move of Miranda to first, Correa to third, and Royce Lewis at shortstop works in theory but it’s a plan that is probably a few years away from being put in place.

Minnesota needs the situation at first figured out for 2023, and a lot of that rests on the strength of Kirilloff’s wrist. Best case scenario is he’s healthy enough to start a majority of his time at first with Kyle Farmer taking some starts here and there.

Spring Training will help the Twins not only determine the health of Kirilloff but who — if anyone — on the roster can help form a platoon at first this season.