The Twins optioned infielder Royce Lewis to Triple-A a few weeks in the past. Since then, he has hit eight house runs and slashed .367/.446/.939. He has additionally began increasing his defensive versatility. He performed first base yesterday and was at second base the day earlier than.
Late final month, it was truthful to marvel if Lewis’s time with the Twins was coming to an finish. He has proven large expertise at instances however has struggled to remain wholesome. Final yr, he received right into a career-high 106 video games however hit simply .237/.283/.388. Right here in 2026, he put up a .163/.261/.279 line whereas placing out 31.1% of the time.
When the Twins determined to ship him right down to the minors, they moved shortstop Brooks Lee to cowl third base, which had been Lewis’s major place. Shortstop prospect Kaelen Culpepper is killing it in Triple-A, so it seemed just like the left aspect of the infield was set for the long run. Lewis has already certified for arbitration, making $2.85MM this season. Given his struggles and the roster image, it seemed like he was trending in the direction of a non-tender.
However as talked about, his bat has instantly picked up since being despatched right down to Saint Paul. Along with the house runs, he has solely struck out at a 19.6% tempo because the demotion. It’s clearly simpler to place up good numbers in opposition to Triple-A pitching however the Twins are effectively conscious that Lewis can hit within the majors. In 2022 and 2023, Lewis was restricted by accidents to simply 280 plate appearances however put up a monster .307/.364/.549 line in these.
Defensively, Lewis has largely been on the sizzling nook. The Twins toyed with transferring him to second base in 2024 however he logged simply eight innings on the place at the moment. He didn’t play the place once more till this week’s sport with the Saints. Yesterday was his first skilled sport as a primary baseman.
If he can deal with the brand new spots competently, and his resurgence on the plate holds, then he has a path again to the massive leagues. Luke Keaschall is getting a lot of the enjoying time on the keystone and is managed for a few years to come back however he’s hitting simply .245/.321/.316 to this point this yr. He had a dreadful March/April, received sizzling in Might, however has cooled off once more in June. Clearly, the present month is a really small pattern, so Keaschall’s season-long efficiency continues to be trending up after a cool begin. However he does have choices if the Twins ever determine he wants a reset.
First base is way extra open. Most of this yr’s time at that spot has gone to Kody Clemens, Josh Bell and Victor Caratini. Ever since Ryan Jeffers suffered a hamate fracture in mid-Might, Caratini has been the first catcher. Bell is hitting simply .227/.289/.345 on the yr, so there’s an argument for decreasing his enjoying time. He’s additionally an impending free agent, so he’s not part of the long-term image.
Clemens is having a great yr on the plate however might be moved elsewhere. The Twins have been utilizing him in all three outfield spots this yr. Matt Wallner getting optioned to the minors opened a while within the corners, although Trevor Larnach and Austin Martin are doing effectively in these spots. Clemens’ skill to cowl heart discipline, and Bell spending extra time at first, has opened the designated hitter spot for Byron Buxton. A hip challenge brought about Buxton to overlook a while not too long ago however the Twins clearly need his bat within the lineup, so having that flexibility is big for them.
Add all of it up and the longer term for Lewis in Minnesota seems to be a bit extra potential. Presumably, the Twins would love him to play a couple of extra video games at first base and get comfy there, however there’s a path for him to return and carve out a task within the large leagues once more. In the event that they don’t need to wait on that course of, maybe he may retake the third base job and push Lee again to quick. Culpepper hasn’t been known as up but and the Twins have a Tristan Grey, Ryan Kreidler, Orlando Arcia rotation masking quick for now. Whatever the place, if Lewis comes up and performs effectively over the following few months, he might be retained by way of arbitration for the 2027 and 2028 seasons.
Photograph courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Imagn Photographs
