Source: Twins agree to free agent deal with 1B Ty France

The Twins have agreed to a 1-year major league contract with free agent first baseman Ty France, a source confirms to KSTP Sports. The deal will become official after France passes a physical. The monetary terms are unknown at the time of this publishing.

Update: The deal is worth $1M, but isn’t fully guaranteed. France will have to make the initial 26-man roster.

France, 30, was an All-Star with the Mariners in 2022. But his numbers have dipped the last two years. He was traded to the Reds middle of last season.

For his career, France is a .263 hitter with 74 career home runs. 

France had three full seasons as the regular first baseman for the Mariners, batting .272 with a .415 slugging percentage and a .763 OPS from 2021-23. He led the majors in hit by pitches in both 2021 (27) and 2023 (34). In 2022, he hit 20 homers with 83 RBIs in 140 games.

The 30-year-old France became a free agent in November when he refused an outright assignment by the Reds to Triple-A. He’ll give the Twins an experienced hitter to consider starting on Monday with their first full-squad workout in Fort Myers, Florida. The departure of Carlos Santana in free agency for the Cleveland Guardians left a void at first base, where Jose Miranda and Edouard Julien are also viable options with significant upside on offense. The challenge will be replacing the defense provided by Santana, who won the AL Gold Glove award in 2024.

Minnesota also will take a look at first baseman Mike Ford, among 16 players invited to spring training on minor league contracts. Ford appeared in 17 games with the Reds last season, his sixth major league team in six years. He hit a career-high 16 home runs in 83 games for the Mariners with a .798 OPS in 2023.

The Associated Press contributed to this report