Twins Video
On Monday night, Royce Lewis played three innings at second base during a tight win over the Tampa Bay Rays. On Wednesday night, the Twins’ Opening Day third baseman and franchise building block started a game at second base for the first time in his MLB career. What gives?
Why is Royce Lewis playing second base?
The most straightforward answer is that the Twins are playing a numbers game, and it’s been dogging them for a few months now. They have too many corner-only bats but not enough corner spots. On any given night, it would be nice to have Lewis, Jose Miranda, Carlos Santana, Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach, and Max Kepler (if healthy) in the lineup against a righty.
Unfortunately, that group only plays left field, right field, third base, and first base. Add the DH spot, and you’ll have six players for five positions. Every night, one of those guys has to sit. If any come off the bench to pinch hit, they probably have to come right back out, or one of the starters needs to trade places with them on the pine.
That’s an issue when a player like Austin Martin or Michael Helman are starting games and might require a late pinch hitter. Lewis having the ability to move over to second base fixes many problems.
Who would it be if it wasn’t Lewis who added another position to his bag of tricks? Jose Miranda: Second Baseman? (Miranda has actually played more second base as a professional than Lewis has played third)
Of course, you might say that Max Kepler shouldn’t be playing as much as he is, but I guess that’s a different conversation. And moot for the time being, since he placed on the injured list on Thursday.
So is Royce Lewis a second baseman now?
Probably not, but like we saw with Jorge Polanco down the stretch in 2023 filling in at third base to even out the lineup, we might see him start there occasionally or move over when the team is making a move in-game. He’ll likely still see plenty of action at third and DH.
In the future, his long-term home might be second base. Both he and Brooks Lee appear to be around for the long haul, so they need to find an alignment that suits them. Lewis’s worst tool has always been his arm, and second base might suit him better, though he’s been playing at least some third base since high school. Lee looks a natural at either. It’s anyone’s guess how that shakes out.
So why isn’t Brooks Lee moving to second instead?
Brooks is kind of occupied right now. The Twins are missing both Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton at present. Willi Castro has been moved to center field since Lee’s return from injury last week, and Lee is planted at short until Correa’s eventual return.
Lewis was a shortstop in the minor leagues, but he’s since bulked up and has blown out his knee twice in the interim. It appears the Twins have stopped viewing him as an option at short, to the extent that Jose Miranda finished a game at shortstop over him last week. You can disagree with the decision to move Lewis off shortstop permanently, but it looks like his days there are over.
Lee needs to stick at shortstop for the time being. I’m sure that if the Twins had their way, Lee would be the one bouncing around, and Lewis would be entrenched at a spot. But that's not what they need right now.
I get teaching a new position in spring training, but why during a pennant race?
They’re doing this because they’re in a pennant race. They’re trying to get as much offense and in-game flexibility out of their sputtering lineup as possible. Ideally, this is an offseason and spring project, but they don’t have that luxury. We’ve already discussed the corner position crunch, but here’s another way to think of it.
The other options at second base right now are Edouard Julien, Kyle Farmer, Martin, and Helman. You can throw Castro into that mix, but that would require Martin or Helman to be in center field. None of those names excite you offensively right now, yeah? If Lewis can play a few innings at second or start there now and then, the Twins doing what they can to inject offense into this team. They desperately need it now, and desperate times call for desperate measures. The best lineup requires Lewis to be able to play somewhere up the middle, at least occasionally.
Lewis has also gotten some work at second base before. It’s not a ton, but he did play second base four times in the 2019 Arizona Fall League, and the Twins worked him out there in 2022 as they were trying to find ways to get him on the field. Also, it’s not like learning second base after playing at shortstop and third is the same as teaching him to catch. They’re all infield positions. "Tell him, Wash."
What if Royce Lewis gets hurt playing a new position?
Fortunately the center field wall is hundreds of feet behind second base. Perhaps Lewis is at a higher risk of landing awkwardly at the bag or making throws that he’s not used to. Sure. But the Twins are aware of whatever minimal injury risk that incurs, and it seems like the rewards outweigh the risk. If this decision directly leads to an injury (i.e., something unique about second base, not any injury, because we've seen the frequency that happens already), I guess you can say "I told you so."
It’s also not a completely new position.
But Rocco said …
Managers say things because the media needs an answer. Situations evolve. Coaches change their minds. It’s not a conspiracy. I’d honestly recommend not listening to 90% of what they say in the first place. Maybe 100%.
Royce said he’s uncomfortable over there. Shouldn’t we listen to him?
Royce also says a lot of things. He at least appears to be more forthcoming with his thoughts than a lot of players, but it’s bad practice to take his responses (or anyone’s) as gospel truth or a crystal picture of reality. Lewis probably is uncomfortable over there, but how uncomfortable? We can’t be definitively sure.
It’s a daunting challenge. Picking up a new position in the September of a playoff push is probably nerve-wracking. It might even be an annoying distraction. But life isn’t always perfect, and sometimes you need your stars to go above and beyond to put your best players on the field as much as possible, or at least in an optimal way. Lewis strictly playing third base handcuffs the team to an extent.
It’s okay to be uncomfortable.
Won’t jerking him around like this make him less likely to come back in free agency?
Talk to me after the 2028 season when he’s a free agent. He’s a Boras client, anyway.
But beyond that, come on.
If asking him to sporadically cover a position in the short term or begin his transition to being a full-time second baseman a little early is enough for him to put his foot down and decide he doesn’t want to stick around Minnesota, do you really want to see him stay? It’s on the organization to do what they see necessary to win games, not grovel to their stars, hoping they take a sweetheart deal to stick around four years from now.
Also, this is just a scenario in your head. There’s no indication that this is a real conversation going on right now.
Follow Twins Daily For Minnesota Twins News & Analysis
- Fatbat, The Mad King, Clare and 3 others
-
6
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now