Could Minnesota Go the "Miguel Sanó Reset" Route with a Struggling Royce Lewis?

[Nick Nelson]

Image courtesy of David Richard and Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Seven years ago this month – on June 18th, 2018 – the Minnesota Twins optioned Miguel Sanó from the major leagues to Single-A Fort Myers. It was a stunning turn of events for the 25-year-old, who was less than one year removed from featuring in the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby. But Sanó's performance forced the issue; through 37 games and 163 plate appearances, he was batting .203 with a .675 OPS and 41% strikeout rate. 

Beyond the performance was the observable reality: Sanó wasn't in playing shape. He'd suffered a major leg injury near the end of the previous season, resulting in surgery to insert a titanium rod, and it set him behind greatly in terms of offseason conditioning and preparation. This all contributed to a decision that was drastic and exceedingly rare: sending a 25-year-old with 1,500 MLB plate appearances – and very good overall career numbers – back to the land of teenagers and college draftees in southwest Florida. 

Sending Sanó all the way down to Single-A wasn't an act of punishment or belittlement. It was strategic. Fort Myers, where the Mighty Mussels (then Miracle) play, is home to the Twins' spring training complex and organizational development hub. Sending Sanó there gave him a chance to take in-game swings against low-caliber competition, sure, but it also gave him an opportunity to do the more important behind-the-scenes work alongside coaches and trainers who could focus on him intently.

"He needs to be the guy we think he can be," said manager Paul Molitor at the time. "He's not there right now. We have to take a step backwards here and determine the steps moving forward. But we like our coaches and facility there with a lot of things we can control more there."

I bring up this precedent as we ponder the quandary that is Royce Lewis. In some ways his path up to now has been very similar to that of Sanó: a heralded amateur shortstop turned top prospect turned formidable slugging third baseman in the majors. Much like Sanó did, Lewis is experiencing a sudden and profound spiral in his age-25 season. Actually, his performance has been far worse than Sanó's was, especially when you factor in last six weeks of 2024. 

The team's dwindling faith in Lewis was made evident on Sunday when he batted ninth in the starting lineup, and was replaced as a pinch-hitter midway through by Brooks Lee and his 71 OPS+. That's the clearest indictment we've seen yet of Royce, whose quotes to media inspire little confidence that he's got a plan to fight his way out of this.

Like Sanó back in 2018, it's evident from watching Lewis play that he's not right physically. His issue is not one of conditioning but of strength and stability – his legs just plainly aren't underneath him. Commentator Trevor Plouffe was calling this out quite openly during the Twins TV broadcast from Seattle on Friday night, seemingly in disbelief that Lewis is being allowed to work through this on a major-league field. (A feeling I've shared on many occasions while watching his at-bats.)

Is Lewis still hurt? Does he need more time to build up his lower body and regain his explosiveness? Does he need to completely reset his mechanics in a lower-pressure environment? It's beginning to feel like one of these things has to be true. Right now Lewis doesn't look like a player who would even have much chance of succeeding against Triple-A pitching (and didn't – he was terrible on his rehab stint).

You might be wondering, as we mull this comparative course of action: how did it work out with Sanó? Well, he unsurprisingly dominated Single-A pitching, returned to the Twins in late July, and played ... not well the rest of the way, slashing .195/.294/.390 in 136 plate appearances. But the following season, in 2019, a 26-year-old Sanó rebounded with career-best production, posting a .932 OPS with 34 homers for a 101-win team.

Which is to say: don't give up on Royce Lewis, as ugly as it looks right now. But it's time to acknowledge that he may need a step backward to figure out the best step forward.

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[CRF]

I'd like Royce to just come UP to Sano's level. He's not even at Keirsey level. Right now, he's completely lost. Whether it's physical, or mental, or both, I'm not going to pretend to know what the problem is, but it's clear there's something wrong. If some time in StP will help, then please do it. 

[DJL44]

Lewis reminds me a little of the struggles of Spencer Torkelson in 2024.

BTW - are we going to get an article every day about sending Royce Lewis to the minors? If so, can you change the name of the website to "Send Royce Lewis to the Minors Daily"?

[jmlease1]

It's not a crazy idea. And maybe it would work better with his headspace than a demotion to AAA? I suspect that's part of what the Twins are trying to navigate right now: what's the right move to handle not just the mechanical aspects but the mental ones. Which is more damaging to Royce's confidence, continuing to struggle against MLB pitching or taking a demotion to the minors? There no "right" answer on that one, either.

As other players have gotten healthy again it seems to be something that's coming in to focus, because the team will actually have some options (even if they're maybe not great ones) again. The talent is there, but it feels like a re-set is necessary. Baseball is a tough game.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

I can't specifically answer to the merits of sending Royce Lewis to Fort Meyers vs. St. Paul.  If he can get better and more specific coaching, then by all means send him to Fort Meyers, otherwise St. Paul.  Right now he is doing very little in the way of helping the team so he will not be missed while he is away.  Putting it more bluntly, if he doesn't figure it out, he'll hang around for second/third/fourth chances and then be out of baseball.  It's time to take the plunge.

[Fire Dan Gladden]

29 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

BTW - are we going to get an article every day about sending Royce Lewis to the minors? If so, can you change the name of the website to "Send Royce Lewis to the Minors Daily"?

100% this.

I understand the need to provide content, but why do we see certain issues getting the same article re-hashed over and over? What is this, the 4th Lewis article since Thursday last week?

[NYCTK]

5 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

100% this.

I understand the need to provide content, but why do we see certain issues getting the same article re-hashed over and over? What is this, the 4th Lewis article since Thursday last week?

This is just what happens when you have a multi author blog about one niche topic. You're going to get repeat articles about the same thing. No use complaining about it. 

[Fire Dan Gladden]

Just now, NYCTK said:

This is just what happens when you have a multi author blog about one niche topic. You're going to get repeat articles about the same thing. No use complaining about it. 

I would think there would be some oversight.

[PDX Twin]

3 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

This is just what happens when you have a multi author blog about one niche topic. You're going to get repeat articles about the same thing. No use complaining about it. 

My solution is to be selective about the authors I read. In the last couple of years, the amount of content has exploded, but the amount of really quality content has remained about the same. Nick, Seth, and a handful of others have reliably good content and write well (especially Nick, who consistently measures up to this old professor's demanding standards). The rest? I sometimes look at those articles but only if I'm really interested in the topic.

[4twinsJA]

Love Royce, but he needs a reset. Difficult to watch at times. Let him fully recover and get his confidence in his legs back. 

[Schmoeman5]

Next article. Could the Twins banish Royce Lewis to the Nights Watch?

[MileHighTwinsFan]

I have thought that the Twins should see it through with Lewis until the end of the roadtrip, then reevaluate. I have changed my position.  He needs a full reset and it should start immediately.  With Gasper raking in St. Paul, promoting him would make the Twins a better offensive team immediately.  

A productive Lewis down the stretch would be very important to the Twins' playoff chances. I would be fine with sending him down below AAA and allow him to slowly rebuild.  I would not be surprised to see a timeline where he would be back with the Twins after the All Star Break. It would give him a chance to get fully healthy and be ready for the final 2+ months of the season. 

[Squirrel]

27 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

I would think there would be some oversight.

There is, I believe, to some extent. But I don’t think it’s so managerial as to limit what the writers want to write about. And this kind of is the ‘biggest story’ with the Twins right now. I guess.

[NYCTK]

5 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

There is, I believe, to some extent. But I don’t think it’s so managerial as to limit what the writers want to write about. And this kind of is the ‘biggest story’ with the Twins right now. I guess.

Absolutely. It's the #1 topic relating to the team at this moment. And if you're not interested it's very easy to just not click on it. 

[DJL44]

13 minutes ago, MileHighTwinsFan said:

With Gasper raking in St. Paul, promoting him would make the Twins a better offensive team immediately. 

I don't blame the Twins for preferring to give playing time to Royce Lewis over Mickey Gasper. Playing time is valuable and I'd rather spend it on developing Lewis. It's likely Gasper would rot on the bench because he doesn't play 3B and Bride would get the playing time.

[DJL44]

1 minute ago, NYCTK said:

Absolutely. It's the #1 topic relating to the team at this moment. And if you're not interested it's very easy to just not click on it. 

I'm just asking for an article on the #2 and #3 topics instead of daily articles on the #1 topic. There are plenty of things to discuss, no need to fixate.

[NYCTK]

Just now, DJL44 said:

I'm just asking for an article on the #2 and #3 topics instead of daily articles on the #1 topic. There are plenty of things to discuss, no need to fixate.

There are like 3 write-ups a day. I'm sure those topics have been written about as well! 

[MileHighTwinsFan]

5 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I don't blame the Twins for preferring to give playing time to Royce Lewis over Mickey Gasper. Playing time is valuable and I'd rather spend it on developing Lewis. It's likely Gasper would rot on the bench because he doesn't play 3B and Bride would get the playing time.

Lee and Castro could easily cover 3rd, providing Gasper ABs at second base.  He could also be DH and be the number one PH option.  Having another switch hitter on the roster would provide greater flexibility.  My only concern would be his defense.   

[ziggy]

It's obvious that he is not anywhere near 100% physically.

If that's what is holding up his hitting then by all means put him on the IL and he can cheerlead from the bench. The Twins have what? 15 coaches. They should have time to work with him and his swing. If not then send him down and until he gets his swing back. 0 for 29 and counting plus his last 2 months of futility should be enough reason to do SOMETHING.

[LambchoP]

I love the idea of sending him to our facilities in Fort Meyers. Maybe they can help him get healthy and fix his mechanics. Once he starts hitting, move him up to St Paul. He gets his head right, gets his confidence back and then rejoins the Twins for the second half push as a great offensive upgrade. Right now he's nothing but an automatic out. Let Castro and Lee cover 3rd while he gets sent down. It's long overdue.

[Nick Nelson]

14 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I'm just asking for an article on the #2 and #3 topics instead of daily articles on the #1 topic. There are plenty of things to discuss, no need to fixate.

Am I missing something? From what I can see there has been one front-page article before this one about the concept of a Royce Lewis demotion, and it was assessing the more traditional idea of sending him to Triple-A. IMO the parallel between Miguel Sano and the actions that were taken in his case is a unique idea worth unpacking on its own. Where is the overlap exactly?

BTW - in between the two articles about Lewis and what to do with him, there were 11 front-page articles focusing on different topics. On a weekend.

[karcherd]

Giving him a reset probably needs to be done at this point.  If you are pinch hitting for him then he needs to go either on the IL or to the minors.  The problem is there are no real options to call up from St. Paul.  Gasper should be a break glass in case of emergency like after about 5 injuries before he is back up here.  He is not a major league player and he showed that when he was up here.  There is a reason he is 29 and not getting a shot in the majors even with good numbers in AAA.

[Craig Arko]

This seems like a sound approach. I’d do it.

[TwinsDr2021]

40 minutes ago, MileHighTwinsFan said:

With Gasper raking in St. Paul, promoting him would make the Twins a better offensive team immediately.  

Really? Does a 29 year old raking really in AAA translate to the majors?

[NYCTK]

2 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

Really? Does a 29 year old raking really in AAA translate to the majors?

Can't wait for DaShawn Jr to rake in AAA and have people forget how he played in the show. 

[Possumlad]

6 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

There are like 3 write-ups a day. I'm sure those topics have been written about as well! 

This is a free blog with incredible content & moderation, so I'm always hesitant to complain. But in some cases, less is more. If anyone gave me a vote, it would be more quality, less quantity on the front page.

(There is plenty of quality, not suggesting mods need to step up their game - just that it can get lost a bit in the shuffle)

[CRF]

27 minutes ago, karcherd said:

Giving him a reset probably needs to be done at this point.  If you are pinch hitting for him then he needs to go either on the IL or to the minors.  The problem is there are no real options to call up from St. Paul.  Gasper should be a break glass in case of emergency like after about 5 injuries before he is back up here.  He is not a major league player and he showed that when he was up here.  There is a reason he is 29 and not getting a shot in the majors even with good numbers in AAA.

100% agree. I don't care what Gasper is doing in StP...if the choice is Gasper or Lewis, I keep Lewis up here.

[mnfireman]

If anything, this weekend showed the extreme lack of speed off the bench for this team, at least two times a PR could have been used to help this offense late in a close game.

I think with Rocco's current player usage there is absolutely a spot on this team for Kiersey, just not with a bat in his hands. Castro or Lee can play 3B with the other at 2B, and the team also has Clemens and Bride. Kiersey can PR and/or sub late for defense.

Not an ideal situation having a guy for PR or defense only (other teams have done it, successfully) , but Lewis is lost and not hitting and Rocco is basically running the same guys out there every day.

[Craig Arko]

Remind me, does someone force people here to read every article?

[NYCTK]

12 minutes ago, Craig Arko said:

Remind me, does someone force people here to read every article?