Time to Make a Trade: Swap CJ Abrams for Royce Lewis

[amjgt]

6 minutes ago, laloesch said:

I very much doubt it.  In various offensive metrics, the team generally ranked around 23-24th out of 30 mlb teams.   Much of that rides on the shoulders of Royce and Correa who both had horrendous seasons with the Twins last year.  Unless the Twins add SEVERAL talented young hitters and Royce has a major turn around, this team is gonna be worse not better in 2026 and that's completely ignoring the bullpen.  ZERO chance the Twins compete in the Central in 2026

Zero huh?

I guess we just disagree then.

Hitters who could reasonably have better a 2026 than 2025:

Wallner
Keaschall
Lewis
Lee
Jeffers
MN Twins 1B Player

Will they all? Of course not. Will some of them? Most likely.
Could others have worse years? Sure, but other than Buxton, I'm not exactly sure who we'd say had a good (for them) hitting year

 

[Mike Sixel]

Just now, amjgt said:

Zero huh?

I guess we just disagree then.

Hitters who could reasonably have better a 2026 than 2025:

Wallner
Keaschall
Lewis
Lee
Jeffers
MN Twins 1B Player

Will they all? Of course not. Will some of them? Most likely.
Could others have worse years? Sure, but other than Buxton, I'm not exactly sure who we'd say had a good (for them) hitting year

 

Keaschell just being the same makes him >>>>> than what they had most of the year at 2B (or even first if he moves there). 

[MGX]

Obviously it depends on what else needs to be included with Royce to get Abrams. If this is a possibility the Twins should listen. The Nats allowed the 2nd most runs/game last season & would certainly welcome some pitching. Is something like Lewis, Ober & Debarge enough to make a deal happen?

[tony&rodney]

36 minutes ago, Woof Bronzer said:

Those trade proposals would gain my attention, holy crow.  You think the Twins would give all that up for a slightly better version of Royce Lewis?  

No, I don't and as I have explained I'm not a fan of Abrams. I would not trade anyone for Abrams. I was merely throwing out what might possibly work for those who really wanted Abrams. Additionally I was supporting the author of the post for pushing an idea forward. I appreciate hearing different ideas from people even when I might disagree with the thoughts.

I am commenting generally here ... (not at all to you Woof Bronzer) ....  there are a pile of people who put a thumb down on thoughts/ideas without forwarding anything whatsoever themselves. Worse yet are the sarcastic comments belittling people, again without any suggestions at all or explanation of what they are offended by within comments. If you disagree with something explain yourself.  One can only guess that those folks are more than pleased with the past several seasons and hope the 2026 Twins can repeat their previous year's record. 

I'm still hoping for some positive change via some trades and a couple of free agent signings. 

[Woof Bronzer]

36 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

No, I don't and as I have explained I'm not a fan of Abrams. I would not trade anyone for Abrams. I was merely throwing out what might possibly work for those who really wanted Abrams. Additionally I was supporting the author of the post for pushing an idea forward. I appreciate hearing different ideas from people even when I might disagree with the thoughts.

I am commenting generally here ... (not at all to you Woof Bronzer) ....  there are a pile of people who put a thumb down on thoughts/ideas without forwarding anything whatsoever themselves. Worse yet are the sarcastic comments belittling people, again without any suggestions at all or explanation of what they are offended by within comments. If you disagree with something explain yourself.  One can only guess that those folks are more than pleased with the past several seasons and hope the 2026 Twins can repeat their previous year's record. 

I'm still hoping for some positive change via some trades and a couple of free agent signings. 

That makes sense, you are a brilliant baseball mind so I wondered if I missed something on Abrams.  This is the reason you will never see me propose trades, because what the heck do I know?  The trades you see/hear on a fan blog or sports radio never consider the other team, it's always "let's trade our bad players for their good players".  

I'm definitely guilty of incivility from time to time, and need to get better at that - thanks for keeping me honest.  

[bean5302]

If the Nationals trade CJ Adams, they'll be looking for prospects. Not arbitration eligble MLB players. Royce Lewis isn't going to be an interest for Washington if the team is rebuilding.

If you want CJ Adams, it's Walker Jenkins you have to give up. Maybe a combo of Connor Prielipp, Luke Keaschall, and David Festa if you were trying to avoid parting with Jenkins.

[tony&rodney]

20 minutes ago, Woof Bronzer said:

That makes sense, you are a brilliant baseball mind so I wondered if I missed something on Abrams.  This is the reason you will never see me propose trades, because what the heck do I know?  The trades you see/hear on a fan blog or sports radio never consider the other team, it's always "let's trade our bad players for their good players".  

I'm definitely guilty of incivility from time to time, and need to get better at that - thanks for keeping me honest.  

FWIW, I have never made a suggested trade or even commented on a player that I have not personally watched at least a couple dozen times. The last couple of years i have been watching a ton of baseball, most of it via mlb.com and milb.com. I have seen a number of high school games in person that include players drafted or soon to be drafted in Round 1 when traveling. Because I'm retired I can whatever I want whenever I want. This was never the case when I routinely put in 12+ hour days for work. 

One doesn't need to have seen a player many times but merely using stats doesn't cut it. That said, I respect it when people make a specific suggestion or attach names to their thoughts. We all should know that everything written about and commented on is just entertainment and our speculation. I never take myself seriously. Life is way too short for that.

[IndianaTwin]

2 hours ago, amjgt said:

Zero huh?

I guess we just disagree then.

Hitters who could reasonably have better a 2026 than 2025:

Wallner
Keaschall
Lewis
Lee
Jeffers
MN Twins 1B Player

Will they all? Of course not. Will some of them? Most likely.
Could others have worse years? Sure, but other than Buxton, I'm not exactly sure who we'd say had a good (for them) hitting year

 

<Snip>

Hitters Starters who could reasonably have a better 2026 than 2025:

Lopez (by being healthy)
Ober
SWR (by being healthy)
Festa
Matthews
Bradley
Abel

Will they all? Of course not. Will some of them? Most likely.
Could others have worse years? Sure, but other than Buxton, Ryan, I'm not exactly sure who we'd say had a good (for them) hitting pitching year

(Let's deal with the bullpen, but yeah, @amjgt, I'm with ya.)

[Maybe Next Year]

Seriously? You’ve got to be joking. Trade Lewis for an inadequate defensive shortstop whose batting numbers aren’t much better than Lewis- that’s absolutely crazy! Lewis has much more upside.

[rv78]

LOL!

Abrams is coming off his best season of offensive production, wherein he hit .257/.315/.433 and launched 19 home runs. Twins shortstops, meanwhile, hit .251/.307/.380 and managed just 17 home runs. Abrams would be able to provide improved offensive production at a prime defensive position.

The offensive numbers are so close that they should be considered identical. If that is an improvement it is laughable. And this was his best season? We can assume he will not improve much, if at all, based on his 2023 and 2024 numbers compared to 2025. He's a .250 hitter with an OBP of .300. Now throw in his questionable defense, which you point out in the article and this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. I'd much rather see them give Lewis 1 more year as the EVERYDAY STARTING 3Bman with a Manager that instills confidence in him. Lewis has more upside offensively and at 3B than Abrams will ever give the Twins at SS. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

3 hours ago, amjgt said:

Zero huh?

I guess we just disagree then.

Hitters who could reasonably have better a 2026 than 2025:

Wallner
Keaschall
Lewis
Lee
Jeffers
MN Twins 1B Player

Will they all? Of course not. Will some of them? Most likely.
Could others have worse years? Sure, but other than Buxton, I'm not exactly sure who we'd say had a good (for them) hitting year

 

I think several hitters could have better 2026 than 2025, and the offense still suck badly. This team is very talent deficient at fielding/hitting and bullpen.

[weitz41]

I get the looking for something outside the box. Definitely hit that on the head. Problem is Adrams isn't an upgrade at 3B, SS or 2B in any way expect stealing bases. Now if you said Jame Woods. I'd be...we already have too many OFers already...but heck yeah. Keep fishing the next one could be a keeper.

[JADBP]

Royce can be fine if he learns to close up his batting holes. 

[Doc Lenz]

Trade Lewis for a LH hitting outfielder then trade Gasper for Abrams

[KirbyDome89]

5 hours ago, amjgt said:

Zero huh?

I guess we just disagree then.

Hitters who could reasonably have better a 2026 than 2025:

Wallner
Keaschall
Lewis
Lee
Jeffers
MN Twins 1B Player

Will they all? Of course not. Will some of them? Most likely.
Could others have worse years? Sure, but other than Buxton, I'm not exactly sure who we'd say had a good (for them) hitting year

 

Expecting Keaschall to be better feels like a lot, I'd definitely take the under, which doesn't mean he's crashing out, but I absolutely don't expect him to post a mid 800s OPS for the entire season. 

Jeffers had one of his best offensive seasons as a "starter," last year. Idk how much more you can reasonably expect from him either. 

[jkcarew]

Those of you high on Lewis under a new/different staff are forgetting that THE most likely outcome for Lewis under a new regime…

…is that he gets injured a couple of times and misses a boatload of games.

[amjgt]

4 hours ago, KirbyDome89 said:

Expecting Keaschall to be better feels like a lot, I'd definitely take the under, which doesn't mean he's crashing out, but I absolutely don't expect him to post a mid 800s OPS for the entire season. 

Jeffers had one of his best offensive seasons as a "starter," last year. Idk how much more you can reasonably expect from him either. 

“Better” for Keaschall is playing more than 1/3 of the season

[bean5302]

16 hours ago, rv78 said:

LOL!

Abrams is coming off his best season of offensive production, wherein he hit .257/.315/.433 and launched 19 home runs. Twins shortstops, meanwhile, hit .251/.307/.380 and managed just 17 home runs. Abrams would be able to provide improved offensive production at a prime defensive position.

The offensive numbers are so close that they should be considered identical. If that is an improvement it is laughable. And this was his best season? We can assume he will not improve much, if at all, based on his 2023 and 2024 numbers compared to 2025. He's a .250 hitter with an OBP of .300. Now throw in his questionable defense, which you point out in the article and this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. I'd much rather see them give Lewis 1 more year as the EVERYDAY STARTING 3Bman with a Manager that instills confidence in him. Lewis has more upside offensively and at 3B than Abrams will ever give the Twins at SS. 

.748 vs .687 OPS is not remotely close. It's the slugging percentage that blows things out of the water. That's 2 WAR right there.

[TopGunn#22]

I'm not going to criticize the article because it's the beginning of winter and we've got MONTHS to talk about stuff just like this.  That said, I appreciate whoever included the Baseball Trade Values numbers for Abrams and Lewis.  I always qualify this by saying it's not the be all, end all for value measurement, but at least it's SOMETHING that isn't as random as trading baseball cards on the front porch on a steamy summer day.

Abrams has accomplished a lot more than Lewis in their short careers.  First, he's stayed healthy.  Second, he's hit more HR's and stolen more bases by a wide margin.  Both have questions about their defense but the potential to improve.  

Maybe Abrams IS being shopped by the Nat's.  Maybe they'd just give him away (but I doubt it).  But a trade with the Twins and Nat's just isn't a good fit right now.  The Twins need at least half of 2026 to see if Brooks Lee is up to the task of "starting MLB SS".  By then, they should have an idea if Culpepper is ready to make the jump or not.  Marek Houston needs this year to demonstrate offensive improvement.  

We didn't win the draft lottery so Roch Cholowsky isn't in the mix.  But the Twins have Lee and some potential solid SS candidates either in 2026 or 2027.  It's just too early to give up on Lee.  And this is kind of make or break for Lewis this season.  Is he a part of the future?  Or will he be traded for a bag of baseballs at the conclusion of 2026?

I think the Twins need to make several trades this off season to re-balance the roster and open pathways for younger, talented players to ascend to the majors.  While I enjoyed reading the article and everybody's comments and opinions, this trade scenario is probably not going to happen.    

[David Maro]

Got to enjoy all the talk about Lewis being this and going to be that. How about the fact that he has yet to stay healthy for a season. He is now the replacement for Buxton on IL year after year. It is probably time to see if he is still playing in July and if so trade him then. This team competing for the Central is laughable,it's time to rebuild.