FORT MYERS, Fla. — Giving up as a switch hitter, Brooks Lee admits, has crossed his mind “so many times.”

The thoughts cropped up in high school and college. Even in pro ball, he pondered just sticking to his left-handed swing. So, the fact that he’s felt more comfortable right-handed recently has been an unexpected turn of events for the shortstop.

Brooks Lee #2 of the Minnesota Twins reacts after hitting a two RBI single in the fifth inning of a game against the New York Yankees at Target Field on Sept. 17, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Ellen Schmidt/Getty Images)

“I never thought I would be halfway decent at it, but I (felt) really comfortable from that side at any point throughout the year. … It’s been a nice cherry on top, but my left-handed (swing) is my pride and joy.”

Working on that left-handed swing was one of the focal points of the offseason for Lee, 25, who also spent the winter trying to improve his lateral quickness as he prepares to spend the entire season at shortstop. Lee is plenty familiar with the position, but he didn’t have a chance to play it consistently at the major league level until Carlos Correa was shipped away at the trade deadline last July.

Improvement at the position required a change in how he trained, with Lee noting that technique and sprint work were heavy focuses of the offseason. He believes all that work has paid off.

It’s something that former manager Rocco Baldelli addressed with Lee at the end of last season. The balls hit to him, he gets to; now the focus is on improving his defensive range, particularly if he’s going to stick at short.

“I make the play usually when it’s in my glove because I’m pretty accurate and I have good hands, but it’s just those ones that I’m not getting to that I feel like I should, and the numbers say I should,” Lee said. “I think just getting better with changing direction quickly is — that was a really big focus.”

Lee graded out as a below-average defender last season while playing a mix of third base, second base and then finally shortstop when Correa was dealt to Houston. With Correa no longer in the picture, and fellow first-round pick Kaelen Culpepper not yet ready to ascend to the major-league level, shortstop is open for the taking for Lee.

Lee said his work this offseason was focused on different types of jumps, different types of starts when running, to push off harder and running downhill as he worked to get his “engine quicker.”

“It takes discipline to maybe adjust your training program in terms of what you’ve done previously,” manager Derek Shelton said. “From the conversation I’ve had with him and our performance group, he has done that.”

And while Shelton wasn’t around Lee last season, he said in the early days of camp, at least 15 people have told him that “Brooks looks great.”

The result of that work has Lee feeling better, too, both about his defense and his left-handed swing after spending the winter trying to find something he could “stick with.” As part of that, new hitting coach Keith Beauregard came to visit Lee in California and met with him and his father, Larry, the head coach at Cal Poly.

“I felt like this offseason, I made the least amount of adjustments. Didn’t look at video that much,” Lee said. “I felt good just trying to hit the ball the other way more. I didn’t really do that last year left-handed. … That was kind of the big focus, (to) see the ball deeper so I could hit it that way, and I think that’ll help with chasing.”

Drafted eight overall in 2022, Lee still hasn’t shown the offensive consistency that he’s looking for. Last season, he hit .236 with a .654 OPS with 16 home runs and finished the season with a -0.8 bWAR (Wins Above Replacement per Baseball Reference).

How he performs this year could go a long way in determining the Twins’ fortunes.

“I’m always trying to improve my game at every level, every offseason, too,” Lee said. “I feel like I did that and I think … the biggest jump I’ve made in my career is what I’ve just done.”

Related Articles

After tinkering this offseason, Taj Bradley pleased with first spring start

Twins get good news on Joe Ryan’s back: “Sorry to scare everyone”

Twins scratch Joe Ryan from start with back tightness

Twins’ Bailey Ober looking for fresh start after tough 2025

It’s Tommy John for Pablo López: Twins starter will miss entire season