Today, the Minnesota Twins activated Carlos Correa off the injured list.
Correa had been out due to a wrist injury.
Top prospect Royce Lewis was called up to take Correa’s place while he was out.
But with Correa back, Lewis is going back down to Triple-A St. Paul, which is somewhat of a surprise given how hot Lewis started.
He hit .308 in 39 at-bats with two homers and five RBI.
The 22-year-old also had an impressive .889 OPS.
But Lewis is still part of the long-term plan for Minnesota, as stated by Twins insider Betsy Helfand on Twitter, who says that the plan is to have him mainly play shortstop in the minors, but also get some reps at other positions.
While Royce Lewis will mostly play shortstop at Triple-A, the Twins plan to move him around a little bit and get him some exposure to different spots. https://t.co/7ATNZ6JbPQ
— Betsy Helfand (@betsyhelfand) May 18, 2022
Long-Term Planning
This is a good plan for the Twins.
Lewis is still a key piece for their future and has a lot of upside.
With Correa active, chances are he wouldn’t have gotten as many chances on the big-league roster.
But the plan is clearly to have him be prepared to play a key role for the Twins at some point down the road.
They just need to have him prepared to play other positions so that when he returns, he can become an everyday player, even with Correa active.
There is a lot to like when you look at a guy like Lewis.
He can clearly hit, and he impressed the Twins enough to prepare him for a role that would allow him to become an everyday player when he returns to the majors.
For now, Lewis will head back to Triple-A and begin preparing for a different role.
Again, he’ll mostly play short, but the Twins do want to try him at other positions.
NEXT: Twins Demote Top Prospect Royce Lewis Amid A Hot Start