MINNEAPOLIS – Royce Lewis isn’t just working on his swing at Triple-A St. Paul. He’s getting work at different positions.
Lewis, optioned in mid-May after a deep slump, did pregame work at first base on Tuesday and started at second base for the Saints in their Wednesday afternoon game against Louisville. He’s been absolutely scorching at the plate since the demotion, and kept that going Wednesday with a grand slam and an RBI single in the Saints’ 10-1 win against Indianapolis.
He was involved defensively as well, starting a double play, tagging out a would-be base-stealer and recording a total of five assists.
“I think it’s very important for all of our players, whether they’re here or in the Minor Leagues… it’s important for us organizationally that guys play multiple positions,” manager Derek Shelton said. “There’s very few guys that we feel are going to be locked into one spot. … We will continue to explore not only with players in the Minor Leagues in Royce’s case or players at the Major League level at other positions.”
The Twins explored a move of Lewis to second base in 2024 but never fully followed through on it. But it appears that third base, Lewis’ primary position in the Major Leagues, will not be available for him to reoccupy when and if he returns to the Twins. Brooks Lee moved from short to third after Lewis was optioned, and there is no indication that the club intends to move him back.
That means that whenever Lewis returns, he will likely either have to share time at third or play other positions.
“When we made the decision we did to send Royce down and give him that reset, (Shelton) wanted to have the conversation with Brooks to do everything we thought was going to be to put ourselves in the best position for this next stretch with that roster configuration, but I think we all know that these things are really fluid,” general manager Jeremy Zoll said.
There may well be opportunity at first base, and potentially sometimes at second as well. Kody Clemens has been a valuable and versatile player who has handled himself well at first, but he can play a wide variety of spots – including center field. The Twins have made it clear they prefer Josh Bell to serve as designated hitter rather than play first. And Victor Caratini’s time at first has basically ended for now, with him serving as the primary catcher following the injury to Ryan Jeffers.
Meanwhile primary second baseman Luke Keaschall has also been getting some work at first as he’s posted below-average defensive numbers at second again this year. That would indicate both that there could be opportunity for Lewis at second and that the Twins see chances to get a right-handed bat into the lineup sometimes at first.
Bradley searching for form
It was a second straight frustrating start for Taj Bradley, who is searching for his mechanical form after a brilliant start to the season. Bradley pitched well in his first start after a brief injured list stint but in his last two outings, he has not located the ball well despite top-tier stuff and velocity.
“The fastball execution was not good,” Shelton said after the Twins' 8-0 loss to the White Sox on Wednesday. “It was a lot of arm-side misses, a lot of high misses. He missed with the split up a bunch. It wasn’t until the fifth inning where he actually executed the split at all. Overall, just not very good command today.”
Sands on the way back
Cole Sands made a rehabilitation appearance for St. Paul on Tuesday, and he may not need many more. Sands pitched a perfect fifth inning with one strikeout on 13 pitches. His fastball averaged 94 miles per hour, and he threw his cutter, splitter, and curve as well.
“Felt pretty good with everything,” Sands said. “I felt like I executed pretty much every pitch. I think there is still a little bit more in the tank. From where we were at yesterday, yeah, I felt pretty good.”
He will likely make an additional rehab appearance for St. Paul on Friday, after which he could be activated. It’s also possible he could pitch once more for St. Paul, but it seems likely he could return to the roster for the Twins’ upcoming trip to Detroit.
Twins tidbits
Mick Abel came through his bullpen session on Tuesday well, and remains on track to pitch live batting practice on Thursday. After that, he could move on to a rehab assignment. Abel is recuperating from right elbow inflammation. … Andrew Morris will start Thursday’s game against the Royals. That would have been Bailey Ober’s spot but Ober is on the injured list with an elbow issue.