Twins first baseman Ty France on his worst-in-the-majors fielding stats: Just watch

FORT MYERS, FLA. – The Twins had a Gold Glove defender at first base in 2024. They almost certainly won’t in 2025.

But Ty France has a message for Twins fans who are bracing for Tin Glove defense at the position in 2025:

I’m better than you think.

France, the former Mariners and Reds first baseman who signed as a free agent earlier this month, knows statistical measurements and Statcast analysis rated him as the worst full-time first baseman in the majors last season. Safe to say, he disagrees.

“It’s a little frustrating. For some reason, I got knocked pretty hard metrically last year,” the 30-year-old veteran said. “But for the baseball people I talked to who watched the games, it was almost the opposite, 180 degrees. … When I’m healthy, when I’m just being myself, I’m one of the best players in this league.”

Health is no small consideration; France, after all, suffered a hairline fracture in his right heel after being hit by a pitch June 7. But he returned to action just 10 days later and tried to keep playing while he healed.

The injury limited his mobility and showed up clearly in his hitting statistics; France batted just .157 (14-for-89) with a .497 OPS in 27 games before the Mariners traded him to Cincinnati in late July.

The effect on his defensive numbers was similar, if less obvious to casual fans. By FanGraphs’ “Def” measurement — which quantifies, according to the website, “the number of runs above or below average a player is worth” with the relative value of that position taken into account — France was 17.4 runs below average last year, worst among fielders who played at least 900 innings. The Twins' Carlos Santana was plus-1.1, only slightly behind MLB leader (and NL Gold Glove winner) Christian Walker of Arizona.

StatCast’s measurement of outs above average was similar, with France dead last at minus-12 and Santana the MLB leader at plus-14.

“I played with Carlos in Seattle and so I know the kind of person he is and how hard he works. I’m not surprised that he won a Gold Glove. He more than deserved it,” said France, whose defensive measurements in previous years ranked more or less in the middle among his peers. “But I’m proud of my defense. I don’t know how the metrics are calculated, but I work hard at it too, and I expect to show it.”

That attitude sounds great to his manager.

“All of that shakes out over the course of a season. We’ll let him go show us how good of a defender he is,” Rocco Baldelli said. “We think he’s a very capable first baseman. He’s a guy that’s play third base, too, and second base, so his feet work [and] his hands work.

“We feel confident in his abilities, but if he feels shortchanged [by the metrics], great. That is great motivation.”

France and another newcomer to the Twins roster, outfielder Harrison Bader, showed how comfortable they feel with their new team Tuesday by smacking solo home runs during the Twins’ 5-4 come-from-behind victory over the Yankees at Hammond Stadium.

France belted the first pitch he saw from Yankees starter Carlos Carrasco in the second inning off the fencing above the right-field wall, an opposite-field home run. Bader followed an inning later by blasting a slider from reliever Allan Winans into the teeth of a 20-mph wind and onto the berm in left field.

“I feel like I’m in a good spot. I feel like my old self, just moving the ball all around the field,” France said. “When I’m hitting the ball the other way, I’m usually pretty dialed in.”

Matt Wallner also homered, pulling a line drive into the right-field stands off Erick Leal in the fifth inning, scoring Austin Martin ahead of him to tie the score.

The tie remained intact until the ninth, when outfielder DaShawn Keirsey hit a ball to the warning track in right-center, a walk-off single that scored catcher Diego Cartaya with the winning run.

The game also featured the first appearance in nearly a year by Matt Canterino. The righthander pitched the seventh inning against Yankees prospects and didn’t allow a run — though it wasn’t exactly a spotless performance.

A clearly nervous Canterino walked three hitters and threw two wild pitches but was bailed out by Cartaya, who threw out George Lombard trying to steal.

The details aren’t important, Baldelli said. Just being healthy again, after missing the past 2½ seasons with elbow and shoulder injuries, is a victory.

“Rein in his heart rate and get comfortable on the field again, that’s what a big part of this is when you miss time,” Baldelli said. “That has to come before you can totally dial in on just performance. He scattered it around, yes, but he found a way through all that. More than anything, he’s out there and now he can reclaim himself.”