Royce Lewis Needs to Have an Open Mind

[Tom Froemming]

Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

Royce Lewis needs to accept that he’s owed nothing. The Twins have no reason to keep his path back to third base open. Lewis needs to be open-minded about playing other positions. In fact, he should probably pursue that, eagerly.

Back in September 2024, Lewis was asked to play second base on occasion. He played there a couple of times. It didn’t go over well. At the time, Lewis questioned why he was playing second base and admitted he was “terrified’ out there. To refresh your memory, here’s a link to Gregg Masterson’s article that provided an overview of why the Twins tried Lewis at the keystone.

To be fair to Lewis, it’s unusual to have a player suddenly mix in at another position late in the season. That’s especially true on a team that’s in a playoff race.

But what about now?

Another thing Lewis said back in 2024 about playing second base was “it's not Spring Training—or Triple A, for that matter.” Well, that’s no longer a sticking point. Now, that's exactly what "it" is.

To be clear, there’s no indication that the Twins have approached Lewis about playing other positions yet. He’s played third base in all four of his games back with the Saints. However, both the team and the player should embrace the idea of expanding his positional flexibility.

This demotion alone should be a wake-up call for Lewis, but that the Twins have also shifted Brooks Lee into his old position should be extra sobering. Nor is that a temporary thing. Derek Shelton said Lee is playing third base going forward, only making occasional cameos at shortstop. It’s not as if Lee is going to completely block Lewis, as he’s struggled himself, but why not open up other potential paths for Lewis?

That’s right, paths, plural. I wouldn’t stop at just second base. Get him in at first base. Heck, put him back in the outfield. Sure, his ACL might explode again at any moment out there, but what’s left to protect? Back in 2024, Lewis was viewed as a potential franchise cornerstone, so it made sense to try to keep him comfortable and attempt to shield him from injury. He doesn’t get that benefit anymore.

There are a lot of moving parts in the Twins' infield at the moment, and nobody is a lock. Even Luke Keaschall has struggled to the point where he may eventually join Lewis and Matt Wallner for a St. Paul refresh of his own. The veteran trio of Tristan Gray, Ryan Kreidler and Orlando Arcia have all played well to varying degrees, but they’re all better suited to be reserves than starters.

Kaelen Culpepper is going to be the Twins' starting shortstop, sooner rather than later. That’s the only thing I feel confident enough to say about the infield right now. In addition to Lee already having been pushed off of shortstop, Culpepper’s arrival will move any of the Gray/Kreidler/Arcia class who are still around to play more second and third base. That’s a crowded infield picture, even before factoring in Lewis.

The Twins need to keep their options open. Royce Lewis needs to keep an open mind. Otherwise, the end of this decade-old relationship between player and team might come pretty suddenly.

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[thelanges5]

💯agree with this take. Lewis needs to embrace the challenge before him and show some accountability. 

[Mahoning]

First base if he earns it. An athletic first baseman is an asset.

[mikelink45]

He might need to move to another organization.  What he is doing at AAA is a sign that much of his MLB failure is psychological. 

[JD-TWINS]

My view for “the future”, if Lewis solves his struggles in the batter’s box, is Lee at 1B and Lewis at 3B. That’s probably a 2027 reality, if ever.

At some point, Houston at SS and Culpepper at 3B

If Lewis hits & Lee hits they’ll find their way into the line-up. Keaschall needs to continue to lift his offensive output or he’ll be displaced first by Arcia and then by Lee ……… assuming Lewis is fixed.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Tom, It's good to read  again an article written by you.  Don't be a stranger. Royce doesn't do slumps and i don't do podcasts. 

[Nshore]

47 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

He might need to move to another organization.  What he is doing at AAA is a sign that much of his MLB failure is psychological. 

"Baseball is 90% mental.  The other half is physical" . - YB

[twinfan]

Sorry but looking at the history and feeling about both first base and third base I don't see Lee playing either. He hits in streaks but doesn't even have 20 home run power which is what most players at those positions have. Second or short is more suited for him. Lewis could return at third sometime this season but maybe the Twins need to move on from him if his attitude is that poor. In his defense, if he had never played second before, then asking him to move there as a young player in the middle of a season was a dumb move.

[Eris]

I think the Twins are a better team with Kreidler at SS and Lee at 3B. Defensively this seems to be an upgrade at both positions. 

[TJSweens]

1 hour ago, thelanges5 said:

💯agree with this take. Lewis needs to embrace the challenge before him and show some accountability. 

I don't think Lewis is lacking in the accountability department. He hasn't made any excuses that I'm aware of. By all accounts, he maintains a great attitude and has been working his butt off to break out of his long  slump. 

This demotion isn't about a wake up call. It's a simple matter that the Twins can no longer afford to let him try to work it out at the major league level. 

[tony&rodney]

The Twins are probably ready to move on from Royce Lewis. The problem is his value. What team sees Lewis as an important acquisition. Posters often point to players performing well in the minor leagues and there might be a team that sees those home runs and dreams of Lewis doing that for their team. 

June is coming up pretty soon and if Kaelen Culpepper can continue to hit and play a sound shortstop I believe the Twins will give him a call. Routinely people mention Marek Houston as the next long term shortstop. He looks smooth in the field. The offensive numbers for Houston are good but he doesn't look very good in the box, at least in my roughly 25-40 views of his plate appearances. Houston is at least 2-3 years away. When Culpepper is called up the Twins will have an opportunity to see if he looks the part of a major league shortstop. Hey, it may have at least a smidgeon of influence on the July draft pick as well (unlikely ... bpa).

[Patzky]

2 hours ago, thelanges5 said:

💯agree with this take. Lewis needs to embrace the challenge before him and show some accountability. 

The Quotable Royce has almost quoted himself out of town. 

[mike8791]

It should be pretty obvious by now that Lewis is a head case and will never emerge as the offensive force everyone envisioned.  No, better to trade him and let someone else try to deal with him.  Add Wallner to the mix + someone like Ober and one of our top 10 prospects and just maybe we could land a starting 1B or 3B who would better supply the thump this lineup so desperately needs. 

The question Zoll faces is this '26 Twins team a genuine contender for the playoffs?  Still highly doubtful, but at least 1/3 thru thye season we're still in the hunt.  In any case, it's time to build for the future and let the rooks play or roll the dice, trade for a major league hitter and go for it this year.  But relying on fringe guys like Clemens, Gray, Kreidler, Arcia is simply a losing proposition - both short and long term.

[DJL44]

Lee is the utility player, not Lewis. If Lewis returns to 3B, they can move Lee anywhere in the infield.

[Matthew Trueblood]

28 minutes ago, Eris said:

I think the Twins are a better team with Kreidler at SS and Lee at 3B. Defensively this seems to be an upgrade at both positions. 

Absolutely. I think the best defensive alignment they could field, by far, is Gray at third, Kreidler at short and Arcia at second. I wonder if we see that a few more times in the days ahead.

[karcherd]

11 minutes ago, Matthew Trueblood said:

Absolutely. I think the best defensive alignment they could field, by far, is Gray at third, Kreidler at short and Arcia at second. I wonder if we see that a few more times in the days ahead.

How many AB's do you want to give away in one game.  Gray and Kreidler are not going to consistently give you good AB's.  Arcia will come back to earth but at least he has a track record of being competent.  Bell and Caratini are doing nothing at the plate.  You would have a whole infield contributing next to nothing at the plate.  Yes you need defense but not at the complete expense of the offense.

 

[terrydactyls]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

He might need to move to another organization.  What he is doing at AAA is a sign that much of his MLB failure is psychological. 

Or maybe it's a sign that he is a very good AAA player?

[karcherd]

I think we are writing off Lewis too soon.  I know his performance has been poor last year and since his return from the IL.  But he was looking better before the injury.  His swing looks like the early season swing. Are there too many voices in his ear, if so, let him play.  This is similar to Buxton early in his career.

I believe Lewis still has talent and he is the type of player you want to build around both on and off the field.  And Shelton seems to feel this way as well, Lewis was the first player he went to see in person after becoming manager and letting him know his importance to the organization.  After 50 games, you are going to change that viewpoint.  That seems shortsighted either on the visit or on giving up on him.

There does feel like there is a disconnect between Royce and the organization and i am bummed about that.  I want to see him successful and I want to see him do it here.  But I do believe he can still have a very productive career.

[bean5302]

Where does the need to create and propagate this utterly false narrative come from? Lewis came up as a SS. He was told he was going to play multiple positions when the Twins signed Correa in 2022. Lewis went out and played CF as requested.

In 2023, Lewis was told he was going to be the Twins starting SS. Correa got re-signed and Lewis was told he was going to move to 3B. No tantrums. No complaints. He played 3B.

In 2024, Lewis was asked about 2B and he said learning the position on the fly while injured, in a slump, in a playoff chase scared him a little. He didn't refuse to play 2B. In fact, he did play 2B. 

For whatever reason, a substantial contingent of fans on this site just have to create false context around any trepidation a player has about any change. It honestly disgusts me. Same BS that Max Kepler refused to play CF. Never in his career did Kepler say he wouldn't play CF. He preferred right field. That's not "I refuse to play CF." But not to fans here. Amazing the fans didn't lose their mind when Griffin Jax wanted to try starting again. OMG, he refuses to pitch out the bullpen!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's just such BS.

Rafael Devers refused to play 1B for the Red Sox. That's what a refusal looks like.

[bean5302]

As far as moving Lewis around the field now that he's looking adequate defensively? Sure. That makes sense (lots of sarcasm). This article is more like an angry writer seeking revenge for having been wronged by Lewis not being a superstar. Lets haze him!!!!

Garbage writing.

[Matthew Trueblood]

16 minutes ago, karcherd said:

How many AB's do you want to give away in one game.  Gray and Kreidler are not going to consistently give you good AB's.  Arcia will come back to earth but at least he has a track record of being competent.  Bell and Caratini are doing nothing at the plate.  You would have a whole infield contributing next to nothing at the plate.  Yes you need defense but not at the complete expense of the offense.

 

I disagree with you about Kreidler, and maybe Gray, too. I believe in Keaschall's bat long-term, but he's still in a tough adjustment phase. I don't think Lee is ever going to be a consistently average-plus hitter. I think the far superior defense should be plenty of motivation for them to keep using Kreidler and Gray in all advantageous matchups (Kreidler every day, Gray against all righties) for a while, to find out what they have there. I'm fine with letting Arcia ride the bench, mostly, but if he keeps hitting like this, you might need to fit him in for OFFENSIVE purposes—and he's certainly a better defender than Keaschall at second, anyway.

[Matthew Trueblood]

4 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

As far as moving Lewis around the field now that he's looking adequate defensively? Sure. That makes sense (lots of sarcasm). This article is more like an angry writer seeking revenge for having been wronged by Lewis not being a superstar. Lets haze him!!!!

Garbage writing.

Boy, I just don't see what you're seeing in what Tom wrote. It seems like a very clear-eyed, even-handed take on a player in a very real career crisis! You're sort of acting like Tom is making up the major climb that now lies before Royce, but look at this more reasonably.

1. Lewis has been an atrocious hitter for the last 21 months now, going all the way to August 2024.
2. Lee isn't a viable shortstop, but he's hitting enough that they need to keep giving him some chance to show whether he can stick. Third base is probably his best spot.
3. The team sent Lewis down and installed Lee at his old position! This isn't some flight of fancy; it's what the actual big-league team just did.

I think you've gotta grapple with reality a little more here. Royce doesn't have a clear path back to the majors and his most likely one is not as the everyday third baseman. He needs versatility, or a new defensive home where he fits better into someone's plans, even if it's not the Twins'. I don't think any other org is out there hoping to pounce on him for a full-time job at third, either.

[Tom Froemming]

10 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

For whatever reason, a substantial contingent of fans on this site just have to create false context around any trepidation a player has about any change.

He literally said he was terrified playing second base. How is that creating a false context?

[karcherd]

3 minutes ago, Tom Froemming said:

He literally said he was terrified playing second base. How is that creating a false context?

But yet in the offseason after that year, he did work on defense on 2B.  That part seems to be neglected.  So maybe it was the timing of trying to make the move.

[karcherd]

10 minutes ago, Matthew Trueblood said:

I disagree with you about Kreidler, and maybe Gray, too. I believe in Keaschall's bat long-term, but he's still in a tough adjustment phase. I don't think Lee is ever going to be a consistently average-plus hitter. I think the far superior defense should be plenty of motivation for them to keep using Kreidler and Gray in all advantageous matchups (Kreidler every day, Gray against all righties) for a while, to find out what they have there. I'm fine with letting Arcia ride the bench, mostly, but if he keeps hitting like this, you might need to fit him in for OFFENSIVE purposes—and he's certainly a better defender than Keaschall at second, anyway.

I think you are giving Gray more credit than deserved.  He had a good start in the first half of April and has already fallen back to earth.  His OPS is less than last year in the same number of AB's.  And he has made some plays on defense, his defensive ability does not look overwhelmingly superior to others.

I am fine with riding with Kriedler who is hitting currently.  But if and when he turns into a pumpkin, I hope they don't keep running him out there.

[Tom Froemming]

2 minutes ago, karcherd said:

But yet in the offseason after that year, he did work on defense on 2B.  That part seems to be neglected.  So maybe it was the timing of trying to make the move.

And part of the point I'm making is he needs to let that timing stuff go. Lots of guys play unfamiliar positions in season. He needs to be open minded, not rigid about when a change can/should happen. 

[Woof Bronzer]

33 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

As far as moving Lewis around the field now that he's looking adequate defensively? Sure. That makes sense (lots of sarcasm). This article is more like an angry writer seeking revenge for having been wronged by Lewis not being a superstar. Lets haze him!!!!

Garbage writing.

Wow.  It sure sounds like you are the one working through some anger issues.  Lighten up, Francis.  

[jmlease1]

I think the basic idea here is correct: Royce should be open to playing other spots as he works his way back to MLB. While 3B might still be his best position and where he can add the most value if he's hitting, he would be wise to should an openness to working at 1B or 2B as well, where there is opportunity for playing time. (not sure I'd send him to the OF since there's likely less opportunity there once Roden, Rodriguez, and Jenkins come back and with Mendez & GG pushing forward and Fedko trying to prove he deserves a shot, but YMMV)

Royce has the skillset to play 1B well and we don't have a long-term answer there or a good platoon for Clemens. Keaschall has had enough of a sophomore slump to not have a hold on 2B, and while I think Lee's best position is probably 3B, he might be best in a utility role that moves around the diamond. Royce should show openness to trying it. Hopefully since he's at AAA he will; I do agree that his prior comments are likely being overstated. (and I can't blame a guy for worrying that he's going to embarrass himself and harm the team trying to slide to a very unfamiliar position on short notice in MLB)

This is ridiculous, though:

1 hour ago, twinfan said:

Sorry but looking at the history and feeling about both first base and third base I don't see Lee playing either. He hits in streaks but doesn't even have 20 home run power which is what most players at those positions have

Lewis most certainly does have 20 homer power; even with his slumps his 162 game average for his career is 27 homers. He's just never been healthy enough to get in enough games...

[Woof Bronzer]

 

41 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

It honestly disgusts me.

You really need to take a deep breath, man. 

[NYCTK]

43 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Where does the need to create and propagate this utterly false narrative come from? Lewis came up as a SS. He was told he was going to play multiple positions when the Twins signed Correa in 2022. Lewis went out and played CF as requested.

In 2023, Lewis was told he was going to be the Twins starting SS. Correa got re-signed and Lewis was told he was going to move to 3B. No tantrums. No complaints. He played 3B.

In 2024, Lewis was asked about 2B and he said learning the position on the fly while injured, in a slump, in a playoff chase scared him a little. He didn't refuse to play 2B. In fact, he did play 2B. 

For whatever reason, a substantial contingent of fans on this site just have to create false context around any trepidation a player has about any change. It honestly disgusts me. Same BS that Max Kepler refused to play CF. Never in his career did Kepler say he wouldn't play CF. He preferred right field. That's not "I refuse to play CF." But not to fans here. Amazing the fans didn't lose their mind when Griffin Jax wanted to try starting again. OMG, he refuses to pitch out the bullpen!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's just such BS.

Rafael Devers refused to play 1B for the Red Sox. That's what a refusal looks like.

Royce complained about being asked to play baseball in the middle of a stretch where his team was struggling to right the ship. He could have just done what his boss asked him to do but the simple fact is that he publicly complained about it. 

I'm guessing that if he wasn't a 1-1 draft pick you wouldn't be granting him this grace. He's a PR nightmare with his many comments to the press. The 2B comments weren't the first, nor the last.