3 Options: The Royce Lewis Contingency Plan

[Cody Christie]

The Twins will likely try and find a way to get Royce Lewis on the playoff roster. What are the three options facing the team when it comes to Lewis?

Image courtesy of Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Twins will likely try and find a way to get Royce Lewis on the playoff roster. What are the three options facing the team when it comes to Lewis?

Royce Lewis has been progressing steadily since going on the IL with a Grade 1-plus hamstring strain on September 21. It can take a player multiple weeks to recover from this level of hamstring strain, but the Twins seem confident that he will return to action for the Wild Card Series. There are a few different options for the Twins in how they handle Lewis in the season's most important games. Do they want to use him in the field when his injury is not fully healed? 

Lewis has been a revelation to the Twins lineup during his rookie campaign. In 58 games, he hit .309/.372/.548 (.921) with seven doubles and 15 home runs. Big moments also seemed to find Lewis as he hit four grand slams and finished second among Twins batters in WPA behind Willi Castro. The Twins know what he can mean to the lineup, and there's no question the team will find a way for him to impact the team in October. Here are three options the Twins can follow depending on how Lewis looks during the team's workout on Monday.

Option 1: Starting Third Baseman
Slow rollers at third base can be a challenging play for a healthy third baseman to make regularly. These types of plays can be even more challenging for a player recovering from a hamstring injury. Lewis has been participating in baseball activities at Target Field over the last week, so the team has a pretty good idea of what he will be able to handle on the defensive side of the ball.

Minnesota's optimal defensive lineup includes Lewis at third, Carlos Correa at shortstop, and Jorge Polanco at second base. Besides Lewis, there are injury concerns with Correa and what he will be able to do at shortstop. The Twins likely want to avoid two defenders on the same side of the infield with limited mobility. If that is the case, Minnesota might switch to one of the other options listed below. 

Option 2: Designated Hitter
There are multiple options the team can consider at designated hitter, but this might be the safest bet for Lewis. Putting him at DH allows the team to still have his bat in the lineup, and it allows him to rest his hamstring by not playing third base. In this scenario, the Twins would move Polanco to third base and Julien to second base. Polanco has looked fine in minimal action at the hot corner this season, and Julien continues to work to improve at second base. However, there are other ramifications if Lewis is the DH. 

Byron Buxton has also been working his way back from injury, but his inclusion on the playoff roster is much less certain. Minnesota could use Buxton as a big bench bat, and that might be the team's plan if the club can make it past the Wild Card round. He couldn't make many appearances during his rehab assignment because his knee continued to bother him. In his last two Triple-A games, he went 1-for-8 with three strikeouts. It seems more likely for Lewis to be the team's DH over Buxton. 

Option 3: Rest Him for Round 2
Minnesota will face off against the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card Series, and the club's top starters are right-handed. Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, and Chris Bassitt will be the team's likely starters for the three-game set, but the team can also utilize Yusei Kikuchi, a left-handed pitcher. Lewis, a righty, posted reverse splits this season with a .962 OPS versus righties and a .787 OPS versus lefties. He got on base over 37% of the time, no matter the handedness of the pitcher, but 19 of his 22 extra-base hits came against righties. 

If the Twins leave him off the Wild Card roster, Lewis will get four extra days of rest because the team can reset their roster for each playoff round. With a Grade 1-plus strain, each extra day of rest can get him closer to being 100%. Minnesota hasn't won a playoff game in nearly two decades, so the team will want all hands on deck. 

Which option will the Twins pick? Which option would you pick? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

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[DJL44]

I believe option 2 is the plan for round 1. Lewis had the highest OPS+ of any Twins hitter. They want his bat in the lineup.

Willi Castro can handle 3B as well as Royce can defensively. Buxton, if he's on the roster, will take Luplow's RH bench bat role.

[Karbo]

It all depends on how he feels and looks. I had a grade 2 when I was in college and missed 3 weeks then played thru discomfort after for the rest of the year. Lewis is young and appears to be in great physical shape. I'd bet on him playing.

[spanman2]

Rest him for round 2???  We need a W 1st...DH him unless beyond certain is can go at 3rd.  WIN TWINS!

[FlyingFinn]

6 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I believe option 2 is the plan for round 1. Lewis had the highest OPS+ of any Twins hitter. They want his bat in the lineup.

Willi Castro can handle 3B as well as Royce can defensively.

Who are you benching - Polanco or Julien? I would have Polanco at 3B and Julien at 2B if Lewis has to DH.

[Byrdman]

If you want to win he needs to have the AB's.  Polanco did something to himself on Friday.  After the strikeout he dropped to one knee and took him over a minute to get up and go to the dugout.  They pulled him and he didn't play the rest of the weekend. Hopefully it is nothing but that might answer your Julian question. But i can see the Julian 2B Polanco at 3B.  

[Brandon]

The healthiest players will be on the field.  I suspect Lewis will DH game 1 and probably start at third in game 2 and DH game 3 and be back at third moving forward starting round 2.  

[DJL44]

35 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Who are you benching - Polanco or Julien? I would have Polanco at 3B and Julien at 2B if Lewis has to DH.

Polanco, he's a bad defender at 3B. I would have Buxton and Polanco (and possibly Kirilloff) riding the bench.

[mikelink45]

I see him at third.  Players seem to do best when they have a position rather than just a bat.

[Twins GFP]

Doesn't matter what I want, what matters is his level of health and what the Twins believe:

If he can swing and run with minimal issues, look for him to DH or PH.

If you can add lunge and twist, put him in the field.

If the re-injury risk is too high, shelve him and hope for the next round.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

video of Newman: "Hmm,  you present quite the conundrum. "

[JD-TWINS]

2 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Who are you benching - Polanco or Julien? I would have Polanco at 3B and Julien at 2B if Lewis has to DH.

Neither………..So would the author with his “Option 2”.

[Althebum82]

Wow, if Polanco has an issue, everyone has been pretty mum about it.

Plan A has gotta at least be trying Lewis at DH.  Does not make sense to "save" him for round 2.  

Hard to imagine the Twins not including Buxton on the roster a la Kirk Gibson.  But it's pretty obvious that he should not be starting at DH.

[IaBeanCounter]

Since both of his injuries this year have been batting or baserunning, if he is not capable of playing the in field I would have him on the roster as the last position player for a pinch hitting situations.  This year who would your rather come up with runners in scoring position, Buxton or Lewis?

                    OBP  Tot         v RHP      v LHP                           OPS  Tot         v RHP      v LHP 

Lewis                  .372         .372           .375                                   .920          .962        .787

Buxton                .294        .307           .256                                   .732          .767         .628

Having Lewis as a PH allows Julien to DH, Polanco at 2nd & Farmer or Castro at 3rd      The Twins averaged 4.67 runs against Tor with all the games before the AS break. The Twins averaged 4.18/game before the AS break 24th MLB.  After the AS break they averaged 5.61 runs/game 5th in MLB.  I believe we will score enough to win the series, the question in my mind is if the pitching and defense will contain Tor.     BTW the Twins record against all playoff teams is 24-26.

 

[PDX Twin]

10 minutes ago, IaBeanCounter said:

This year who would your rather come up with runners in scoring position, Buxton or Lewis?

Depends on whether we need a grand slam or a strikeout! :)

[HokieRif]

Option 2 please. No point in resting him if we can’t make it to round 2. There are way worse things we can do than be forced to have Polanco at 3B and Julien at 2B. 

[nokomismod]

Anyone else concerned about Correa? It will be interesting if his statement about the foot fasciitis tearing and how the recovery can then be faster.

[nicksaviking]

For what it's worth, Toronto is a bottom ten team in terms of GB%. On the other hand, they're mostly right handed hitters, so that's where the groundballs will mostly be headed.

Still, this doesn't seem to be an answerable question for fans as we're not privy to how his hamstring really is progressing. Which is fair, the team absolutely shouldn't be giving free information to their opponent any sooner than they need to.

[jkcarew]

1 hour ago, IaBeanCounter said:

After the AS break they averaged 5.61 runs/game 5th in MLB.  I believe we will score enough to win the series,

A large part of that was Lewis making 5 plate appearances in most of the games.

[sun]

I don't want Lewis to be put at risk because Julian has proven to be too good of a hitter. Farmer or Castro can play 3B & at most Lewis can ride the bench as a PH. It's better to rest him for the next round I don't want to see the Twins be pound foolish when Juian, Farmer & Castro are fine players & healthy. I think the playoff loss streak is making fans go goo-goo with hopes that somehow Lewis will win the series. The reality is that he can cause the Twins to lose the series if he's put into the lineup when he's not healthy enough to play the field.

[adjacent]

I guess the answer depends on the grade of healing and the risk of re-injury. There will a risk, but the professionals can see how much it is. I would like option 2, but it doesn't make sense if chances are he has to come out after the 2nd or 3rd at bat.

[Fatbat]

He wont be rested. He will most likely be at 3rd base with polanco being the DH on his gimpy ankle. The great thing about out team is that we have 3-4 guys that can play any given position so they will start with guys that are healthy and productive. 

[stringer bell]

I don’t think Polanco has been “just fine” at third base, but I think he starts Game 1 there with Julien at second and Correa at shortstop and Lewis at DH.  Having Castro and Farmer to fill in later in games is nice. Hopefully, they can have their best defenders protecting a lead late in a game. 

[Fatbat]

He wont be rested. He will most likely be at 3rd base with polanco being the DH on his gimpy ankle. The great thing about out team is that we have 3-4 guys that can play any given position so they will start with guys that are healthy and productive. 

[Dantes929]

6 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

I see him at third.  Players seem to do best when they have a position rather than just a bat.

Tough call.   I definitely think the best way to avoid a hamstring is to play the field.    Being active makes you less likely to pull something.   Given that he already has a strain I imagine it might be best for him to stretch and walk around while waiting for his at bats as a DH.   In my experience, ham strings, groins and plantar fasciitis are three of the slowest healing injuries.    I don't think Lewis hurt is better than P:olanco, Castro or Julien healthy.

[joefish]

I hate to see injured players limping around the field. I like our depth

 We are gonna need it. Is a limping Jorge better than a healthy Farmer ? A limping Carlos better than Castro? Idk yet.

[DJL44]

On 10/2/2023 at 1:29 PM, DJL44 said:

Polanco, he's a bad defender at 3B. I would have Buxton and Polanco (and possibly Kirilloff) riding the bench.

I stand by this one. Castro to 3B.