BREAKING: Twins Option Royce Lewis to Minor Leagues, Will Call Up Orlando Arcia

[Original_JB]

The way the season is going, I wouldn't be waiting for the trade deadline, I'd be on the horn and moving Ryan in the next 2 weeks (for good offers)before he gets hurt again; don't want to tempt fate any more than they need to, and this "hanging around .500 to get in the playoffs" talk? I just SMH. The stars just aren't going to be aligning this year.

[jmlease1]

7 minutes ago, Original_JB said:

The way the season is going, I wouldn't be waiting for the trade deadline, I'd be on the horn and moving Ryan in the next 2 weeks (for good offers)before he gets hurt again; don't want to tempt fate any more than they need to, and this "hanging around .500 to get in the playoffs" talk? I just SMH. The stars just aren't going to be aligning this year.

well, I hate the idea of losing Ryan generally, but who is making offers right now? A lot of teams don't even know if they're contenders or not, so we're not getting good offers right now we're getting "sure, I'll take him for 2 A-ball lottery ticket pitchers coming off TJ!" Good luck trying to sell off in May; there's maybe 1 buyer.

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, Galen said:

Tough for Lewis...we'll see what he's made of

I don't think you will like it.

[HarmonK03]

29 minutes ago, shimrod said:

More likely they hope Arcia can perform well enough against MLB pitching that there will be interest at the deadline. I expect another mass exodus provided anyone is playing well enough to have a market. 

Arcia would have to hit .400 to garner any interest at the deadline.  The only interest in him this offseason was a minor league contract. 

[HarmonK03]

17 minutes ago, Original_JB said:

The way the season is going, I wouldn't be waiting for the trade deadline, I'd be on the horn and moving Ryan in the next 2 weeks (for good offers)before he gets hurt again; don't want to tempt fate any more than they need to, and this "hanging around .500 to get in the playoffs" talk? I just SMH. The stars just aren't going to be aligning this year.

For a team that thinks they are contending they are not trading Ryan.  They have bought into the notion that they are a contender, otherwise Culpepper would have been up here.

[Nshore]

It's all quite amazing when you consider the abject failure of key guys they were counting on and the mounting injuries.  It's a wonder they aren't 245 games below .500.  Oddly, it makes me want to root for them even more.  Ryan, Ober, Prielipp, Bradley, Matthews in the rotation.  Emergency move of Abel and Rojas to the pen - assuming everyone is healthy.  

'Tis but a scratch.  They're not dead yet!

 

[tony&rodney]

A little surprised Lewis was sent to St. Paul. Seemed like a reset of his swing meant a trip to Ft. Myers for a month and then a minor league rehab until after the All Star break.

Tough luck for Ryan Jeffers. Good opportunity for Jackson. Arcia can help the Twins if he plays in a disciplined manner. It is an opportunity to show he has skills that play in MLB. 

Kaelen Culpepper will be called up in June if needed or after the All Star break. KC needs the AAA time to work on his game.

Seems like Bowman and Brebbia will be free agents. They would be wise to stick with St. Paul because more chances to get back to MLB will be available in time.

[amjgt]

5 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Seems like Bowman and Brebbia will be free agents. They would be wise to stick with St. Paul because more chances to get back to MLB will be available in time.

I'm going to guess that Luis Garcia pitches today and is DFA'd tomorrow to make room for whichever of Bowman and Brebbia they would feel worse about losing.

[MMMordabito]

-4.0 WAR and counting on the Polanco trade

[Vanimal46]

13 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

A little surprised Lewis was sent to St. Paul. Seemed like a reset of his swing meant a trip to Ft. Myers for a month and then a minor league rehab until after the All Star break.

I don’t think it’s confirmed yet it’s St Paul for Royce. I agree with you and think he needs the Miguel Sano full reset in Fort Myers 

[Danchat]

3 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

I don’t think it’s confirmed yet it’s St Paul for Royce. I agree with you and think he needs the Miguel Sano full reset in Fort Myers 

This is on the Twins Transactions page on their website:

Quote

Minnesota Twins optioned 3B Royce Lewis to St. Paul Saints.

 

[Vanimal46]

6 minutes ago, Danchat said:

This is on the Twins Transactions page on their website:

 

Thanks. Lots of moving parts today! Zoll must be really banking on a 2-3 week reset in St Paul is going to do the trick. Hope he's right. 

[Dave Borton]

OK, who has seen Culpepper at StP this year?

Up until this year, he was brutal defensively at SS. Your opinion on Lee vs Culpepper at Short. Longterm, whom do you slot at Short and whom at 3B?

[mikelink45]

fascinating - I would have preferred Culpepper coming up, but glad to see Lewis going down with Wallner.  Topa was a real disappointment, but there are a few more RP that can go as well.  Arci did earn the promotion.

[Nshore]

Regarding Jeffers, I thought hamate bone injuries usually resulted in their removal and were season ending.  Hope not.  Kirilloff's wrist put the final nail in the coffin of his career.

[LastOnePicked]

2 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Maybe Royce should burn his bats and start over with a complete new set of bats. Seriously. 

His bats are right at the bottom of even the most thorough "blame game" list.

Poor guy. It's not gonna happen here. It may not happen anywhere at this point.

[Western SD Fan]

4 minutes ago, Dave Borton said:

OK, who has seen Culpepper at StP this year?

Up until this year, he was brutal defensively at SS. Your opinion on Lee vs Culpepper at Short. Longterm, whom do you slot at Short and whom at 3B?

Culpepper is playing 3B today for the Saints.  Giving him a look at multiple positions is possibly the final step prior to a call up the majors so he can constantly get playing time while riding whichever hot hand of Arcia, Lee, or Gray in the lineup.  According to the MiLB page, he has previously only played 12 games at the hot corner so a little extra seasoning wouldn't hurt.  As for who you choose?  You'll have to choose one of them to at least hold the place until Houston is ready since he is currently the best SS in the organization. 

[Fred]

1 hour ago, Danchat said:

Nice to see Lewis finally get demoted, I'm not sure what took them so long. For a team that seems to think they are competing and calling up a vet like Arcia over Culpepper, they sure waited a long time watching Lewis continually harm the team time and time again. I get why they are waiting on Culpepper, he's doing fine at AAA but isn't ready yet. We should see him later in the season. I'm not convinced Arcia does much at the plate, his AAA hitting reminds me of when we had to call up Tim Beckham when he had an OPS of > 1.000, just for him to hit .080 in the majors.

Rough news on Jeffers. I thought Caratini would be a good backup plan in case anything happened to him before the season started, but now he's hitting like Vazquez last year, and the Caratini / Jackson combo is going to be rough offensively. Not many teams have much catching depth.

And the folks who wanted Topa DFA'd after Spring Training were right. ERA of 8, WHIP of 2, and he has the most appearances for pitchers on the team... he doesn't look like the same pitcher he was last year. But that should have been in consideration for a 35 year old with a track record of 2 decent years as a middle reliever. This guy was expected to be a high leverage reliever for us coming out of Spring Training! 

The silver lining here is that they know who will be batting 9th.

[Possumlad]

I'm looking forward to seeing what Alex Jackson can do. Obviously not a big prospect at this point, but was the #6 overall pick in 2014 and has had a very respectable minor league career (0.783 lifetime OPS).

0.806 OPS this year @ St. Paul.

And actually played well in his 2025 MLB stint w/ Baltimore - 91 ABs, 0.763 OPS, 5HR. (2024 w/ Tampa Bay not so much though).

30 years old, but could be our bridge Catcher or part of a platoon for a few years if we don't re-sign Jeffers this offseason.

[LastOnePicked]

This mismanagement and misfortune of this team's top prospects and overall roster should be studied in college classrooms. I think a full account would reveal that bad luck is just magnetically attracted to bad decisions.

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, krink said:

A good call - hopefully this can help get his focus back to where it needs to be for major league play. And to stop those dang reaches!

Wallner is flailing badly today in St Paul. Old habits die hard.

[Patzky]

5 minutes ago, Possumlad said:

I'm looking forward to seeing what Alex Jackson can do. Obviously not a big prospect at this point, but was the #6 overall pick in 2014 and has had a very respectable minor league career (0.783 lifetime OPS).

0.806 OPS this year @ St. Paul.

And actually played well in his 2025 MLB stint w/ Baltimore - 91 ABs, 0.763 OPS, 5HR. (2024 w/ Tampa Bay not so much though).

30 years old, but could be our bridge Catcher or part of a platoon for a few years if we don't re-sign Jeffers this offseason.

Didn't he get sent through waivers in March and cleared them? Good thing, I guess.

[Fred]

48 minutes ago, amjgt said:

I'm going to guess that Luis Garcia pitches today and is DFA'd tomorrow to make room for whichever of Bowman and Brebbia they would feel worse about losing.

Please, please, please be right!

[Possumlad]

Just now, Patzky said:

Didn't he get sent through waivers in March and cleared them? Good thing, I guess.

Yeah he did. To be clear I'm not expecting much... I'm just a sucker for new blood that hasn't proven to be predictably terrible at the MLB level.

[Patzky]

2 minutes ago, Fred said:

Please, please, please be right!

Thought today was the deadline.. I guess as long as the game isn't rain delayed again, 11:59 pm is still today.

[Patzky]

2 minutes ago, Possumlad said:

Yeah he did. To be clear I'm not expecting much... I'm just a sucker for new blood that hasn't proven to be predictably terrible at the MLB level.

Hey when your catcher wears #70 you know you're all set.

[HarmonK03]

10 minutes ago, Western SD Fan said:

Culpepper is playing 3B today for the Saints.  Giving him a look at multiple positions is possibly the final step prior to a call up the majors so he can constantly get playing time while riding whichever hot hand of Arcia, Lee, or Gray in the lineup.  According to the MiLB page, he has previously only played 12 games at the hot corner so a little extra seasoning wouldn't hurt.  As for who you choose?  You'll have to choose one of them to at least hold the place until Houston is ready since he is currently the best SS in the organization. 

Choose a position for him and let him get comfortable.  This anyone can play anywhere is getting old.  If it is shortstop and Houston or someone else comes along and is better, move him at that point.  But choose a position for him, not everyone has to be a utility player.

[Western SD Fan]

BREAKING:  Watching the Saints game and Culpepper just got hit on his left hand/wrist and is currently staying in the game.  Hopefully this is just a bruise and not anything more serious.

[NYCTK]

2 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

I think Lewis will turn it around and end up having a nice career. Just likely not here.

Could be. Could reemerge a star after changing teams like Josh Hamilton, but instead of addiction, Royce has to overcome hubris. 

[Chembry]

Just now, Western SD Fan said:

BREAKING:  Watching the Saints game and Culpepper just got hit on his left hand/wrist and is currently staying in the game.  Hopefully this is just a bruise and not anything more serious.

I was watching as well.  He got hit flush by a 94mph fastball.  I think a big reason he stayed in the game is he was only running, but the Saints only had 1 guy on the bench and that was David Banuelos.  

Hoping it's only a bruise but it sounded brutal.