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Royce Lewis homered and doubled in final night time’s loss to the A’s, boosting his slash line by means of his first 11 large league video games to .308/.325/.564 — however the Twins nonetheless optioned him to Triple-A St. Paul final night time as a way to pave the best way for Carlos Correa’s activation from the 10-day injured checklist, supervisor Rocco Baldelli introduced after the sport (link via Dan Hayes of The Athletic). Baldelli naturally acknowledged that Lewis had made the choice “tough” together with his play and instructed that the Twins will use this run in Triple-A to “transfer [Lewis] across the subject” and “get him just a little little bit of publicity at some completely different spots.”
Lewis’ glovework at shortstop has lengthy been a query amongst scouts, with some viewing a transfer to the outfield as an eventual necessity. The 22-year-old made a pair of errors in his 99 innings at shortstop but additionally made a number of highlight-reel performs in his tiny pattern of labor. The Twins very seemingly nonetheless view him as a shortstop in the long term, however Correa is arguably the sport’s greatest defender on the place, so Lewis will use a probably transient run by means of Triple-A to get his ft moist at different positions whereas additionally additional honing his abilities at brief.
Lewis does have some restricted expertise at different positions however has performed solely at shortstop in 2022 — his first season of recreation motion since approach again in 2019. The 2020 season was misplaced for all minor leaguers, and Lewis missed the 2021 marketing campaign on account of a torn ACL. He logged a dozen video games at third base, 5 in middle subject and 4 at second base in the course of the 2019 Arizona Fall League, however he’s by no means performed a place apart from shortstop outdoors that AFL run. That Lewis was capable of hit the bottom operating each in Triple-A and within the Majors after what quantities to greater than two years away from recreation exercise is a testomony to the upside and expertise that prompted Minnesota to pick out him with the No. 1 total choose again in 2017.
It’s nonetheless undoubtedly a deflating transfer for Lewis and for Twins followers, even when the transfer is short-term in nature. Correa, nevertheless, will return to the lineup and provides the membership a premier defensive participant and total MVP-caliber expertise whose bat had begun to warmth up simply previous to the hit-by-pitch that in the end landed him on the 10-day IL. The 27-year-old is hitting .255/.320/.372 total however raked at a .412/.444/.588 tempo within the 9 video games previous his damage.
As for the place Lewis will slot in when he does return, the Twins may have a number of choices. First base has been the most important gap of their lineup, with each Miguel Sano and prospect Jose Miranda floundering on the plate. Utilityman Luis Arraez has begun to fit in at first base with extra regularity, nevertheless, and the Twins certainly nonetheless have hope that outfielder/first baseman Alex Kirilloff — like Lewis, a longtime high prospect each within the system and within the league as a complete — will proper the ship in Triple-A and be capable to play a bigger function there.
Throughout the diamond, third base might be a extra viable match. Gio Urshela has made some sturdy defensive performs however ranks about common with the glove in line with most public metrics. He’s additionally hitting simply .226/.280/.330 in 118 journeys to the plate — manufacturing (or lack thereof) that will ultimately jeopardize his place within the lineup even when he had been producing excellent numbers on the defensive facet of the coin. Minnesota left fielders, in the meantime, are hitting .236/.294/.341 on the season, due largely to Kirilloff’s struggles previous to his wrist damage and to Nick Gordon’s tepid .250/.292/.309 output (most of which has come whereas taking part in left subject).
Being unsure the place they’ll in the end slot Lewis again into the combo is the quintessential “good drawback to have” for a group. It’ll be value holding a eager eye on simply the place Lewis is lining up throughout the river in St. Paul, as that might foreshadow another selections pertaining to the large league roster. Lewis will technically want to stay with the Saints for no less than 10 days now that he’s been optioned, though the Twins can simply get round that minimal by recalling Lewis because the corresponding transfer for an damage in the event that they see match.
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