Royce Lewis Needs to Have an Open Mind

[Nshore]

As far as Lewis playing 1B, with his leg history I don't think I want him making those stretches for throws over there.  It won't be pretty.

[mluebker]

Whatever the Twins do, it's not going to be much more than the old cliche: rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

IF Lewis rediscovers how to use a bat while in St. Paul, and IF the Twins haven't decided they've had enough and try to trade him, then he's going to end up at first base eventually, if for no other reason than to reduce the possibility of him being injured playing a more strenuous position.

So why not get him ready for that now, instead of bringing him back up with Twins for on-the-job-training against MLB competition that always seems to put him on edge?

Even if he starts hitting again, there's pretty much nowhere else he's going to fit on a Twins team of the future.

[NYCTK]

1 minute ago, Nshore said:

As far as Lewis playing 1B, with his leg history I don't think I want him making those stretches for throws over there.  It won't be pretty.

That leaves only one option. Put him in bubble wrap and hope the pitcher just walks him, after which point the Twins must immediately pinch run for him. 

[KirbyDome89]

4 hours 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.

Your framing of the Lewis 2B fiasco is disingenuous, particularly if you're going to claim a false narrative/context around the attempted swap.

"He didn't refuse to play 2B, in fact he did play 2B." Yeah, a single start and a whopping 8 total innings after which he publicly complained about playing 2B and magically never made another appearance at the position. But sure, technically he didn't refuse lolol....

“I’m terrified out there. Little things like that are just adding extra elements to a September push that’s important to me. I don’t know. We have plenty of really good second basemen, and I don’t want to mess up our defense just because we’re going to try something new. It’s not spring training or Triple-A for that.”

That was the quote Lewis gave after his singular start at 2B. We want context right, so who were those other "really good 2B?" Kyle Farmer and Edouard Julien. More context; that 2024 squad was in a tailspin, and desperate to get what they perceived as their best bats in the lineup every remaining game. They weren't asking Lewis to be the 2B of the future, they were trying to fit an extra corner bat into the lineup to stop the bleeding, but I guess Julien and Farmer playing at a sub replacement level qualified as plenty of good 2B options...

[Patzky]

22 minutes ago, Nshore said:

As far as Lewis playing 1B, with his leg history I don't think I want him making those stretches for throws over there.  It won't be pretty.

Without Royce at third there will be fewer of those tough stretches required. 😔

[Nshore]

I think Royce would be well advised to do everything he can to make it work with the Twins rather than jump to another org.  He's been treated very well here.  I was at the game recently where he had a particularly horrific error, failed to turn a routine double play, and allowed a run to score.  I don't think I heard a single "boo" from the fans.  If he was playing for the Yankees for example, they would have booed him right out of the stadium.  The fans here want to get behind him again - and hopefully it happens this summer.

[NYCTK]

11 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

Your framing of the Lewis 2B fiasco is disingenuous, particularly if you're going to claim a false narrative/context around the attempted swap.

"He didn't refuse to play 2B, in fact he did play 2B." Yeah, a single start and a whopping 8 total innings after which he publicly complained about playing 2B and magically never made another appearance at the position. But sure, technically he didn't refuse lolol....

“I’m terrified out there. Little things like that are just adding extra elements to a September push that’s important to me. I don’t know. We have plenty of really good second basemen, and I don’t want to mess up our defense just because we’re going to try something new. It’s not spring training or Triple-A for that.”

That was the quote Lewis gave after his singular start at 2B. We want context right, so who were those other "really good 2B?" Kyle Farmer and Edouard Julien. More context; that 2024 squad was in a tailspin, and desperate to get what they perceived as their best bats in the lineup every remaining game. They weren't asking Lewis to be the 2B of the future, they were trying to fit an extra corner bat into the lineup to stop the bleeding, but I guess Julien and Farmer playing at a sub replacement level qualified as plenty of good 2B options...

But you're ignoring how it was a really good thing the Twins listened to him and let him stay comfortable at 3B.

He went on to finish the season hitting .150 / .218 / .188. 

 

 

[Woof Bronzer]

3 hours ago, wornsmooth said:

Management acts like the players are interchangeable.

I definitely appreciate this concern, I just think that in the modern game players are asked to move around more, both in position and batting order, than in the past.  Like it or not, it's the game.  The Dodgers do this kind of maneuvering constantly and it has worked out well for them. 

More importantly though, aren't you really describing a utility player.  Their whole value is derived in their versatility and it has been that way for decades.  As disappointing as it is to say, that's where Royce Lewis is at.  He's busted out as a starter. There are 1000 guys who work just as hard and who "want it" as much as Royce down in the minors.  He's not a #1 draft pick anymore, just a guy fighting for an MLB job.  The Twins have given him every possible opportunity to stick in the majors.  He didn't take them up on it, and now things are different for Royce.  We will see how he adapts.  

[David Maro]

More than likely moving him off of 3rd could effect his bat all over again. I think we all know that if Rocco was still managing Lewis would still be with the big club. Look how long it took Shelton to move Wallner and Lewis. Maybe Zoll stepped in and helped with the move.

After all this is a business that needs butts in the seats. The weather is now warming up and playing Gray and Arcia as everyday players won't help in that regard.

This team is a mess with far too many same position players that are now being moved all over the field. Look at Clemens who has played 1st,2nd,RF and now LF. The only positions that are consistent are catcher with Jeffers when healthy and CF with Buxton when healthy. Martin was moved from the infield to LF to play against LH pitching and now playing RF and even CF. This to me shows Falvey left an organization in flux that is going to take a couple of years to straighten out.

[Vanimal46]

So far I’m just happy that the FO isn’t taking the bait after a hot start in St Paul. Lewis crushing inferior AAA pitching doesn’t do much for me. I hope they have a long term plan to actually solve his problems. 

[karcherd]

47 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

So far I’m just happy that the FO isn’t taking the bait after a hot start in St Paul. Lewis crushing inferior AAA pitching doesn’t do much for me. I hope they have a long term plan to actually solve his problems. 

I am not sure their short term plan worked well, maybe they need to stop trying to fix him and let him work on his swing mechanics that were working in spring training.

[nicksaviking]

3 hours ago, NYCTK said:

He also publicly suggested he was going to continue doing what was comfortable last season when he also sucked. 

I just don't see why many fans are constantly blaming everyone but Royce for Royce's descent into obscurity. 

No one's exonerating Lewis. I'm simply point out that I personally am not holding it against him for not following the advice of a group of coaches who had a seven year track record of failing to install productive advice on every player before him. 

[Twinsrtheworst]

Well the fact that the writer states.”.Sure, his ACL might explode again at any moment out there, but what’s left to protect?” Absolutely disgusts me. He has a life outside of baseball. I truly hope you don’t make a living by your writing. He is a human being first and foremost, understand that before you write about anybody.

[NYCTK]

20 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

No one's exonerating Lewis. I'm simply point out that I personally am not holding it against him for not following the advice of a group of coaches who had a seven year track record of failing to install productive advice on every player before him. 

The Twins famously fired their hitting coach after 2024, meaning there was a different hitting coach in 2025. 

Dude is stubborn, and has demonstrated it through his comments to the media. And now he's a stubborn AAA player.