The Minnesota Twins have full confidence in Royce Lewis being the guy at third base in 2026. Considering his consistent trips to the injured list, though, the team has to prepare for the worst. Lewis has played in 100-plus games in a season once in his career, so reinforcements are necessary.
On Monday, the Twins signed Gio Urshela to a minor league deal with an invitation to 2026 Spring Training. Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase first reported. It's an unexpected reunion, but this is a good call by Minnesota.
Colombian INF Gio Urshela is in agreement with the Minnesota Twins, sources tell @ElExtrabase. It’s a minor league deal with Spring Training invitation.
— Daniel Álvarez-Montes (@DanielAlvarezEE) February 9, 2026
Minnesota Twins and Gio Urshela reunite with minor league deal ahead of 2026 Spring Training
Urshela played for the Twins in 2022, producing a 2.9 bWAR with 43 extra-base hits, a .285 batting average, and 136 games logged at third base. Since then, Urshela has played the hot corner in 203 games with the Angels, Athletics, and Tigers.
He's bounced around, but ideally he gels with the Twins in his second stint with the organization. In 2025, Urshela generated a negative bWAR with the Athletics, offering a 71 OPS+ and .613 OPS. Urshela did not hit a home run in 59 games. He did go on a hot streak in August, batting 10-for-his-last-31 before getting designated for assignment and released.
Is Urshela set for a comeback in 2026? The odds aren't great, but he succeeded here, and it wasn't too long ago. All of that worry can be put to rest if Royce Lewis stays healthy, though.
Currently on the roster, Tristan Gray and Eric Wagaman could also play third base as the back-up, but they combined for only eight games at third base in 2025. Luke Keaschall could also play third base, but he should stick at second base as the every day man.
Another infielder who was potentially destined for a Twins reunion was Luis Arraez, but the club decided to stay away. They opted to turn back to Urshela, and hopefully they don't need to deploy him more than a few times in 2026, but let's cross our fingers that a career resurgence is set for the 34-year-old. Even if he doesn't pan out, this isn't a move that could hurt the team much. He's low cost and replaceable.