The Twins chose a shortstop Royce Lewis to Triple-A a few weeks ago. Since then, he has hit eight home runs and slashed .367/.446/.939. He has also started to increase his defensive strength. He played first place yesterday and was second place the day before.
Late last month, it was fair to wonder if Lewis’ time with the twins was coming to an end. He has shown great talent at times but struggles to stay healthy. Last year, he got into a career-high 106 games but hit .237/.283/.388. Here in 2026, he posted a .163/.261/.279 line while hitting 31.1% of the time.
When the Twins decided to send him down to the minors, they moved the shortstop Brooks Lee covering third base, which was Lewis’ primary area. Shortstop prospect Kaelen Culpepper is killing it in Triple-A, so it looks like the left side of the infield is set for a long time. Lewis is already arbitration eligible, making $2.85MM this season. Given his struggles and roster picture, it seems like he’s trending towards a non-tender.
But as mentioned, his bat has softened quickly since being sent down to Saint Paul. Aside from the home run, he’s still hitting just 19.6% since being demoted. It’s obviously easier to put up good numbers in Triple-A, but the Twins are well aware that Lewis can hit the majors. In 2022 and 2023, Lewis was limited by injuries to just 280 plate appearances but posted a monster .307/.364/.549 line in those.
Defensively, Lewis has always been the hot corner. The Twins toyed with putting him at second base in 2024, but he only pitched eight innings during that time. He did not play again until this week’s game against the Saints. Yesterday was his first professional game as a starting midfielder.
If he can handle the new areas properly, and his get up at the plate holds, then he has a path back to the big leagues. Luke Keachall he’s getting plenty of playing time in the mainstay and is under control for years to come but is hitting just .245/.321/.316 so far this year. Had a bad March/April, got hot in May, but has cooled off again in June. Obviously, the current month is a very small sample, so Keachall’s season performance is still trending up after a good start. But you have a choice if the twins ever decide they need a reset.
First base is wide open. Most of this year in that area is gone Is Clemens, Josh Bell again Victor Caratini. Since then Ryan Jeffers broke his hamate in mid-May, Caratini has become the main hunter. Bell is hitting just .227/.289/.345 on the year, so there is an argument for reducing his playing time. He’s also an upcoming free agent, so he’s not part of the long-term picture.
Clemens is having a good year at the plate but could be taken elsewhere. The Twins used him in all three outfield spots this year. Matt Wallner The selection of minors is open for some time in the corners, however Trevor Larnach again Austin Martin they do well in those areas. Clemens’ ability to cover center field, and Bell spending more time at first, opened up the designated hitter spot. Byron Buxton. A hip problem has caused Buxton to miss some time recently but the Twins want his bat in the lineup, so having that flexibility is huge for them.
Add it all up and Lewis’ future in Minnesota looks very possible. Presumably, the Twins would like him to play a few more games at first and get comfortable there, but there is a way for him to return and contribute to the big leagues again. If they don’t want to wait in that process, maybe he can take a third job and push Lee. Culpepper has yet to be called and the twins have Tristan Grey, Ryan Kreidler, Orlando Arcia a rotation that includes a momentary current. Regardless of the position, if Lewis shows up and performs well over the next few months, he could be retained through arbitration for the 2027 and 2028 seasons.
Photo courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Imagn Images
