FORT MYERS, Fla. — In the minutes after the Twins were eliminated from the postseason last October, infielder Kyle Farmer expressed his desire to remain in Minnesota, all while knowing the decision was out of his control.

As an arbitration-eligible player, he said he didn’t think the Twins would tender him a contract in November. And though they did, he knew it didn’t mean he was necessarily coming back to Minnesota for a second season.

“When they did, I was ecstatic because I love it here. It’s awesome,” Farmer said. “But then I didn’t know if I was going to get traded after that. I figured it was either me or (Jorge) Polanco getting traded to make room in the infield.”

He was right.

The Twins traded Polanco to the Seattle Mariners at the end of January, clearing room in a crowded infield. It was at that point that Farmer realized he would be reporting to Fort Myers, Fla., as planned, for spring training.

“Every year is uncertain to me. I could get traded at any point,” said Farmer, who was traded to the Twins at the non-tender deadline in 2022. “Until I get to spring training … I never feel safe. I never feel comfortable.”

Though he’s used to that uncertainty, it’s not easy not knowing where he was going to be living come baseball season, especially with a young and growing family — Kyle and Courtney Farmer’s second son, Boden, was born in early January.

So, how’d he deal with it?

“A lot of Casa Azul tequila and a lot of support from my wife, because she’s going through it with me,” Farmer said.

With Polanco now in Seattle, it’s certainly easier to see how Farmer will get his playing time. The 33-year-old veteran, a leader in the Twins’ clubhouse and mentor to youngsters Edouard Julien and Matt Wallner, played a mix of second base, shortstop and third base last year, hitting .256 with a .725 OPS and 11 home runs in 120 games.

He’ll be Carlos Correa’s backup at shortstop, can slide over to third when Royce Lewis needs a day off and can platoon at second base with Julien, a left-handed hitter.

“Before (Polanco) got traded, I was thinking to myself, ‘When in the world am I going to play?’ ” Farmer said. “… I was like, ‘I may get 100 at-bats this year. Who knows?’ But now it changes that drastically.”

Briefly

The Twins will kick off their spring training slate of games on Friday night, playing host to the University of Minnesota in a game that is set to begin at 5:05 p.m. CT. Chris Paddack will be the Twins’ starting pitcher. The next day, the Twins will begin Grapefruit League play, hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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