3 options for replacing Alex Kirilloff this offseason
The Twins have some intriguing options for replacing Alex Kirilloff while he gets healthy.
It didn't take long for the Minnesota Twins list of offseason tasks to both grow in size and complexity.
A day after the season ended in the ALDS, the Twins announced that Alex Kirilloff would undergo surgery on his non-throwing arm. It's a procedure that will likely knock him out of action for the next 4-6 months and all but guarantees he starts the season on the 60-day IL.
Minnesota already had some questions it needed to answer about roster construction heading into the winter but the injury to Kirilloff moves the need to figure things out at first base near the top of hte list.
The offseason hasn't yet officially started, but the Twins have a few interesting options for replacing Kirilloff to start pondering for when it does.
Sign an affordable free agent
The Twins aren't going to have a ton of money to splurge in free agency, as there are still some pretty serious questions about the payroll for 2024. The whole drama with Sinclair and Bally Sports North is annoying beyond just wondering how fans will be able to watch games, as a sizable revenue stream has been cut off.
Minnesota will still have around $50 million to spend, a number expertly outlined by Aaron Gleeman over at The Atheltic, and the front office would be wise to at least look at using some of that on a free agent first baseman.
Rhys Hoskins is a name that jumps out, as he's coming off a torn ACL and might not be as pricey as he once was. He was a key contributor to the Phillies World Series team in 2022, which is something that will likely intrigue other teams around the league as well and potentially create some competition in the market for Minnesota.
If Hoskins is out of the Twins price range, C.J. Cron would be an excellent second option. He's already spent time with the Twins and there were rumors that he might be a guy the team traded for at the deadline. Cron remains an interesting candidate to circle back to, as he'd fill the need for an everyday first baseman with Kirilloff out but could provide an option at DH when he returns.
Other potential free agent options to consider at the right price include:
- Joey Votto
- Ji-man Choi
- Carlos Santana
- Matt Carpenter (he has a $5.5M player-option with St. Louis so TDB on whether he hits the market)
Re-sign Donovan Solano
If free agency is the route Minnesota goes to replace Kirilloff, it might not have to look very far.
Donovan Solano ended up being the top-notch acquisition he appeared to be when the Twins signed him during Spring Training. He was brought in to provide some depth at first with Kirilloff starting the season on the IL and to account for the loss of Luis Arraez in the Pablo Lopez trade.
The plan worked perfectly.
Solano was able to play first until Kirilloff returned but also spent time at second base as Jorge Polanco dealt with injuries for the first part of the season. His defense at first was excellent and he finished with career-highs in hits and RBI. Some of that was due to him playing more than he ever has before, but that was a nice litmus test for how impactful he could be as an everyday player.
He knows the Twins and they know him, which makes for a seamless transition to bring him back in the same role he was brought here to play in the first place. Solano's market value is also within the Twins price range, as he'd likely cost around $5.4M and might be able to get talked into an even more team-friendly deal.
A lot of this depends on what the Twins see as the best way to navigate the future at first base. Solano probably won't be an option if the team wants to look at someone like Rhys Hoskins as a long-term replacement, but that's a larger philosophical question about how much the team values Kirilloff in the big picture.
Solano is an easy interim solution, as the Twins could do worse than running it back with one of the more reliable veterans from this past season.
Edouard Julien
Like Michael Keaton once said: you wanna get nuts, let's get nuts.
Like Michael Keaton once said, you wanna get nuts let's get nuts.
Moving Edouard Julien to first is a bit of an outside-the-box solution but it could be a move that frees up a ton of other options for the Twins across the entire lineup.
Julien's defense has always been the thing that could hold him back from being truly special, and moving him to first base might negate some of the danger in having him out in the field. He played some time there late in the season, which seems to indicate the Twins are at least considering this as a potential option. It would allow Rocco Baldelli to get Julien's bat in the lineup on a regular basis but not prevent him from using someone at DH, creating a potential lineup of Royce Lewis/Eduoard Julien/Slugger X in the batting order.
That's pretty intriguing.
Julien saw a ton of time at second base this year due to some injuries that Jorge Polanco was dealing with, but he seems to be back to full health. Minnesota is likely to exercise its $10.5M team option on him, which is a bargain price given all that he brings to the lineup, and could plug him in as the everyday second baseman in 2024.
Should Polanco struggle or deal with more injuries, having Julien at first would create a scenario where Austin Martin could play second and start factoring into the lineup. He's expected to be a part of the team's plans next season and it creates a natural fit for him in addition to the depth he provides in the outfield.
Moving Julien to first would be a gamble, but it could provide the most upside and also requires no major payroll decisions to be made. Imagine the lineup options when Kirilloff comes back healthy and how well-positioned the Twins would once again be to make a deep run in October.
There's just too much to love about this to not seriously consider it as the best replacement option this winter.
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