France, 30, figures to fill some version of the role that went to Carlos Santana in 2024 and Donovan Solano in 2023. He’s coming off a tough season with the Mariners and Reds, but is a .263/.337/.407 career hitter and a right-handed batter who’s comfortable at first base. For the moment, he becomes the presumptive regular at that position, though he’s not good enough to force Edouard Julien or Jose Miranda entirely out of the picture.
Earlier Tuesday afternoon, the Twins lost left-handed pitcher Brent Headrick to the Yankees via waivers, so there was already room on the 40-man roster for France.
Unlike, for instance, Harrison Bader, France is not a natural candidate for platooning. For his career, he’s more of a line-drive hitter with good-not-great power, plate discipline, and contact skills, and his .741 and .753 OPSes against righties and lefties, respectively, don’t scream “shelter me from righties”.
That doesn’t mean France is in line for 600 plate appearances, especially after a campaign in which he didn’t get to much of his power.
It does mean that, like Santana and Solano, he needn’t be confined to a small, bench-style role, and it does put newfound pressure on the roster spots and projected playing time for Miranda and Julien.
It will be interesting to hear how the Twins envision utilizing him, but there’s no doubt that France brings a slightly higher floor to their first-base projection.
If you’re hoping for the same kind of defense the Twins got from Santana, though, prepare for disappointment, France is a stocky converted second baseman without great mobility or especially soft hands.
He rates poorly with the glove, and does nothing for the team’s league-worst speed and athleticism. This signing, which figures to be for a low seven-figure amount, is a gamble by the Twins front office on a bat with some upside in a market increasingly bereft of such players.
It’s unsexy, and France is likely to be a one-dimensional contributor. Still, he provides stability, and the team clearly felt more reliable depth was needed.
