Ty France arrives at Twins camp as the starting first baseman: ‘He’s going to play a lot’

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Two years after Ty France was selected to the American League All-Star team, he didn’t like the way he felt in the batter’s box.

France, who played in college under Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn at San Diego State, always prided himself on a simplified approach. Now, here he was overthinking his mechanics and wondering if his hip was coiling after swings.

The result was the worst offensive season of France’s career. He batted .234 with 13 homers, 51 RBI and a .305 on-base percentage in 140 games.

“My first four years in the big leagues, I had really good, strong seasons,” France said. “In ‘23, the numbers dipped a little bit. I shouldn’t have, but I panicked a little because I wasn’t used to that kind of production. I was like, ‘OK, how can I get back to being my old self and putting up those numbers again?’ I kind of got lost.”

The Twins are confident they can help France return to his old self. France’s one-year, $1 million deal, which is not guaranteed until he makes the roster out of spring training, became official when he passed his physical Saturday. He quickly took the field with his new teammates and participated in fielding drills at first base.

Despite the nonguaranteed part of France’s contract this spring, his spot on the team seems secure. The Twins envision him as their starting first baseman.

“He’s going to play a lot,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “That’s really the best way of saying it. The kind of hitter that he is, this isn’t a platoon situation. I think he’s going to play.”

France, who wanted to return to the basics with his hitting approach, spent the offseason hitting with former Twins utilityman Denny Hocking in Southern California. “A Twins legend apparently,” France said, smiling.

During the winter, France kept revisiting advice from the late Gwynn. The 15-time All-Star and eight-time batting champion always preached as a coach, “This is a game. You’ve got to have fun.”

“The last year or two hasn’t been fun baseball for me, personally,” said France, who was traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Cincinnati Reds in the middle of last season. “Finding that joy in the game again and understanding we play a game for a living. Not everyone gets to do this, especially at this level. I think my time in Cincinnati last year, having that reset, I found that joy again and I enjoyed playing baseball again.”

A hairline fracture in France’s right heel probably played a part in a rough 2024 season, which required a stint on the injured list in June. He had a .732 OPS in 61 games before the injury, and a .621 OPS in 79 games afterward.

“When you don’t have a foot, it’s hard to do things,” France said. “I don’t want to put all the blame on that. There was a lot that went into it. I tried a different style of training that offseason trying to revamp my swing. It didn’t work out the way I thought it would. This offseason, I spent a lot of time just getting back to the basics of things. When I simplify hitting and just get back to being myself, I’m a pretty good hitter.”

France, a righthanded batter, has put up similar numbers whether he’s facing lefty or righty pitching. At his best, his batting average is hovering around .300 with a low strikeout rate. He’s led the league in hit-by pitches twice.

“He’s a good, natural hitter,” Baldelli said. “He’s made a name for himself in this game by going out there and just using the whole field, hitting a lot of line drives. Perfect for everything we’ve talked about going into this year for our team and the desires for our team, putting together good at-bats. At his core, that’s what he is.”

For the Twins, it was a low-risk signing for a player who hasn’t performed well over the past two seasons. Defensive metrics rated France as one of the worst defenders at first base last year, particularly after his heel injury.

But there is some familiarity with France, who has played at least 140 games in each of the past four seasons. Bench coach Jayce Tingler was his manager in San Diego in 2020. Christian Vázquez cracked jokes with France as soon as he saw him.

“We realized early in the offseason this would be a good fit,” said France, who went through free agency for the first time in his career. “Really glad that everything lined up.”