UPDATE: One day after this article was published, the Twins optioned Royce Lewis to the minor leagues and called up Orlando Arcia. I've changed the title to reflect the news.
In the wake of the Twins demoting Matt Wallner to Triple-A St. Paul last week, it's natural to wonder if a similar decision could be looming with Royce Lewis.
Lewis continues to struggle offensively, with his batting average plummeting to .163. He committed a costly error at third base Saturday and then went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts Sunday before being removed for a pinch-hitter. Lewis, like Wallner, is in his fifth MLB season and eligible to be optioned to the minors.
From a performance standpoint, Lewis and Wallner have been almost identically bad at the plate early on. Wallner hit .167 with a .551 OPS in 135 plate appearances to earn his demotion. Lewis has hit .163 with a .540 OPS in 119 plate appearances. And while Lewis is the much better fielder, Saturday's misplay was his fifth error.
Perhaps most worrisome with Lewis is that his struggles date back to the second half of 2024. As of mid-August that season, his OPS was above 1.000 and constant injuries were seemingly the only thing keeping the former No. 1 overall pick from stardom. Instead, the injuries slowed down and Lewis simply stopped producing.
Lewis has hit .214/.268/.339 with a 68 wRC+ and a 157-to-47 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 179 games since August 13, 2024. There are 196 players across MLB with at least 650 PA during that time, and Lewis ranks 190th in batting average, 195th in on-base percentage, 186th in slugging percentage, and 190th in OPS.