Minnesota Twins DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Minnesota Twins outfielder Austin Martin was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul on Monday, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press' Betsy Helfand. Martin lost out on the final outfield spot on the Opening Day roster to DaShawn Keirsey after hitting .275 (11-for-40) with two doubles, five RBI, three stolen bases and seven runs scored in 16 Grapefruit League games. Because of his defensive versatility, the 26-year-old can also fill in at second base, he's likely to return to the big leagues at some point in 2025 as utility depth for the Twins. However, the former first-rounder (fifth overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020 out of Vanderbilt hasn't lived up to the hype offensively after appearing in 93 games in his rookie season in 2024, hitting .253 (59-for-233) with only one homer, 16 RBI and seven stolen bases. There's some speed potential here, but Martin's lack of power and a clear defensive home makes him avoidable in most fantasy leagues.

The Detroit Tigers signed outfielder Manuel Margot, the 30-year-old journeyman from the Dominican Republic, after the Milwaukee Brewers released him on Saturday. Margot is a career .254 hitter and will now play for his fifth MLB team since being called to the big leagues in 2016. Margot provides a safety net and consistent floor for Detroit and will join outfielders Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Wenceel Perez, and Parker Meadows (arm). Meadows was recently shut down from throwing and will miss some time, so the Tigers' signing of Margot was likely a proactive approach to add some outfield depth. For fantasy purposes, Margot can be left on the waiver wire and picked up if he flashes a hot stretch where he can help fantasy managers in points leagues if they deal with some injuries to their outfield.

Minnesota Twins shortstop Brooks Lee (back) will begin the season on the 10-day injured list, per Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune. On Thursday, Lee was scratched from the Twins' lineup with lower back tightness and is still battling the injury. He did not participate in on-field pregame drills on Saturday. Lee was projected to see a good amount of playing time with teammate Royce Lewis (hamstring) starting the year on the IL, but he'll now recover from his own bout with injury. The 24-year-old hit for good contact in the minors and displayed strong enough plate discipline to profile as a potential impactful asset despite the ineffectiveness during his 2024 debut. He's a late-round option in drafts, selected outside of the top 200. Teammate Edouard Julien will pick up the slack at second base.

Outfielder Manuel Margot was released by the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday. The veteran was 8-for-32 (.250) this springwith no home runs but did steal a base and logged a 3:5 BB:K. The right-handed hitter appeared in 129 games for the Twins last season, but it only amounted to a .238-4-31-37-5 stat line, which was a similar line to the two previous seasons. The 30-year-old may end up signingsomewhere else, but those stats won't cut it for fantasy. Margot should be left on the waiver wire until he finds at least semi-regular at-bats somewhere and shows he can still produce.

Minnesota Twins infielder Brooks Lee (back) was scratched from Thursday's Grapefruit League lineup due to lower-back tightness, according to the St. Paul Pioneer's Betsy Helfand. Lee is being considered day-to-day for now. Jose Miranda replaced him at third base against the Boston Red Sox. While the 24-year-old's injury doesn't appear to be serious, it's a bit more concerning with Opening Day just a week away. The former first-rounder (eighth overall) in 2022 out of Cal Poly made his big-league debut a year ago and hit .221/.265/.320 with a weak .585 OPS, three home runs, 27 RBI, three steals and nine runs scored in 50 games. It wasn't exactly pretty, but Lee displayed strong contact skills in the minors and has good plate discipline. With Royce Lewis (hamstring) starting the year on the injured list, Lee should see solid playing time between second and third base for the Twins as long as his back injury doesn't linger.