In an article from The Athletic’s Dan Hayes, Twins third baseman Royce Lewis said he has been wary of making swing adjustments, as he doesn’t want to hurt his stats before entering arbitration for the second time. Hayes went on to report that before Friday’s game between the Twins and White Sox, Lewis worked with coaches to slow down his quick hands, “hoping adding length back to his swing will prevent him from missing hittable pitches.”
“It’s also hard to make a full in-season adjustment because you can try that, and those 30 games or at-bats of trial go toward your stats,” Lewis said. “Do you really want to sacrifice that? And if it doesn’t work, then you go back to what you were doing before. It’s always hard. I know (Michael) Harris (II) just did a significant change. Being under contract probably helps because he knows what he’s making that year and the year after. For someone like me, I’m fighting (to take) care of myself and my family. I don’t want to put any of those stats in jeopardy. I’m trying to do what’s best as fast as possible. But feeling like I’ve been on an island, it’s kind of tough.”
Read Hayes’s article from The Athletic for more quotes and context: “Royce Lewis shakes off struggles, shines with all-around performance in Twins win.”
Twins’ Royce Lewis shouldn’t be blamed for saying what every pro athlete thinks
It’s easy to criticize Lewis for this quote, considering he has struggled significantly since August of last year.
Got some “can’t blame him for looking out for himself” replies to this, which isn’t surprising.
Here’s the thing: That hasn’t worked. At all.
There are 202 hitters with at least 450 plate appearances since August 1 of last year. Royce Lewis ranks 189th in AVG and 185th in OPS. https://t.co/6Sjt0LMpOq
However, the Twins haven’t shown their players they are committed to winning after slashing payroll following their first postseason win in almost two decades back in 2023, trading nearly 40% of the team at this year’s trade deadline and the Pohlad Family deciding to retain majority ownership of the club after seeking a sale for almost a year. On top of that, the Twins have had several players recently who have failed to perform to their potential, such as Edouard Julien, Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner. It’s possible the organization isn’t offering struggling players the help they need.
These quotes from Royce and others were things brought up on Thursday’s @SKORNorth Twins Show. I don’t look at this as Royce prioritizing personal statistics, he’s instead seeking help and guidance and the Twins have little to no answers. https://t.co/5TLHBMAePW
— Declan Goff (@DexsTweets) August 23, 2025
As Lewis said, he has a family, meaning he does have to be concerned with personal stats. Also, being concerned with personal stats should help the team in the long run, since, to state the obvious, better stats from Lewis would lead to more wins for the Twins. Every pro athlete is concerned with personal performance. Lewis was just being honest.
Even though Lewis’s struggles are cause for concern, there are reasons to believe he will get back on track. In June and July, Lewis slashed .313/.361/.491 for a 136 wRC+ with four home runs and 17 RBIs in 122 plate appearances. He has regressed in August, hitting .208/.275/.403 for an 85 wRC+, but has had a .250 BABIP, which suggests luck may be a factor in his poor stats this month.
Could Lewis have worded his statement better? Yes. However, he certainly wants his team to win. And at the end of the day, as stated earlier, Lewis did make some swing adjustments before Friday’s game, and he went 3-for-5 with a grand slam as the Twins won 9-7. He hit another home run in Minnesota’s 7-3 loss to Chicago on Saturday as well.
The @Twins slugger has his SIXTH career grand slam!
(MLB x @DairyQueen) pic.twitter.com/B6F2BGBDBj
— MLB (@MLB) August 23, 2025
