Minnesota Twins third baseman Royce Lewis had a big weekend for the St. Paul Saints, crushing four homers in three games since last week’s demotion to Triple-A. The power surge in the minors may have some fans wondering when they’ll see Lewis back in the major leagues, but it may not be as simple as putting up big results at the plate.
The Twins have taken some steps to adapt to life without Lewis and it goes beyond canceling a jersey giveaway that was scheduled for their next homestand. With the Twins’ shift on the left side of the infield, Lewis’s best path back to the majors may be a move across the diamond and a future at first base could be enough to work his way back into Minnesota’s long-term plans.
Royce Lewis’s path back to Twins may be at first base
Lewis’s hot bat could continue as long as he’s in the minors, but the Twins may have already closed his path to returning as their everyday third baseman. Last weekend, Twins manager Derek Shelton confirmed that Brooks Lee will be manning the hot corner going forward and while Orlando Arcia may be at shortstop for the moment, he may be a veteran stopgap until top prospect Kaelen Culpepper is ready for the major leagues.
Even if Culpepper and Arcia weren’t at shortstop, Lewis hasn’t played a game there since the 2023 season. That leaves most of his options exhausted but it is also an opportunity at first base.
First base was a need for the Twins entering last offseason, but Minnesota stood pat due to an uncertain ownership situation and the rising cost to acquire a player in free agency. As a result, the Twins have used Victor Caratini, Josh Bell and Kody Clemens at the position, but the results haven’t been great as their collective .719 OPS ranks 19th among first basemen this season.
Clemens has been a league-average hitter with an OPS+ of 97 entering Tuesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox. But the Twins have used Bell more as a designated hitter and Caratini has been needed behind the plate after Ryan Jeffers’ hamate injury. It also doesn’t help that the Twins seem unwilling to give 2020 first-round pick Aaron Sabato a shot in the majors and it could open the door for Lewis to go there long-term.
Lewis would benefit from such a move as it would reduce the strain on his oft-injured frame. It also could give the Twins a chance to find some defensive value out of Lewis as he was a minus-2 in Baseball Savant’s outs above average metric and posted a minus-3 rating in defensive runs saved during his career with the Twins.
The problem here is that Lewis may not be receptive to the move. When former manager Rocco Baldelli tried to move Lewis to second base late in the 2024 season, Lewis said he felt “terrified” of making a defensive mistake and even compared it to taking a baby out of the crib. While he warmed to the possibility the following offseason, the Twins never made the move and it could create a similar situation asking Lewis to move to a new position in the middle of the season.
In the end, it could depend on how much Lewis wants to return to Minnesota. In addition to his struggles at the plate, he also suggested the front office wants him to fail so they can get rid of him. The moves at the major league level also point in that direction as Lewis may have nowhere to go even if Minnesota wants to call him up.
If anything, this could lead to the Twins having a specific target if they attempt to trade Lewis in the coming months. But it’s a saga that gets weirder by the day and could have Lewis giving first base a try if he really wants to salvage his future in Minnesota.
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