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Shortly after sending down a bat that had been one of their best at the major league level, the Minnesota Twins are ready to give Royce Lewis another shot.

Minnesota announced they have recalled third baseman Royce Lewis from Triple-A St. Paul, and designated outfielder James Outman for assignment to clear a spot for him on the roster.

Lewis was demoted to the minor leagues after a poor start with the Twins on May 19th. In 104 at bats with Minnesota, the former No. 1 overall pick hit .163 with a .540 OPS, hitting only three homers.

The team sent down Lewis with hopes that he could rediscover his swing and confidence levels. In 13 games in Triple-A, Lewis did just that — he hit eight homers in the short stint, slashing .340/.417/.868 at the plate.

In very dominant fashion, Lewis asserted that his talent should be at the major league level in his stint. But after multiple seasons of promising flashes, inconsistency and injuries, only time will tell if he can reach his full potential for good with the Twins.

Now in his fifth season, injuries have plagued Lewis’ playing time, as he has reached triple-digits in games played in a season only once, playing 106 games in 2025. One big facet of his game has been power, and it had never been questioned until it had seen a dip with the Twins this year.

Upon Lewis’ demotion over two weeks ago, Twins manager Derek Shelton appointed Brooks Lee as the team’s primary third baseman in his absence. But with the re-arrival of Lewis, he is presumably sticking with Lee at the hot corner as Lewis expands into the right side of the infield.

In his return to the Twins’ lineup against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday, Lewis was slotted in the seventh hole of the order. However, the bigger surprise came in that Lewis was tabbed to make the start at second base for the first time this season — shortly after he was learning new positions at the minor league level.

On Saturday, Lewis made a nice diving play at second base and looked comfortable at the position. In the ninth inning, the Twins inserted Luke Keaschall at second base and slid Lewis over to first base, his first appearance at the position in the major leagues. Lewis had started a couple of games there in Triple-A.

At the plate, Lewis went 0-for-3 in his first game back, though did put up a couple of quality at-bats and drew a walk. However, with the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the ninth inning, Lewis struck out to end the ballgame in a 3-2 Twins loss.