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Last season. the Minnesota Twins signed Carlos Correa to be their starting shortstop. When he went down with an injury, top prospect Royce Lewis stepped up in a big way. Despite being sent down when Correa returned, Lewis forced the hand of the big league club. He took over in centerfield and made it just three innings before a fluke knee injury occurred after a collision with the outfield wall.
Now, with the Twins having suggested that they’d prefer not playing him in the outfield this season, current roster construction makes that arguably the best place to supplement the roster.
By the time Lewis returns for Minnesota, Jorge Polanco will likely have taken over as the regular at third base. While Edouard Julien is not a good defender, his bat and youth have him entrenched at second base. Polanco shifting across the diamond makes sense. Correa will continue at shortstop, and putting Lewis at first base as opposed to Alex Kirilloff would be nonsensical.
What does make perfect sense is playing Lewis in a spot where he may very well see the bulk of his career playing time.
Lewis is an exceptional athlete, and he has displayed an ability to play up the middle for years. He looked the part of a shortstop before being bumped to the hot corner, and he handled centerfield fine in limited looks down on the farm and in the Arizona Fall League. Of course there is the fear of growing pains, and getting to know outfield configurations, but the fluky re-injury of his ACL should not be a deterrent to future plans.
Rocco Baldelli could insert Lewis in centerfield upon his return from the injured list. The Twins have needed a right-handed bat out there all year, and while Michael A. Taylor holds the lumber from that side of the plate, he rarely does anything with it. As long as Byron Buxton remains a full-time designated hitter, expecting Taylor to produce on a daily basis will come with suboptimal results.
With Lewis in the outfield, Minnesota could have their most ideal offensive infield configuration, while also still finding an opportunity to play a great stick in Lewis. If Buxton were able to man centerfield on a regular basis, this wouldn’t be a consideration, but it’s one that could help the Twins to get the most out of their lineup in October.
The process to score at least four runs during any given game has to be the focal point for Minnesota. They have been tough to beat when accomplishing that feat, and for a lineup that has done less with more all season long, they can’t afford to leave ammo unused.
Maybe Buxton returns to health for 2024, and Lewis isn’t needed in center. Having that ability in his back pocket is something of a benefit to such a talented player, and it doesn’t seem that Minnesota’s $100 million man is going to force the question at all during this current season. Lewis has already stepped up in big spots, and this would be a way for him to do so yet again.
It remains to be seen if Minnesota will make the tough decision and put him out there. The injury he suffered a year ago will unquestionably be on everyone’s mind, but there is no straightforward suggestion that he’s more likely to be hurt in center than he is at third. Trying to play chicken with injury is a losing game, and putting the best lineup configuration on the field each night should be the goal.
If everyone is healthy when he returns, Royce Lewis should be the Twins starting centerfielder.
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