The Minnesota Twins moved Brooks Lee from shortstop to third base after optioning Royce Lewis to St. Paul on Tuesday, and Lee has already started to settle in with back-to-back starts at the new position after sitting for two games in a row.
The change matters because Minnesota is not treating this as a temporary shuffle. The Twins are planning for Lewis to be in the minors for a while, and they are likely preparing to promote Kaelen Culpepper soon, which could reshape the left side of the infield again before long.
Lee’s move is also about run prevention. He posted -8 Defensive Runs Saved and -1 Outs Above Average at shortstop in 2025, and in 2026 he has recorded -7 Defensive Runs Saved and -6 Outs Above Average there. At third base last year, he posted -6 Defensive Runs Saved but finished with 0 Outs Above Average, which gives Minnesota reason to believe he can help more there than he did at short.
That defensive tradeoff leaves the Twins with a clearer picture for the moment. With Lee at third base, Minnesota can use a rotating group of Ryan Kreidler, Tristan Gray and Orlando Arcia at shortstop, and the club should be better on defense overall than it was with Lee handling the tougher position.
The next part of the puzzle is Culpepper, whose rise has been building for weeks. Many Twins fans wanted the 23-year-old to be promoted over Arcia when Minnesota sent Lewis to Triple-A St. Paul, but the club wanted Culpepper to get more playing time there first. He left Friday’s Saints game with a bloody lip, then returned to the lineup Saturday, leading off and playing shortstop. He has also logged innings at third base this season, and he is MLB Pipeline’s No. 39 overall prospect.
There are still questions about whether Culpepper is a long-term shortstop, but Minnesota appears ready to find out soon. It is hard to imagine he could be worse there than Lee has been, and the Twins should plan to use Culpepper at shortstop once they bring him to the majors. For now, Lee’s move to third is the clearest sign yet that Minnesota is mapping out the next phase of its infield before the roster makes room for it.
