Brooks Lee’s Move to Third Base Perfectly Fits Twins Long-Term Plans

Brooks Lee spent of a majority of his time at third base in 2026, while still logging some innings at shortstop. However, a full-time shift to third base would benefit the Twins.

Brooks Lee throws the ball to first base for an out against the Chicago White Sox in the sixth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Players showing up to the ballpark day after day not knowing where in the field they’ll be playing has been a very common and somewhat concerning trend in recent years for the Minnesota Twins.

From a fan’s point of view, you may have noticed that the lineup card normally doesn’t look the same from the previous day’s game.

One of the players most impacted by this in recent years is infielder Brooks Lee.

Originally drafted as a shortstop by the Minnesota Twins, in the first round of the 2022 draft out of Cal Poly, Lee has since logged defensive innings at second base, shortstop, and third base.

Constantly moving around the horn.

After bouncing around that trio of positions between his 2024 and 2025 campaigns, this past season, Lee seemed to find a permanent defensive home at third base.

Brooks Lee Proved to Be a Reliable Third Base Option

Brooks Lee runs after hitting a single against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The 2026 season was very important for the Twins organization. A lot more than you may have thought. And the reason is because a whole new era of baseball is about to begin in the Twin Cities.

Lee’s potential full-time shift to third base will play a huge role in welcoming in the next wave of core Twins players.

After logging just 56 games at third base between the 2024 and 2025 seasons, he spent a majority of his defensive time at the hot corner in 2026, notching 110 games at the position.

Since seeing those defensive numbers, the time has likely come for Lee to put shortstop in the rear view mirror and turn his attention to third base full time.

Further diving into Lee’s specific stats at third base, while they're not off the charts, they are at-least respectable and playable numbers.

This past season, Lee posted a .966 fielding percentage at third base, which is better than the league-average .958 mark.

That clip takes a decent-sized jump if you zoom out and look at his career .976 fielding percentage at third base, further establishing his ability to be reliable at one of the toughest and most demanding positions in baseball.

Furthermore, Lee’s defensive range ranked in the 61st percentile, a perfectly fine place to be for third base, but his average arm strength lacked, as his throws averaged 82.5 mph, which ranked in the 35th percentile.

Lee's superb defensive abilities at third base this past season proved enough to be considered a Gold Glove finalist for the position in the American League this year.

Lee’s Shift to Third Base Clears the Way for Marek Houston

Marek Houston of the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels throws for an out against the Dunedin Blue Jays at Hammond Stadium. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

After determining that Lee has proven to be capable enough of holding down third base full-time, we need to go over what his position switch means for the future of Twins baseball and why it’s so important.

A lot of this has to do with the fact that shortstop prospect Marek Houston is almost ready to get his shot at the major league level.

Houston is projected to reach the majors at some point during the 2027 season, adding him to the expected infield mix of Lee, Kaelen Culpepper, Kody Clemens, and Royce Lewis.

Ideally, long-term, for the most optimal defensive purposes, Clemens and Lewis would share the workload at first base, Culpepper shifts over to second base, Houston slides into a full-time role at shortstop, and Lee slots in at third base.

A massive reason as to why Houston gets the prospect hype he receives is as a result of his elite defensive abilities. According to MLB Pipeline, he features a 55-grade arm and 60-grade defense.

You wouldn’t want to mess that up by trying to make Houston change positions.

That also further clears up the air on why moving Lee to third base moving forward makes a lot of sense.