Why Minnesota Twins Should Take the Leap, Trade Royce Lewis for Nationals CJ Abrams

[Nate Palmer]

With the Winter Meetings out of the way, there will be lots of opportunities for baseball matchmaking to occur. With Carlos Correa long out the door, the Minnesota Twins could turn their attention to another shortstop on the trade market to bolster their current infield core. Rumors around the Washington Nationals have been heavy, and many of those rumblings have centered on the club's current shortstop, CJ Abrams. Abrams is a player who could help the Twins achieve their short- and long-term roster goals. 

As it stands, the Twins are short on major-league experience at each of their infield positions. Abrams debuted in 2022 and since then, he's played in the majority of three major-league seasons. While Abrams would have the most experience under his belt of anyone currently in Minnesota if he joined the Twins roster, he is also only 25 years old; is hitting his first year of arbitration; and very well could grow with the other young players in the Twins system. 

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. Whoever acquires Abrams would hope his growth and increased production continue—although they'll also need to reckon with the need to move him off shortstop.

Abrams also fits the mold of “younger and faster,” if the Twins want to continue leaning into the increased baserunning aggressiveness they displayed toward the end of 2025. In the past three seasons, Abrams has stolen 47, 31, and 31 bases. Adding him would bring a well-established base-stealing threat to the Twins roster. Statcast tracked Abrams at 28.2 ft/s in sprint speed, and he was worth 7 baserunning runs, according to Baseball Savant. 

Defense is the bugaboo. Abrams has not been a good defender at the shortstop position, no matter the metric you look at. He produced -5 Defensive Runs Saved and -9 Outs Above Average this past season. The OAA metric was actually an improvement over a -14 in 2024. Shortstop wouldn’t have to be Abrams's position with the Twins, though, as Brooks Lee could continue to be penciled in at that spot. Lee turned in -1 OAA with an extended run after the Correa trade. If defense is a priority, moving Abrams to third (or second) is a real possibility. Regardless of the position Abrams would fill with the Twins, adding him would create a logjam in the infield, unless one of those current infielders is part of the package that fetches the young shortstop. 

While the Derek Shelton hire has seemed positive for Royce Lewis, the mercurial infielder has not been shy about expressing his displeasure with the direction of the clubhouse in the past. Overall, Lewis’s production has only trended downward since he entered the league. He did rebound in the second half of the season and posted a .723 OPS, giving some optimism for 2026. A trade for Abrams could provide a perfect opportunity to give Lewis a change of scenery and truly revitalize his career. It also points to the sort of "MLB player-for-MLB player" trade that Derek Falvey mentioned is more likely this time of year—not unlike Pablo Lopez for Luis Arraez. 

If they trade Abrams, the Nationals will certainly want to reload their own lineup, and Lewis would give them someone who has produced in the majors and is still on the front end of his career. The Twins could then play Lee and Abrams on the left side of the infield. 

Willy Adames was also traded when he was 25. The then-Ray was traded (along with relief pitcher Trevor Richards) to the Brewers for pitchers J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen. With that as a deal to compare potential value in an Abrams deal, and the reality that there may be some legitimate competition for Abrams, the Twins would need to kick a significant prospect into the deal in addition to Lewis.

The Twins do have enough prospects to get the deal done while keeping Lewis, if they choose to go that route. If they did so, they would just need to get creative with the infield. Luke Keaschall would be able to shift to first base or even be a right-handed option for the outfield. It doesn’t create the most straightforward path to opportunities for each player and their development, but it could be accomplished. A challenge-plus trade makes the most sense, though. Washington could roll the dice on Lewis, while the Twins get better immediately and leverage their strong farm system to make the upgrade from Lewis to Abrams.

The Twins need to give their lineup a shot in the arm, and a young, dynamic player like Abrams could provide that. Best-case, the Twins catch a player (like the Brewers did with Adames) hitting the prime of his career. Carlos Correa's signing(s) didn't quite deliver the high-impact, prime-aged infield dynamism the team expected. This kind of trade could do so.

Image courtesy of © Nick Wosika-Imagn Images

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[Cory Engelhardt]

Is this on the table? It's a fun thought experiment. I guess generally I want to see if Lewis can get back to his 2023 and early 2024 levels, but Abrams would be fun to see at SS. 

[garn from vancouver]

so you get a bat and, mainly, terrible defence. seems right. 

[jmlease1]

Don't write an article like this unless you're prepared to name the prospects that would have to go out in a deal like this. Royce doesn't have the value to move the needle for the Nats, so who is it that has to go out from the prospects, because it's going to have to be something big, not just an A-ball lotter ticket and Kyler Fedko.

Adams would be a great addition to the Twins roster, and would allow Lee to slide over to 3B. But what do we really have to give up to get him? Do the Nats even want Royce? They're probably not ready to give up on Brady House at 3B, so they might be looking at moving Royce to 1B if they acquired him, which further lowers his value.

I suspect to get Adams we'd need to not just give up Royce but also probably add a starting pitcher or two from the Morris, Abel, Rojas, Festa, Matthews group, and they'd also be looking for Dasan Hill or someone like that with big upside and more. Adams is not coming cheap, especially with 3 years of control.

Tell me who the prospects going out in this deal, because Royce isn't the centerpiece, not by a long shot.

[TNtwins85]

I missed the part on why a rebuilding club in Washington would want to trade a 25 year old SS with great speed but not great defense averaging 3.4 WAR the last few years for a soon to be 27 year old 3B with limited speed and average at best defense averaging below 1 WAR the last 2 years. Washington wants prospects. Not washed up 1:1’s who are in their late 20’s still trying to find their footing in the MLB.

[bunsen82]

Lets create a highly improbably trade,  create an article about it, even though it has no probability of coming to fruition.  The new head coach has already stated high expectations for Lewis, and Lewis has stated he really likes him.  I do think Lewis sometimes says what is expected,  but last year several times he went off script.  So it could be a honeymoon or they generally are on the same page.  I see no point in trading a 3rd baseman we don't have a replacement for and whose value is significantly lower than Abrams.  Rant ended.  

[nicksaviking]

If we're not sweating the defense at shortstop, wouldn't moving Royce Lewis back to shortstop accomplish the same task?

If Abrams will have to move off of SS, I don't think I'm interested. His bat is only average and his on base skills are below average. But since he was a top prospect and still called a shortstop, you'll be paying top prices to acquire his services.

Also, the Twins player I am most looking forward to with a new coaching staff is Royce Lewis. Of all the players, he seemed the most disillusioned with the old staff. Might not work out, but the payoff would be far and away the biggest if it did.

[Nate Palmer]

19 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Don't write an article like this unless you're prepared to name the prospects that would have to go out in a deal like this. Royce doesn't have the value to move the needle for the Nats, so who is it that has to go out from the prospects, because it's going to have to be something big, not just an A-ball lotter ticket and Kyler Fedko.

Adams would be a great addition to the Twins roster, and would allow Lee to slide over to 3B. But what do we really have to give up to get him? Do the Nats even want Royce? They're probably not ready to give up on Brady House at 3B, so they might be looking at moving Royce to 1B if they acquired him, which further lowers his value.

I suspect to get Adams we'd need to not just give up Royce but also probably add a starting pitcher or two from the Morris, Abel, Rojas, Festa, Matthews group, and they'd also be looking for Dasan Hill or someone like that with big upside and more. Adams is not coming cheap, especially with 3 years of control.

Tell me who the prospects going out in this deal, because Royce isn't the centerpiece, not by a long shot.

I did write "significant." I am thinking at least top-10 if not top-5. A lot of that depends on what the true demand is from other teams bidding. 

[shimrod]

20 minutes ago, garn from vancouver said:

so you get a bat and, mainly, terrible defence. seems right. 

If the Twins have a type this is it. And if the bats were actually productive it might even be justifiable.   

[jmlease1]

5 minutes ago, Nate Palmer said:

I did write "significant." I am thinking at least top-10 if not top-5. A lot of that depends on what the true demand is from other teams bidding. 

you still have to name names. for you "significant" means top 10, maybe top 5, but I didn't know that until now. And frankly, there can be a big difference for most teams between their 9th best prospect and their 4th.

Nats probably aren't looking to trade him, so the Twins would have to be chasing him and make a big-time offer. I doubt Royce Lewis and Dasan Hill gets it done.

[Nate Palmer]

3 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

you still have to name names. for you "significant" means top 10, maybe top 5, but I didn't know that until now. And frankly, there can be a big difference for most teams between their 9th best prospect and their 4th.

Nats probably aren't looking to trade him, so the Twins would have to be chasing him and make a big-time offer. I doubt Royce Lewis and Dasan Hill gets it done.

Nats are at least being asked about him. Rosenthal and Sammon have been on top of that. What do you think it would take? 

[Nate Palmer]

48 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Is this on the table? It's a fun thought experiment. I guess generally I want to see if Lewis can get back to his 2023 and early 2024 levels, but Abrams would be fun to see at SS. 

The Nats are at least being asked about him. Good to see your name pop up! 

[Cory Engelhardt]

5 minutes ago, Nate Palmer said:

The Nats are at least being asked about him. Good to see your name pop up! 

Same here. Have a great day!

[TJSweens]

Defensively, he isn't good enough to play SS. Offensively, he isn't good enough to play a corner position. You can't throw a rock in this organization without hitting that 

[Woof Bronzer]

Why would Washington want to do this?

[tony&rodney]

Abrams is not loved in Washington, so they are listening. While I'm not too interested in Abrams, I don't think the idea is completely off the wall. Emmanuel Rodriguez, Bailey Ober, and Lewis or Marek Houston would almost certainly gain the Nationals attention.

I like seeing the ideas. This is the offseason and we should be curious to read what others think.

Go to a Red Sox or Mets site once or twice and read their suggestions to trade DFA material for Joe Ryan.

[bean5302]

CJ Abrams trade value +54

Royce Lewis trade value +20

This trade proposal is nonsense.

[thelanges5]

I don’t love the idea of trading Royce, but I could probably get past that. Falvey did say they were going to get creative. Trading for Abrams is outside the box thinking. Rather see them trade from SP depth - Ober, Martin, and a few prospects. Put Abrams at 2B and slide Keaschall to LF. 

[Whammy]

The unwritten premise of this article seems to be "trade Royce and get back a major leaguer" not "trade for CJ Abrams"

[LastOnePicked]

I think we're struggling with the "buy low, sell high" part of rebuilding. Lewis needs to rebuild value. You wouldn't get much for him as it is.

[Whammy]

Having said that, I DO like articles like this. Makes for fun discussion, which is most of the reason why I'm here. 

If the Twins keep the core together, and they can catch a little lightning in the bottle with the lineup, there's no reason why we can't compete in the Central. I feel like Royce is a huge one of those potential bolts though (maybe the biggest), so I'd rather not trade him at a relative low point for a guy who would be an improvement over what we were trotting out there in 2025, but ultimately doesn't have that high of a ceiling. 

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

CJ Abrams trade value +54

Royce Lewis trade value +20

This trade proposal is nonsense.

Except the author did say more was needed. See my comment above, but keep in mind I'm not a fan of Abrams.

Put in your ideas please.

[IndianaTwin]

2 hours ago, Nate Palmer said:

I did write "significant." I am thinking at least top-10 if not top-5. A lot of that depends on what the true demand is from other teams bidding. 

If the Twins were to trade a top-10 or top-5 prospect, I'd much rather it be for relief pitching/1B where there are known holes and a low ceiling on the current roster.

At least in the case of Lewis, there's a high ceiling already in place. Count me among those who are optimistic that a fresh start and coming off having played in 64 of their last 66 games at better than 25/25 HR/SB pace points to Lewis being ready to be a major contributor.

[nova_twins]

Why not just acquire Bobby Witt instead? lol

[tony&rodney]

40 minutes ago, LastOnePicked said:

I think we're struggling with the "buy low, sell high" part of rebuilding. Lewis needs to rebuild value. You wouldn't get much for him as it is.

That seems to be the consensus. The other shoe is that trading Lewis now is selling high. 

I'm not advocating any trade of Lewis but am interested in all ideas.

Going further, i would hope the Twins throw around hundreds of scenarios and even look around various sites to gage whether there are any thoughts worth a consideration. Businesses need to be prepared for any and all eventualities.

[Blyleven2011]

It a no for me trading for Abrams  , bat and speed but no defense at short ...

Lewis in 2026 might just prosper into some good production  , he improved on defense  , now he just needs to get the MOJO back in his hitting  , I'm sure he's working hard this offseason ...

 

If he doesn't improve to above average in 2026 then his time with Minnesota could be short and we can discuss this next off season  , shortstops are coming in the very near future if Culpepper takes the necessary steps ...

[Mike Sixel]

Love the creativity of this idea! I don't think I'd do this, though. But, it is an intriguing idea. 

[laloesch]

1 hour ago, amjgt said:

Having said that, I DO like articles like this. Makes for fun discussion, which is most of the reason why I'm here. 

If the Twins keep the core together, and they can catch a little lightning in the bottle with the lineup, there's no reason why we can't compete in the Central. I feel like Royce is a huge one of those potential bolts though (maybe the biggest), so I'd rather not trade him at a relative low point for a guy who would be an improvement over what we were trotting out there in 2025, but ultimately doesn't have that high of a ceiling. 

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

[Woof Bronzer]

2 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Abrams is not loved in Washington, so they are listening. While I'm not too interested in Abrams, I don't think the idea is completely off the wall. Emmanuel Rodriguez, Bailey Ober, and Lewis or Marek Houston would almost certainly gain the Nationals attention.

I like seeing the ideas. This is the offseason and we should be curious to read what others think.

Go to a Red Sox or Mets site once or twice and read their suggestions to trade DFA material for Joe Ryan.

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?  

[laloesch]

This article belongs in the fantasy trade section of Twins Daily.  It's not happening, lol.