There’s No Room for Royce Lewis

[Eris]

According to FanGraphs Lewis’ 2026 salary was 2.85 million. He projected to get a 2.3 million dollar raise in arbitration for being 20% below league average. Not sure if arbitration is really helping Lewis as a likely outcome is DFA. 

[stringer bell]

2 hours ago, old nurse said:

Fangraphs has Lewis listed as having 2 option years. If the Twins decide to keep him I would hope they offer him a split contract.  Play well you stay, don’t, you are Wallnered 

I don't think an arbitration eligible player can be given a split contract. The reality that Lewis could be optioned was employed in 2026 and did seem to refocus him for a while. What happened later is what I'm trying to figure out--did he lose focus? Or, did he fail to adjust to adjustments with his new batting mechanics? 

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

Lewis is not a guy you have on a championship roster. He has never been an asset defensively and hasn't been good with the bat for most of his career. 

Its an unfortunate reality, especially after his blazing bat when he first arrived. The league made adjustments and he didnt. 

I really dont understand why its even a consideration to keep him. Not only can he not be a good starter anywhere, he wouldnt even be a good back up anywhere.

[tony&rodney]

10 minutes ago, soyouresayingtheresachance said:

Lewis is not a guy you have on a championship roster. He has never been an asset defensively and hasn't been good with the bat for most of his career. 

Its an unfortunate reality, especially after his blazing bat when he first arrived. The league made adjustments and he didnt. 

I really dont understand why its even a consideration to keep him. Not only can he not be a good starter anywhere, he wouldnt even be a good back up anywhere.

Sadly, this is true. The Twins began moves to improve their defense last season. There are a couple of positions left to improve. An improved defense with an addition of one or two significant bullpen arms will make for a better pitching staff; outs will be turned into outs.

[old nurse]

2 hours ago, Greggory Masterson said:

The downside to this is probably that he’s going to be making a few million in arbitration (MLBTR estimates 5.1M). When budgeting for a roster, it’s possible that that 5.1M can be better spent elsewhere

5 million gets a middle to low leverage reliever, or money for someone else’s version of Royce Lewis in a trade. If you are just considering money for 1b, it will buy you another version of Lewis, or maybe 1/3 of a Jake Bauer. 

[LA Vikes Fan]

3 hours ago, mluebker said:

I say trade him ASAP for whoever useful they can get, save everyone another Lewis-centric ST, and give him a chance to get used to his new team before the season starts. But if no one is interested, DFA him now.

 

1 hour ago, ashbury said:

The team has to decide his value as a trade chip versus his value if they keep him and he can raise his game.  If they give him another year and he scuffles again, his trade value will be gone.  If he still has a ceiling approaching what he once had, he could be a huge contributor.

But I doubt his trade value right now is very high anyway.  At this point and lacking their in-house information, I'm inclined to keep him and try one more time to unlock the talent he seemingly had.

I think trading Lewis is probably the best option. Move Clemens to 1B and sign a 2B in FA. Improve the order and improve the defense - Clemens is a below average 2B but an above average 1B in the field. The question is does Lewis have any real value. I wonder if he can be part of a "change of scenery" trade where two talented guys who can't seem to put it together go to a different organization for a second shot. It requires a rebuilding trade partner; no contending team will be interested. 

My thought is maybe trade him to the Angels. He goes back home to SoCal, the Angels are rebuilding, and they have no 3B. In return, maybe we get Grayson Rodriguez.  Guy has electric stuff and was pick #11 in the 2018 draft, but lacks consistency, struggles with walks and gets hit hard 3rd time through. ERA of 6.02 last year. with a 1.56 WHIP, and 85 SOs in 92 innings. Has had some physical issues. In other words, elite talent, moments of brilliance but overall lousy results, and injury problems. Remind you of anyone? Maybe a Lewis for Rodriguez trade makes sense and both teams try to tap into the talent that's there. May not be the right guy but that's the kind of trade I think should be looking for with Lewis.   

[stringer bell]

2 hours ago, bean5302 said:

I read so many articles predicated upon rolling the same high floor low ceiling rosters back out. I don't see how Royce Lewis is a concern. Doesn't have a lot of trade value. Shouldn't be guaranteed a roster spot. Doesn't project as a major contributor. Yet, he's a major focus of Twins writing while other articles try to find ways the future of the team can be left off the roster.

The Twins are indecisive with this incompetent front office. The team needs to sign probably 5 quality free agents (not 1.0 WAR full time guys) to raise the ceiling to 95+ wins. Not raise the floor to 70 wins.

If Royce Lewis is a big part of the conversation, the season is already looking like a failure.

Two points, probably contradictory. 1) Royce Lewis is a 1-1 draft choice and looked extraordinary in cameos between injuries. It can't help but change the narrative about his career. There is a small amount of hope in most of us that he can somehow be that guy again. 2) Lewis' performance in the past two and a half seasons is barely utility infielder worthy. If that is all there is in the tank, he isn't worth all of the conversation.

I find it interesting that in some people's minds future performance is written in stone. Two first base free agents are proof that isn't so--both Ty France and Jake Bauers looked like their careers were about done two years ago, now they are probably the two most sought-after first basemen in the market. 

[djvang]

Unless he learns to lay off that low outside pitch, he's useless.

[Greggory Masterson]

28 minutes ago, old nurse said:

5 million gets a middle to low leverage reliever, or money for someone else’s version of Royce Lewis in a trade. If you are just considering money for 1b, it will buy you another version of Lewis, or maybe 1/3 of a Jake Bauer. 

There is probably another team’s Royce Lewis who fits the current Twins better; that’s part of this. Royce probably fits another team better. But also, that 5.1M doesn’t need to be spent on a different 5M player. It can be the difference between bringing in a 12M infielder or a 17M infielder. Or a 5M reliever vs a 10M reliever. It’s all money that goes into the spending pool.

[Riverbrian]

This isn't an easy discussion, but I think it starts with one fundamental question:

Are the Twins going for it, or are they going to stockpile younger players and build for the future?

Based on what Tom Pohlad has said, the Twins intend to go for it. Jeremy Zoll also said on MLB Network during the GM Meetings that the Twins have money to spend.

Based on those two public comments, I'm going to assume the answer is A: They're going for it.

If that's the case, you cannot go into 2027 counting on Royce Lewis to be your everyday answer in the infield. You need to find a more reliable offensive option who can handle an everyday role so the team isn't putting all its eggs in the Royce Lewis basket.

Once you do that, what do you do with Royce?

Let's look at the current infield depth chart:

• 1B – Lewis
• 2B – Clemens
• 3B – Lee
• SS – Culpepper

Behind them, you've got Kreidler, Houston and Ross. Am I missing anyone?

Does anyone actually feel comfortable with that depth chart?

If you trade Lewis when his value is at a low point, or simply move on from him as many people here seem comfortable doing, Kreidler becomes your fifth infielder.

Do we really want to go back to a situation where Gray, Kreidler and Arcia are essentially our only options when we need to turn to the bench, as we did last year?

Not having sufficient alternatives is exactly how Royce Lewis ended up with 509 plate appearances in 2026 despite being sent down to AAA and missing approximately 37 games because of demotion and injury.

This is how you get stuck going back to the same failing option over and over again: You don't have anyone else.

Royce Lewis himself isn't necessarily the problem. If you have someone else to turn to, you don't have to worry nearly as much about Royce. The real problem is not having adequate replacements when you need them.

And you're not going to solve that problem by looking for a short-side platoon bat or some defensive-minded utility player to fill the spot.

Every year, this seems to be the same conversation. And every year, I feel like Galileo being branded a heretic for pointing out that the Earth revolves around the sun.

You cannot build an infield around four guys and assume they're all going to make it through the season.

And let's put Royce's situation into some perspective. He's not Marwin Gonzalez, the player we signed to a two-year, $21 million contract. Gonzalez posted a .736 OPS in his first season and then was even worse than Lewis during the shortened COVID season.

Royce will cost around $5 million. And yes, I agree with those who say it doesn't look particularly likely that he's going to figure things out.

But what if he does?

What if having to compete for his job is exactly what he needs? What if he loses his everyday role, has to earn it back and eventually becomes the player we were promised?

If that happens, you've potentially got a player with trade value rather than one you've given away at his lowest point.

Here's what I'd do:

1. Sign a big bat at first base. Get the reliable everyday offensive production this infield needs.
2. Move Royce into the fifth-infielder role. Take the pressure of an everyday job off him and let him earn his way back into a bigger role.
3. Acquire another quality young infielder with shortstop capability. Make him your sixth infielder and give yourself another legitimate option when injuries or poor performance inevitably happen.

If Royce doesn't work out, you can move on later. You're not committed to making him an everyday player.

The bigger point is that we need to build some safety nets into this roster.

I'm not arguing that Royce Lewis needs to be the answer. I'm arguing that the Twins need enough alternatives that he doesn't have to be.

Stop building an infield where the entire plan depends on four or five guys staying healthy and producing. Give yourself options. Give yourself depth. Give yourself a way to turn when things inevitably go wrong.

That's how you build a roster capable of competing over a full season

 

[laloesch]

1 hour ago, djvang said:

Unless he learns to lay off that low outside pitch, he's useless.

yep. THIS.  He reminds me of Sano.  Zero eye at the plate, swings at everything low and away, strikeouts galore.  Sure he'll club a few homeruns when he does connect, but the rest of the time it's strikeouts.

I don't know if he just can't see the ball and recognize pitches as they are released and start tracking towards the plate, it's hard to say. 

If you've ever been to the batting cages with your buddies, some guys just get in there with only a thought and a prayer and swing at everything that comes at them.  If they connect its high fives all around, but more often than not it's brutal swings and misses, a lot of huffing, cursing, and slamming bats down in frustration.  That's Royce in my opinion. 

A legit big-league hitter studies the tapes, studies the pitchers he's about to face, what their arsenals feature, the release points, the way the pitches track, just so they have some clue as to what's possibly coming at them.  A smart hitter will do their best to recognize the selection and layoff the offspeed stuff that drops out of the strike zone.  Going back to the Joe Mauer years.  Watching him take first pitch strikes all the time was agonizing, but Joe watched EVERY pitch closely that he didn't swing at all the way to the catcher's glove.  He was notorious for that, but it was clear he was studying the opposing pitcher's repertoire and committing it to memory, hence why he had such a good eye at the plate.  Now in contrast, watching Royce in the batter's box, it looks like there is no plan, just swing baby swing.  I truly wonder if he puts in the time to study film.  In AAA he could get away with that approach because the pitching is a notch below MLB pitching, but in the bigs definitely not.

All that said, I think it's time to move on from Lewis.  If the Twins want to give him one more year to try and figure things out, fine, but he better earn that 1st baseman starting role or they might as well throw in the towel on 2027.

[Cris E]

24 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

3. Acquire another quality young infielder with shortstop capability. Make him your sixth infielder and give yourself another legitimate option when injuries or poor performance inevitably happen.

Not arguing over the bulk of your post, but this part lost me. What attributes does this #6 infielder need that Kreidler and Ross don't possess? Who would you be looking for here that we don't already have?  Specifically, Houston is coming in two years to shove everyone down a step, and meanwhile Ben Ross came to St Paul last year with a pretty good rep as a hitter, and he didn't do too badly.

If you want a real, proven, actual MLB middle infielder that you pay real money for then why isn't he your #5 guy? Because that person would be better than Lewis.  How are #5 and #6 different, or is it just that you want a backup SS that can hit? Because if that's your idea then what, are you essentially proposing spending $10m for Crawford to sit on the bench here?

[sweetmusicviola16]

Just because a guy lacks fitting on the Twins roster has never stopped them from doing so before. Lewis is cheap still. They'll find a way.

[nicksaviking]

To me, Lewis seems like a good third piece in a big trade. A couple of prospects headline a deal, but then the other team also gets Lewis with some positional versatility and a wild card they can dream on re-approaching his former ceiling.

As fans, we always look at prospects when we talk about trades, but in most big trades, the team getting the prospects also does tend to value players with MLB experience they can plug in right away. 

[Vanimal46]

I think there's a challenge trade out there to acquire someone else's struggling former top pick... Detroit appears to have the same feeling about their former #1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson. Perhaps a trade for them both straight up? 

How worried are the Orioles about Jackson Holliday?