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Royce Lewis Demoted by Minnesota Twins
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- Royce Lewis Demoted by Minnesota Twins
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Minnesota Twins currently own a 22-26 record and are struggling to stay afloat. The vast majority of their issues have revolved around pitching.
While the lineup as a whole has shown a level of competence, there are plenty of players at the bottom struggling to keep up. Matt Wallner was recently demoted to Triple-A after failing to get going.
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Royce Lewis was given a two-day reset a couple weeks ago, but it didn't kickstart production. Now he'll join Wallner in the St. Paul Saints lineup.
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MN Twins send Royce Lewis to St. Paul
Two weeks ago Royce Lewis wondered aloud if the MN Twins were trying to get him off the roster. Now that has happened, and he'll have to work his way back from Triple-A.
Sources: Royce Lewis has been sent to Triple A
— Paul Lambert (@MeatSauce1) May 19, 2026
St. Paul is in the midst of a two-week homestand, so Royce doesn't immediately have to hit the road. Instead he heads across town carrying a .163 average and .539 OPS through 31 big league games this season.
It's been quite a rough stretch for Lewis the past few seasons. After owning an .825 OPS through his first 152 big league games, that level of production has been nowhere to be seen. Lewis finished the final month of the 2024 Twins collapse with just a .500 OPS in 26 games , and he batted just .237 with a .671 OPS last year.
royce lewis is clearly going through it
spent offseason reworking "new" mechanics
after toronto series, he was hitting .176/.274/.324 with that swing
in cleveland & miami series, he tried a toe tap gather (2-for-16)
against brewers , he's back to the pre-pitch stride+leg kick https://t.co/Qfya3SLfcz pic.twitter.com/mwGqYSL6mi— parker hageman (@HagemanParker) May 17, 2026
This offseason Lewis put in work investing in his swing with a new personal coach. It hasn't translated to success on the field though, and now he's sunk to his lowest point as a professional.
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Road back to MN Twins could be long
For now it seems that the Minnesota Twins are going with a short-term lineup fix. Orlando Arcia is not in the St. Paul Saints lineup, presumably coming back to the big leagues. In 39 games this season he has batted .318 with a .932 OPS .
It's unlikely the 31-year-old rediscovers his All-Star level of production from 2023, but Minnesota could capture lightning in a bottle and get a decent surge in the short term. Arcia can play three infield positions, but will primarily fill the spot at third base.
😇 Orlando Arcia sigue produciendo para el @StPaulSaints , Largó su 10mo Doble en Triple A y llegó a 27 CI, esperando el llamado de los @Twins
📍Se fue de 5-2 • CA • 2 CI • 2B • .319 AVG
🎦 https://t.co/j7RZXzMcZc #CaraquistaSoy 🦁 #CaracasBBC 🔝 #NacionCaraquista © pic.twitter.com/O0TMEaYOrV— Nación Caraquista (@Naci_Caraquista) May 13, 2026
Beyond just Arcia though, Kaelen Culpepper is knocking at the door to the big leagues as well. He could usurp Brooks Lee at shortstop, or start his career at the hot corner. Minnesota may want to let him cook a bit more in St. Paul, but he's getting very close.
Kaelen Culpepper smashes his ninth homer of the year for the Triple-A @StPaulSaints 🚀
The @Twins ' No. 2 prospect sports a 1.034 OPS in his past 10 games: pic.twitter.com/vha2DsjrOO— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 15, 2026
Culpepper owns an .815 OPS in 39 games at Triple-A. He has really turned it on in the month of May, and is showcasing power, speed, and glove skills that could have him earn a promotion and never go back.
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Lewis will need to produce at Triple-A for a while to prove to the Minnesota Twins that he has figured something out and turned a corner.
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