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

[djvang]

5 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

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

Remember this spring when we had the epic Arcia v Kreidler v Gray debate?

Looks like EVERYONE gets their wish!

Is he another David Ortiz? Or Miguel Sano? 

[HarmonK03]

37 minutes ago, Sjoski said:

Topa had one really poor outing that pretty much inflated his era.....not speaking in his defense.....but....I anticipate he will land somewhere else and possibly performs well.......

It's how the Twins roll.

Anyone remember this sad saga?

2009

The Twins designated Craig Breslow for assignment in May of 2009 to call up fellow left-handed reliever Sean Henn. The Oakland Athletics quickly snatched him up off waivers on May 20, 2009.  

It ended up being a tough loss for Minnesota's bullpen, as Breslow went on to have a fantastic run in Oakland, appearing in 60 games for the A's that season with a stellar 2.60 ERA.

 

Henn pitched a handful ( 11)  of innings and was DFA'd himself. 

Breslow pitched for 12  years in MLB...—not to mention picking up a World Series ring with the Red Sox in 2013.

 

Topa has had one good year and last year was average and he is 35 years old.  Four of his last 6 outings he has given up runs.  I am not sure, this will be a huge loss to the bullpen.   

[djvang]

No. 1 - get him to stop trying to pull everything.

No. 2 - get rid of the face paint. It looks as ridiculous on him as it does on JJ McCarthy.  He's not good enough to be that cocky.

[HarmonK03]

38 minutes ago, howeda7 said:

If Arcia is decent, you could give him a cheap 1 year deal to be the 2027 UI. 

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, he hasn't even played a game yet.

[stringer bell]

Getting to this thread after 4:30, so I don't have time to read all of the comments. There is a lot to chew on--first Lewis did have to be sent down. I have wanted to believe in him for a while when the numbers were saying I shouldn't, but there was too much failure and seemingly no way to climb out of the pit. A few weeks in St. Paul might be the ticket for him. One of my favorite maxims is "the true test of a human being is what they do when they get knocked down" I want to say I invented it, but I'm sure similar things have been said forever. Royce now gets that test of his ability and his mindset. A guy who burst on the scene whose only worthy opponent was his inability to stay heathy is now facing a real test.

The Jeffers-Caratini-Jackson shuffle will be interesting as well. It appears that Jeffers will be back in time to show he is healthy before the trade deadline, but it isn't completely certain. Caratini has not thrived as a hitter, but has shown some receiving chops and actually has played a good first base. He needs to hit well over the Mendoza Line and he'll get his chance. Jackson intrigued me with his defensive skill and decent power. I hope he'll be a good backup for Caratini until Jeffers returns. If the Twins had any real hope of contending it would be with a healthy Ryan Jeffers. Losing him for 5-7 weeks might seal the deal that the Twins aren't contenders and it would make it easier to trade Jeffers and Joe Ryan at the deadline.

Finally, the bullpen. The veteran guys must be on the edge. While there aren't a bunch of high-leverage arms waiting to take over the BP, Woods Richardson has been added, Sands and Laweryson are on the verge of returning from the IL and Funderburk can and should be recalled pretty soon. Morris looks to have found a home in the bullpen so there aren't unlimited spots to be filled. The Twins apparently haven't purchased either Bowman or Brebbia's contracts so likely they will lose one or both of those guys to a free agent declaration. 

[JADBP]

7 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

You can try eating it. See if that helps.

Also make sure you record this happening. 

So…what am I supposed to do with my expensive Lewis jersey now???

[MMMordabito]

4 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

That's just made up math. It's -1.4 bWAR, because Topa has really sucked this season. Going into the year it was -0.8 bWAR with GG still to play out. You simply can't honestly count Polanco's second season with Seattle, where he signed as a free agent, against the trade. Hells bells, why not count Polanco's rotten season (and terrible contract) to date with the Mets?!?

OK ... Still need Gonzalez and Bowen to make up 1.4 WAR.  Keep defending the trade. 

[Linus]

Royce needs to go wherever the best minor league hitting coach and start from scratch. The idea that he is going to St Paul for a couple weeks and come back mashing is silly. He needs to rebuild his swing and approach and then apply it successfully in the minors. Done properly this is a multiple month process it’s basically his last chance so do it right. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

51 minutes ago, JADBP said:

So…what am I supposed to do with my expensive Lewis jersey now???

You can try eating it.

[tony&rodney]

Culpepper is a solid shortstop. I watch plenty of minor league baseball and think he is a good ballplayer. When Kaelen has reached a point where the Twins feel his AAA experience has adequately prepared him for MLB, I would expect to see him playing third base. The switch, moving Brooks Lee to 3B and Culpepper to SS would be next season. It seems unlikely that the team would move Lee without time to process and prepare for the move. Occasionally a few folks call for Marek Houston but he is at least 2-3 years away from Target Field.

The Topa move made perfect sense. He is a ground ball machine if effective and Topa was no longer anywhere near ok.

My hope is that Royce Lewis works on some type of stabilization in his legs while swinging a bat. Also his backside bailing on breaking pitches while flailing needs to cease. Using the entire field of play on swings needs to be a focus as well. In sum, Royce has plenty to work on and the results are less important than the corrections.

I was a little surprised to see Matt Wallner doing the same things today as he did with the Twins: blind squirrel swings and half efforts in the outfield. I wish the Twins would just end the outfield experience for Wallner but perhaps they are hoping to trade him (Falvey crapped the bed on that).

[Riverbrian]

3 hours ago, howeda7 said:

If Arcia is decent, you could give him a cheap 1 year deal to be the 2027 UI. 

We could... however... if he is indeed decent... he resuscitates his value and therefore costs more to retain. And if he doesn't restore value enough to attract interest from others then you have to question if he should be taking up roster space at all. 

I realize Carlos Santana was significantly more value because Carlos is a really really good guitar player...  that aside he's an example of the problem with the expiring contract. I'm the sure the Twins would have loved to brought Carlos Santana back but he went and priced himself out of Minnesota. 

Yes I know... the odds are small to nil that Arcia can get in that kind of conversation. But... Even if he is decent enough to make just one more team take a long look at Arcia. Once you got to compete for his signature... even if just a little bit... then you have to ask yourself... Is this the player that you WANT to bid for? Is this the player that you want to invest your limited resources in. 

There doesn't seem to be a middle ground in these cases. Either way... I'd be shocked if Arcia is back in 2027... he either has value to others or he doesn't... anything he learns here... if his bat comes back... he will take what he learned elsewhere. 

 

 

[Vanimal46]

9 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

You can try eating it. See if that helps.

Also make sure you record this happening. 

Would you recommend sautéing it? Perhaps grilling? 

[Riverbrian]

I apologize but I can't help it. I'm going to use these events to repeat something I talk about a lot. 

It happens every year... players the organization thought were going to lead us to glory... some just don't.

It happens every year... they get some of the players wrong. All 30 organizations. 

This is why pre-determination is a bad idea. You have to get out of the way and let the players sort it out... you staff your entire roster... you staff it for competition. 26 players who can play on your roster and you have to let them compete for playing time.

We gave 254 PA's of primary playing time to the players they thought would be better. They produced 37 hits. That's pre-determination at work. Austin Martin had to wait due to predetermination. He has produced as many hits as both of them combined. That's predetermination... that's self inflicting wounds because it might feel better later. 

Gray, Kreidler and Arcia are in Minneapolis. Wallner and Lewis are in St. Paul. This is why I constantly ask for 26 players who can play and competition for playing time. 

[TheLeviathan]

1 hour ago, Vanimal46 said:

Would you recommend sautéing it? Perhaps grilling? 

I think you should start a fire in a dumpster and slow roast it while wearing a "Sell the Team" shirt.  

[TheLeviathan]

When will we finally just embrace that this team needs a complete lineup makeover.  I'm ok with some vets on the roster and the bench, but I'm just so tired of turning on the TV to watch my team and seeing these go-nowhere vets eating up so many at-bats.  

Tonight's lineup had Buxton and 2 guys that had even a marginal chance of helping this team in the future in their starting lineup.  (Martin and maybe Lee)  Why, as a fan, do I want to tune into this?

I'm happy about the Lewis move, can we tear off some more bandaids now too?

[1985Fan]

I’m thinking of two things regarding Lewis’s poor performance. For starters I think his swing was formatted by Falvey’s analytics into a pull everything for power swing. And the failure of the Twins player development system. Lewis doesn’t seem to recognize pitches and his mental approach doesn’t adapt to different PA as it should. It doesn’t look like he learns from AB to AB to what the pitcher is doing. 

Saints have new coaching staff so maybe Dinkelman and the new crew can turn him around. Finger’s crossed! 

[knothole61]

14 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

There were simply no more levers to pull at the MLB level to get Royce back on track. They tried batting him 6-9 in the batting order, a couple of days off to clear his head, etc. 

Since it's Arcia coming up instead of Culpepper, I wonder if the FO thinks a week or 2 hitting inferior AAA pitching is going to fix Royce? I have my doubts about that. His swing is a complete mess. 

@Brock BeauchampI may have to do a sacrifice on the Royce Lewis signed baseball you sent to me in order to save his career... Should I burn the baseball? 

If I recall correctly from my youth, deep in a previous century, the alchemy for such things involves soaking the ball (fully immersed) in a jar of linseed oil, drying it completely in the sun, writing the player's name on the ball in red, indelible ink, and then burying the ball at night 60 feet and 6 inches from the base of an oak tree.  Give it a try and time will tell if it works.  

[knothole61]

12 hours ago, Nshore said:

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!

 

Or: "I am hurt, but I am not slain; I'll lay me down and bleed awhile, and then I'll rise and fight again."

[knothole61]

11 hours ago, NYCTK said:

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

Hubris? Yeah, I agree...didn't his career tank shortly after he proclaimed: "I don't do slumps?" I'm not happy about his decline and fall, but he can't play in the bigs as he is.

[DJL44]

5 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

Austin Martin had to wait due to predetermination. He has produced as many hits as both of them combined. That's predetermination... that's self inflicting wounds because it might feel better later. 

Gray, Kreidler and Arcia are in Minneapolis. Wallner and Lewis are in St. Paul. This is why I constantly ask for 26 players who can play and competition for playing time. 

Austin Martin has a .695 OPS (and falling) in May. He could use some competition as well.

[Riverbrian]

5 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Austin Martin has a .695 OPS (and falling) in May. He could use some competition as well.

Yes he could.

And lets think about that.

When Martin was burning it up... actually earning playing time. Predetermination didn't give him that playing time. Predetermination gave primary PA's to Wallner who was not earning it. 

By the time Wallner is removed from the equation and Martin is given his playing time. Martin has cooled off. Not only did predetermination force us to absorb every ounce of a failing Wallner... it also minimized a succeeding Martin.

Predetermination has no sense of timing. Its timing couldn't be worse. 

I'd like Managers to be more responsive to hot and cold streaks and feed accordingly. 

Yes Martin needs competition. 

Buxton doesn't. Jeffers doesn't.  End of list. 

 

 

 

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

19 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Peter, If your "why" question was directed at my post about the church rolling on, it is based on a Flatt and Scruggs Bluegrass song: "Let the Church Roll On". Some of the verses are: "There's a deacon in the church (Oh my Lord) and he won't do right (Oh my Lord), What shall we do? (Oh my Lord). Turn him out. kick him out, and let the church roll on." Seemed appropriate today in Twins Territory.

We could all use more Flatt and Scruggs these days! Great music!

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

17 hours ago, NYCTK said:

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

I also thought of Hamilton as a comparison, but yeah, without the addiction issues. With Royce, the sudden decline is more of a mystery. 

[Original_JB]

19 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

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.

You're kidding, right? He will be the most chased after SP that will be theoretically 'available' come the trade deadline (if healthy), so you let teams know now, and let them put together packages. As SP health is kind of driving just how good/how far teams can go in the playoffs, if I'm a good team or even a fringe team and I want to bolster my chances for the postseason and you can do it 2 months early, don't you do it?

[NYCTK]

7 hours ago, 1985Fan said:

For starters I think his swing was formatted by Falvey’s analytics into a pull everything for power swing.

Why are we blaming the previous GM for the player that explicitly said he refused to accept coaching? 

 

12 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

We gave 254 PA's of primary playing time to the players they thought would be better. They produced 37 hits. That's pre-determination at work. Austin Martin had to wait due to predetermination.

You disprove the very theory you're mad about. Seeing as how Martin is 5th in plate appearances and will very likely finish top 3 on the team, barring injury. 

 

1 hour ago, Riverbrian said:

Predetermination gave primary PA's to Wallner who was not earning it. 

Honestly, wtf are you taking about? Wallner has fewer trips to the plate than Martin and is now in AAA. Are you suggesting that every single player in the Twins organization should be considered equal at all times? I see you found a new buzzword you like, but all "predetermination" is is a range of expected player production based on track record and skill set. 

Martin sucked in 2024, got hurt and effectively missed the first half of 2025, and then played his way into becoming what is effectively an every day player since August 2025. He's played 93 of 103 games since then, more than anyone besides Brooks Lee. 

It seems like you just have narratives in your head and mold reality in order to fit it. 

[jmlease1]

14 hours ago, MMMordabito said:

OK ... Still need Gonzalez and Bowen to make up 1.4 WAR.  Keep defending the trade. 

It hasn't worked out well so far, but we didn't exactly lose much: Polanco was expensive and there was little market for him. Before Topa imploded this season the deal wasn't that far off even, making it a minor move. Polanco was bad enough that he had almost no offers and took a significant pay cut in his free agency year. (congrats to the Mets for massively overpaying him; he's been bad and now is hurt) 

You seem to have some expectation that Polanco had a lot more value than he did; this wasn't Jorge from 2021, who played at an all-star level, this was a guy getting more expensive, while playing less.

[tony&rodney]

Any discussion related to trading Joe Ryan should remember that he (unlike Ryan Jeffers) still has another year before hitting free agency. I'm never opposed to trading any player as long as it improves the roster and increases the odds of winning moving forward. The Twins should receive some interesting offers for Ryan, but most of them will be the type of worthless three for one deals we can find the East Coast pundits suggesting on a routine basis. If Ryan returns a top 10 prospect that fills a need for the Twins, great Right now I cannot see any possibilities of teams putting together the required package for Joe Ryan. I thought there was some opportunity last Fall. I'm not going to be disappointed if all the Twins receive for Ryan is a draft choice instead of trading for a package of utility players.

[jmlease1]

16 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

Old friend Steven Okert has a 3.19 ERA in 90 games for Houston since the Twins got rid of him. Something is still rotten in this organization and we haven’t found the source yet. 

Okert is just a reminder how so many veteran relievers are fungible assets that you shouldn't invest real money in. He's been solid enough for Houston, just like he was in Miami. He "stunk" with the Twins because in a small sample in 2024 he simply couldn't get RH batters out. Normalize his splits a little more and suddenly he's a perfectly acceptable LHP in the bullpen who is annihilating LH hitters and getting thumped by RH hitters, but not destroyed by them.

There's a reason he's playing on a $2M contract.

He'd very likely be doing the exact same things if he was still with the Twins, but fans would have lost their minds if they'd brought him back after 2024.

[NYCTK]

21 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

...but most of them will be the type of worthless three for one deals we can find the East Coast pundits suggesting on a routine basis. If Ryan returns a top 10 prospect that fills a need for the Twins, great...

First, I don't know that I appreciate you using East Coast with a derogatory implication.

Second, the point is pretty bad, considering the pundits think piece trade proposals will be far more grounded in reality than Midwest armchair managers like the offseason suggestions around here that the Twins should trade Joe Ryan for Nolan McLean for example. 

The Twins will not receive a top 10 overall prospect for Joe Ryan and insisting on it is foolish. They CAN receive a top 15-30 overall prospect (and maybe like the 85th or something), and he would instantly become the Twins 2nd best prospect. 

30 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

I'm not going to be disappointed if all the Twins receive for Ryan is a draft choice instead of trading for a package of utility players.

Doing this in periods where you're actually competitive is understandable. We saw the Brewers entering the season expecting to be true contenders with 2 top of the rotation starters with one remaining year of control - they traded one and kept the other.

The Twins could try to extend one of the two and trade the other, but for a bad team like the Twins to allow a player to walk and only receive the 34th overall draft pick in return, that's both weakening the team and stretching out the rebuild. It would be mismanagement that should result in a firing.  

[djvang]

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

Okert is just a reminder how so many veteran relievers are fungible assets that you shouldn't invest real money in. He's been solid enough for Houston, just like he was in Miami. He "stunk" with the Twins because in a small sample in 2024 he simply couldn't get RH batters out. Normalize his splits a little more and suddenly he's a perfectly acceptable LHP in the bullpen who is annihilating LH hitters and getting thumped by RH hitters, but not destroyed by them.

There's a reason he's playing on a $2M contract.

He'd very likely be doing the exact same things if he was still with the Twins, but fans would have lost their minds if they'd brought him back after 2024.

Relievers are always a crap shoot. They can go from good to bad and vice versa in a second.