Did Brooks Lee Do Enough To Be the Twins’ Shortstop in 2026?

Lack of Other Options

The main reason for Lee to be the Opening Day shortstop in Minnesota is the sheer lack of other options. The current options in the clubhouse outside of Lee includes Royce Lewis and Ryan Fitzgerald.

Lewis is likely to be the Opening Day third baseman, which removes him from the equation.

Fitzgerald on the other hand is a career minor leaguer who will be 32 years old next season. He has just five career MLB starts at shortstop. That, combined with his age, likely rules him out.

The only other in-house option is Kaelen Culpepper, who put together an amazing season in the minors but did not make it past Double-A Wichita. He still has some developing to do and likely won’t see the majors until late next year.

The only other option would be a potential free-agent signing or trade. Given the direction that the front office and ownership have shown that they intend taking the team, not a lot of free agents make sense.

A lot of the options are either too expensive or would not be much of an upgrade over Lee. There seem to only be two free-agent options that would be a fit for the Twins to pursue. Those being Willi Castro and Luis Rengifo.

Bringing back Castro would not only give the Twins an option at shortstop but be a gesture of good faith to the fan base. Following such an abysmal season, the return of a fan favorite in Castro would be a great move.

Rengifo on the other hand could be a sneaky deal for the Twins to make.

The 28-year-old veteran is coming off his worst season in three years. He could be a buy low and hope for a bounce back option for Minnesota. It should be noted, however, that he hasn’t started more than 20 games at short since 2023 and never more than 30 in a season.

Despite those two players making sense to fill in, signing them is incredibly unlikely. That leaves Lee set to be the shortstop come 2026.

Lee Is Still Unproven

Another great reason to give Lee some more run at shortstop is that he is still young. Lee will only be 25 years old next season. He also only has 712 plate appearances in 189 games over two seasons.

While that might sound like a lot, this was Lee’s first full season in the majors. Coming out of college, he was deemed to be one of the most MLB-ready bats in his class.

In 2023, MLB.com had Lee as the tenth-best shortstop in the minors. They gave him a grade of 65 for his hit tool and 55 for his power. The only shortstop in the top 10 in 2023 with a better hit tool grade was Jackson Holliday.

In the minors, he was able to show off that hit tool. He only played 25 Triple-A games in 2024 before being called up. In those games, he hit .308/.368/.606 and looked like the player that he was billed as.

Unfortunately, the results in the majors have not been the same. For a player whose best trait is their hit tool, a career batting average of .232 is tough to swallow.

However, perhaps it is important to note that Lee played fewer than 60 games in Triple-A before being called up to the big leagues. He has also dealt with his share of injuries.

Another silver lining in this season for Lee is his home-road splits. He performed quite well at home compared to on the road; It’s a 101 wRC+ and .731 OPS at home compared to a 59 wRC+ and .574 OPS on the road.

This season, Target Field graded out as the 12th most hitter-friendly park via Statcast Park Factor. That is right in the middle of the pack and suggests that Lee wasn’t getting a massive boost from the park playing at home (ie. Coors or Sacramento).

This could suggest that Lee just needs some more time to get settled into road environments.

All of this points to handing over the reigns to Lee and allowing him at least the first part of the 2026 season to prove that he can be the Twins’ shortstop moving forward.

The Case Against Lee

While there were certainly some good moments for Brooks Lee this season, the vast majority of this season was a struggle.

His 81 wRC+, .236 batting average, and 0.3 fWAR show enough of the story to know that Lee struggled this year. While the Twins are likely entering a rebuilding year next season, you still want to put the best product on the field.

The Defense is Bad, Really Bad

Defense has never been his calling card, but Lee did not handle the shortstop position well when it was handed to him.

He was one of 33 players to log at least 500 innings at the position this season. In those 500 innings, Lee was able to rack up -8 defensive runs saved. That mark is good for 30th in baseball.

He did manage only -1 outs above average, which indicates that his range at the position was only slightly below average. He ranked 20th in that department.

Then if you go to Fielding Run Value, which is a statcast metric, he was good for -1, ranking him 22nd.

In every major defensive metric, he graded out well-below average at the position. While metrics should not be the end all be all with defense, it certainly means something when you are this bad in every major metric.

Beyond that, Lee’s arm is also well-below average for the position. Among shortstops with at least 300 throws from the position, Lee averaged 81.2 mph. That ranks 26th, and the average for the position is 85.7 mph.

While that may not seem like a big deal, a player’s arm at shortstop matters a lot. It plays a huge role in being able to record outs from deep in the hole. Those are plays that Lee struggles to make.

The defense is bad enough that if Culpepper keeps trending the way he is, shortstop could be his as early as mid season.

Lack of Impact With the Bat

Over the course of the last decade or so, we have seen a shift in the shortstop position. It has gone from a spot that prioritized strong defense to becoming one of the stronger offensive positions in baseball.

Across all of MLB this season, shortstops posted a 101 wRC+. That only trailed first base, left field, right field, and designated hitter. As stated, this has become a position where offense has to be prioritized.

If a player is not at least an above-average hitter, that player’s days are likely numbered unless he plays Gold Glove-caliber defense. It has already been made clear that Lee does not.

According to Statcast and Baseball Savant, there were 34 qualified (2.1 PA per team game) shortstops in the 2025 MLB season. Lee ranks 20th or worse in a number of the key power statistics. Those include barrel rate, average exit velocity, and hard-hit rate.

When you are below average in your ability to impact the baseball, you can often times make up for it by pulling the ball in the air. Lee pulled the ball in the air 17.5% of the time in 2025. That was the 133rd most of the 251 qualified hitters in baseball.

While the Twins are unlikely to compete for anything next year, this is not the kind of production you want from your shortstop. Lee is going to have to prove that he can be a productive part of the lineup if he doesn’t want to be phased out eventually.

Conclusion

Lee came out of college with a lot of potential and intrigue. Most of which was surrounding his bat, which appeared to be one of the most mature in his draft class.

Through about a year and a half of MLB playing time, the bat has been a disappointment. Not to mention that the glove has not come along enough to make up for it.

The Twins have now found themselves in a position where they can likely be extra patient with their younger players and let them go through growing pains. With a stripped roster, it is unlikely that the Twins find themselves fighting for a playoff spot next year.

These circumstances should ultimately lead to Lee being the primary shortstop for the Twins on Opening Day. How long that last is going to be up to Lee.

If he can perform, especially in the batter’s box, he could see out the entire 2026 season as the Twins shortstop. However, he should feel the presence of Kaelen Culpepper on his heels.

If the All-Star break rolls around and Lee is continuing to struggle, Culpepper could, and should, be an option. If the Twins 2025 minor league Rookie of the Year continues on his trajectory, he should be knocking on the door by mid season.

Ultimately, Lee’s days at shortstop are probably numbered. However, expect him to have one last opportunity to solidify his place at the position next season.