Twins move Royce Lewis around infield as organization stresses versatility
· Yahoo Sports
Royce Lewis’ production at the plate since being demoted to Triple-A for a reset has drawn all kinds of attention.
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He hit another pair of home runs on Wednesday. In his first 12 games with the St. Paul Saints this season — including two earlier in the year on a rehab assignment — he’s hitting .333 with a 1.355 OPS and nine longballs.
But there was something else that caught the eye on Wednesday: Lewis was starting at second base rather than third. Lewis has also been doing some work over at first base, too, as part of the Twins’ effort to increase versatility on their roster, though he has not appeared in a game there.
“I think it’s very important for all of our players, whether they’re here or in the minor leagues,” manager Derek Shelton said. “It’s important for us organizationally that guys play multiple positions. There’s very few guys that we feel are going to be locked into one spot. I think if you look at our club now, we have one player … that plays one spot. And he plays center.”
Lewis has some experience at second base, playing there a bit near the end of the 2023 season, a move he was publicly uncomfortable with given the position was new to him and the Twins were in the middle of a playoff chase.
But now, moving positions could hasten his return to the majors as the Twins have recently shifted Brooks Lee from shortstop to third after Lewis was demoted.
Lee himself has played second, short and third at the major league level. Second baseman Luke Keaschall has done some work at first base, though has not played a game there. Tristan Gray and Orlando Arcia have played all four infield positions this season. Ryan Kreidler has played third base, shortstop, left field and center field. Kody Clemens has played all three outfield positions in addition to first and second.
“I think as we see the game continue to evolve the way it’s going, I think we’re going to see it become more prevalent, and I think it should become more prevalent,” Shelton said. “There should be very few players in my mind that are just playing one position. You better be really (darn) good to play just one.”
Sands nears returnThe long list of Twins pitchers on the injured list is getting closer to shrinking by one. Reliever Cole Sands began a rehab assignment with the Saints on Tuesday, throwing a scoreless fifth inning and striking out one batter in their 7-6 win over Indianapolis.
Sands, who has been on the injured list since May 2 with a forearm strain, came away from it feeling good. He said he believes he will have one more rehab outing, possibly two, before returning.
“I felt like I executed pretty much every pitch,” Sands said. “I think there’s still a little bit more in the tank. From where we were at (Tuesday), yeah, I felt pretty good.”
BrieflyByron Buxton was out in center field for the second consecutive game Wednesday, the first time since May 12-13 that he has played the position in consecutive games as he dealt with both a hip and shoulder issue. … Former Twins reliever Justin Topa has agreed to a minor-league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. Topa was designated for assignment in May by the Twins.