Twins takeaways: Royce Lewis' re-emergence adds another wrinkle ahead of trade deadline

New York Times

4 days ago

LOS ANGELES — As if they needed anything more to muddy the waters ahead of the trade deadline, now the Twins front office must consider this: Royce Lewis is back.
Though the Twins continue to play inconsistent baseball, the team's third baseman ended an encouraging trip with another stellar showing on Wednesday afternoon. Finally demonstrating signs he's once again a dynamic hitter, Lewis homered, doubled and walked, but it wasn't enough as the Twins dropped a heartbreaking 4-3 contest at the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Freddie Freeman's two-out, two-run, bases-loaded single off Griffin Jax sent the Twins to their fourth loss in six games, a tough pill to swallow for a team determining whether to sell before next week's July 31 trade deadline. Even in the aftermath of a loss where everything that could go wrong did, several prominent Twins said the series demonstrated their best days are still ahead, with Lewis re-emerging as a threat being central to their faith.
'I believe in this team,' Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. 'I'm focused on the fact that our guys are preparing the right way. Our guys are ready to go right now. We're playing good. We'd obviously be feeling better winning the series. You'd feel much better about that. But the big picture should never stand in the way of the small things and details that you have to do every day.'
If they can continue on this path, Lewis and Carlos Correa emerging from first-half offensive slumbers would stand as a major development for a club that has been subpar for most of the season. Lewis and Correa were disappointments in the first half, neither coming close to delivering their full offensive potential.
Beyond Byron Buxton, Willi Castro and decent stretches from Ryan Jeffers, Kody Clemens, Trevor Larnach and Harrison Bader, the Twins offense provided little reason to believe there's much to build around.
Limited by two stints on the injured list for a left hamstring injury, Lewis never got underway. He entered Sunday with a .571 OPS and couldn't stay on the field long enough to prove he's more the hitter who starred earlier in his career instead of the player who's mostly languished over the last calendar year.
But starting with Sunday's two-homer performance in Denver, Lewis woke up.
Rolls Royce 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/45QbtG8S7H
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 23, 2025
And if good showings in the team's first two games in Los Angeles didn't do it already, Lewis made it clear Wednesday he's ready to excel once again.
Facing Dodgers stud Tyler Glasnow, who's dominated right-handed hitters for two-plus seasons, Lewis looked comfortable in the box. He worked ahead 3-1 in the count in a third-inning at-bat before ripping a fastball at the top of the zone for a game-tying solo homer to left. Two innings later, Lewis yanked a 1-2 curveball down the left-field line for a double.
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Whereas two months ago he was driving the ball to center and right-center, Lewis is once again pulling the ball in the air for power and hitting lasers to the right side.
Wednesday's two extra-base hits matched the season-long production against Glasnow, against whom righties were 4-for-51 with a double and a homer. Glasnow was otherwise stellar against the Twins, striking out 12 in seven innings of one-run ball.
Asked if he thinks Lewis is back, Correa shook his head yes. Correa, who also showed signs during the trip, going 5-for-16 with seven walks, thinks the Twins' offense is finally arriving.
'It's the quality of the at-bats against the pitching we've been facing,' Correa said. 'With him swinging the way he's swinging lately, definitely we've got a shot. It's a big boost to our team. If him and I keep going the way we've been going in the second half, we have a pretty good shot.'
Lewis — who also jumpstarted a two-run, go-ahead rally in the eighth with a walk — declined to answer what he'd do before the trade deadline if he were the team's general manager. He noted his belief that the Twins offense can be very good and there's enough talent in the room.
Mostly, Lewis reiterated what feeling good at the plate has done for him mentally after a challenging year full of injuries, slumps and more.
'It feels like playing baseball again,' Lewis said. 'There's not as much limitation. … For me, mentally, just to feel healthy again, it's huge. I'm praying it's forever. You can't control that, so enjoy the moments while you are feeling good, because this game is brutal. It'll probably throw you in a dumpster and make you hurt at some point. I've got to enjoy it while I can.'
Perhaps Lewis's good mental place convinces the Twins front office to keep together a roster that has underwhelmed all season long a little bit longer. Perhaps it won't. But with another week to go, you can believe it will give Twins decision-makers Derek Falvey and Jeremy Zoll something to consider.
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Here are several other Twins takeaways after a 2-4 trip to start the 'second half.'
• Jax disagreed with the decision. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called it the correct choice. Baldelli said he'd do the same over again if given the chance.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the tying run on first base, Baldelli elected to intentionally walk Shohei Ohtani, who earlier homered in a fifth straight game. Knowing the Dodgers' bench was empty, Baldelli preferred Jax face Esteury Ruiz, a speedster whose .642 career OPS is 309 points lower than Ohtani's mark.
Rather than attack, Jax threw four non-competitive pitches in five and walked Ruiz, which loaded the bases for Freeman. Though Jax got ahead 0-2 in the count, he threw a 1-2 fastball down the middle. Freeman lined it to left, and Bader couldn't come up with the ball.
'It's (Baldelli's) call, but I'd like the ability to face (Ohtani) in that situation,' Jax said. 'I don't like the idea of putting the tying run in scoring position right there.'
Said Roberts: 'It was the right decision. … Shohei comes up with a chance to win the game. You got to take your chances against Esteury.'
Even though he wouldn't change his mind, Baldelli acknowledged the decision is one he'll play out over and over again.
'We're going to play to win the game, not going to be afraid,' Baldelli said. 'Jax is one of the best relievers in baseball. I'm going to bet on Jax to go out there, dial it in and pitch to Ruiz. Ultimately, it didn't play out the way we wanted.'
• Everyone in the Twins clubhouse was disappointed when Mookie Betts wasn't rung up on a critical checked-swing call with two outs in the ninth inning. Betts appeared to go around on a 1-2 pitch from Jax, but first-base umpire Emil Jimenez signaled no swing. Betts then reached on an infield single ahead of Ohtani's walk.
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• Though it didn't do anything for them in the standings, Wednesday's loss may have helped the Twins ahead of next week's deadline. After struggling for the better part of two months, Chris Paddack was dominant.
Working with a fastball that touched 97 and a good changeup, Paddack once again showed swing and miss stuff. He generated 15 swings and misses in 78 pitches and looked as good as he has since striking out 10 batters in a June 1 start at the Seattle Mariners.
Paddack limited Los Angeles to a run and four hits over six innings while striking out eight. What made the outing all the more impressive is how he bounced back after hanging an 0-2 curveball that Ohtani hit into the next county.
'I just kind of emptied the tank,' Paddack said. 'I was just showing my coaching staff and myself, if this is it, leave nothing out there. I was able to rare back, 96, 97.'
• The Twins already knew David Festa was hurt on Tuesday when they announced Bailey Ober would make his next start at Triple-A St. Paul.
Even with Festa headed to the IL with right shoulder inflammation, the Twins declined to push up Ober's timeline to fit their needs. Ober remains on track to start Friday at St. Paul. Instead of being rushed back, the right-hander gets a chance to rediscover his form in the minors without worrying about results.
'It's not a situation where I think we're going to be making drastic changes because we had another starter go on the IL,' Baldelli said.
Out since June 29 with a left hip impingement, Ober feels healthy.
The Twins want him to continue incorporating mechanical changes they've made and would like to see Ober hold his stuff. Though Ober's fastball hit 91.6 mph in the first inning in a four-inning rehab outing on Friday, his velocity dropped a tick below his season average. Baldelli said the outing was a step in the right direction before also noting there's work to be done.
'The results in the Triple-A game for Bailey don't matter that much,' Baldelli said. 'What matters is that we accomplish the goals that we want to accomplish.'