Category: BYRON BUXTON

An interviewer referred to Twins wunderkind Royce Lewis as the “amazing Mr. Lewis” last week when talking to Minnesota president of baseball operations Derek Falvey.  This was the morning after the third baseman and hitter extraordinaire homered in his return to the lineup after more than a two-month absence with his right quadriceps strain.

“It never ceases to amaze you when he has these moments, when he hasn’t played in two months and he keeps going,” Falvey said Wednesday morning after Lewis’ performance.

Lewis was injured in the team’s March 28 season opener, a game in which he was two-for-two at the plate, including a home run.  Then in his return last Tuesday night he walked twice and hit a home run.  Add it up, Falvey pointed out, and his 25-year-old star didn’t make an out in his first five plate appearances of the season.

Now the baseball world is watching to see if Lewis will experience more than a curtain call this season.  ACL injuries, a troublesome hamstring and oblique and quad strains have sidelined him during his professional career that began with the Twins drafting him No. 1 in 2017.  In three regular seasons of work with the Twins, he has only played in 75 games and had 272 plate appearances.

But what a brief resume he has compiled!  In an era where .300 averages are difficult, his career mark is .309, plus an attention grabbing 20 home runs and a .937 OPS.  He has homered about 13 times per plate appearance and that’s among the best in MLB history for a minimum of 250 at bats.

And there are unforgettable moments such as last October when he became the third player in MLB history to homer in his first two postseason at bats.  He set the stage for the dramatic during the regular season by hitting four grand slams in a 20-game span as he helped the Twins win the AL Central Division title.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound, right-handed hitting, right-handed throwing California native is a poster boy for the age old five-tool definition of a baseball player: speed, power, hitting average, fielding and arm strength.  Yet, there is something else almost as intriguing about Lewis and that is his attitude toward life including its perils.

Lewis has consistently confronted the health issues in his life with an attitude that could make Mother Teresa proud.  “He’s as positive as they come,” Falvey said.  “When he’s been rehabbing, I’ve been shocked by it and there have been moments where candidly I have said to him, it’s okay to feel bad…to be a little disappointed in what you’re dealing with. And he does certainly (do that) in quiet moments, I am sure.

“But at the same time, what he does such a tremendous job with is focusing on the things that he can control—which is how do I go about my rehab?  How do I take care of today?  How do I get myself on a better track? Ultimately, every day he focuses on that. …”

Falvey admitted “sometimes we have to push and say, hey, Royce, I am not sure you’re as honest about this as you think you are.  We know him well enough at this point to push him on that.”

Lewis dedicated the offseason to flexibility and movement training, only to be confronted with another physical setback on opening day.  Falvey said: “He and I talked about it in spring training, and he felt like he was running as well as he ever had, knowing that he had dealt with some of these issues before. …”

Despite hard work and the best of intentions, there doesn’t seem to be an explanation for the Lewis health misfortunes. There was, for example, due diligence by various authorities trying to find the cause of the quad strain while running to third base.

“I wish we could (explain it),” Falvey said. “We tried.  Everyone looked at it. You know, obviously watched a lot of video.  Watched how he kind of hit second base (before running to third on his hit). Felt like one of those freak injuries that you don’t really anticipate because just a week before in spring training he had gone hard first to third in almost the exact same manner. …”

After all the Lewis mishaps it’s human nature to wonder about whether he has a freaky susceptibility to injuries. Falvey said Lewis isn’t any more tightly wound in his muscles than peers and that everyone is a little different in their makeup.  There have been different causes, different issues with the setbacks. “He’s a tremendously strong and flexible kid,” Falvey said about the player who has had advice on everything from strength building to hydration to flexibility to nutrition.

Lewis has the sort of talent, determination and charisma to become the face of not only the Twins but perhaps baseball. Since returning to the Twins lineup, he has hit .333 with an OPS of 1.345.  He no doubt would trade that success for a few wins, with the Twins having lost five straight since his return.

After playing last Tuesday and Wednesday, he rested for Thursday’s game in New York against the Yankees.  In the weeks to come there “will be thoughtful” discussion, Falvey said, about how often Lewis is in the lineup.

There will be a mix of playing third base and filling the DH role.  Rest may come after two games, or three or four.  A lot of factors will be involved including how the general recovery is progressing, whether Lewis ran more than usual or had to stretch himself out on a defensive play in a previous game, as he builds “volume” in a return to full time play.

Falvey and GM Thad Levine were hired by the Twins in the fall of 2016.  Their first MLB Draft for Minnesota came with the overall No. 1 selection.  The brain trust saw, Falvey said, a “tremendous athlete” who was still “pretty raw” at age 17.  He observed that “this kid’s makeup was a little different” in how dedicated he was to the game, how much he cared and how charismatic he was.

Falvey said when injuries hit Lewis in the minor leagues, he wondered how that missed time would impact the youngster’s development of fundamentals.  “So, I was a little bit worried about that, candidly—that he didn’t get the reps and the routine in the minor league journey. However, the thing that kind of impressed me more than anything else is it just feels like when he has those less fundamental moments or routines, there’s a special play in there somewhere along the way that he finds a way to maybe do it a little differently than everyone else does.  And when the lights turn on and the big moments are there it seems like he shines.”

There is the hope, of course, that the Amazing Mr. Lewis will shine for a long time—free of mishaps that can slow or even derail his star lined destiny. The physical talent, combined with his exemplary attitude, has Lewis positioned to become not only the face of the team but also its clubhouse leader eventually.

“(Twins) players feel it in the clubhouse already, even at a young age (for Lewis),” Falvey said. Minnesota counts veterans Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton among its current leaders. Falvey said players like Correa can help Lewis continue to grow as a leader who the whole organization looks up to.

Falvey said: “There’s not that old school approach that, hey, if you’re young just stay in the corner. Be quiet. I’ve heard that a lot … (With the Twins it) is a little bit of, hey, you’re here to help us. You’re here to make us better.

“Now you’re (also) here to be respectful.  You’re respectful…of every teammate, but it doesn’t matter if you have had a day in the big leagues or 10 years in the big leagues, you’ve got to be part of this team and be the best version of yourself.

“But I think what Royce has adapted is… (he’s the same player) you see every day on the TV. That’s the kid we see inside, too, even when the doors are closed, too. He’s just a fun loving (player who) enjoys baseball, loves being there, loves trying to help people left and right. And hopefully he can grow into that kind of leader you’re identifying.”

That’s part of why he’s the Amazing Mr. Lewis.

Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners during an interview Friday management doesn’t have a targeted number of games for Byron Buxton to play center field, or number of at bats as the club’s center fielder.

“We do not.  There is no number.  Taking it one day at a time.  One series at a time.  One month at a time.”

St. Peter was asked how Buxton is physically with spring training ending Tuesday and the regular season starting Thursday in Kansas City against the Royals?  “Great. He is doing great.  Fantastic.”

Since 2017 when Buxton had a career high 140 games, the gifted 30-year-old has played in as few games as 28 and no more than 92. In 2023 injuries were problematic again and his role was only as a designated hitter.

Now the plan is a return to center field where Buxton’s skills and presence give the defense, per St. Peter, “a competitive advantage.”

Team fielding, including prowess up the middle, is one of multiple reasons the club president believes his team can improve on last year’s breakthrough season when the club won the American League Central Division championship and was victorious in a playoff series for the first time in 21 years.  “

We feel really good about our club defensively,” St. Peter said.

Buxton and shortstop Carlos Correa are former Gold Glove winners.  First baseman Carlos Santana was a Gold Glove finalist with the Pirates last season, while third baseman Royce Lewis is uber athletic and a former shortstop.  Regarding the catching roster of Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vazquez, St. Peter said “that’s as good a catching combo as there is in the American League.”

In evaluating the outfield corner defense, St. Peter said Max Kepler is “elite in right field by every measure” and left fielder Matt Wallner is above average.

It’s second base where Twins fans may be most concerned about the defense.  Edouard Julien, 24 and a terrific hitting prospect as he showed last season in his rookie debut, can struggle in the field but St. Peter is upbeat about him.  “Eddie Julien was vastly improved by the end of last year at second base and I think that’s a big deal.”

The Twins scored the 10^th most runs in MLB last season and only two other clubs hit more home runs than Minnesota’s 233.  That was accomplished with Buxton and Correa, potentially two of the most productive hitters on the roster, having subpar seasons.

Asked about team hitting, St. Peter said, “We think it’s exciting.  We expect to score more runs (in 2024).”

Production, St. Peter predicted, will depend on having a healthy group starting with players who struggled with injuries in the recent past:  Buxton, Correa, Lewis, Kepler and first baseman Alex Kirilloff.

Buxton, at .207 and Correa with a .230 average, were hampered with injuries last season.  They’re capable of doing much better in 2024 including exceeding the combined 35 home runs and 107 RBI the two produced.

Lewis has the kind of offensive talent that can carry a team. The 24-year-old showed clutch hitting with four grand slam home runs during 2023 in only 236 at bats as injuries limited his availability.

Kepler, slowed by injuries in the spring, had an eye-catching second half of the season hitting .306 after the All-Star Game break, with 12 home runs and 36 RBI.  “…I am expecting big things from Max in 2024,” St. Peter said.

St. Peter refers to Kirilloff “as an elite hitter.”  The 26-year-old has been on the verge for a couple of seasons in making heroic headlines but injuries have slowed his progress.  “We still believe in Alex,” St. Peter said.  “We think he can be a critical guy for us. ..”

Julien, 24, hit 16 home runs last season in 338 at bats.  While hitting .263, he showed the ability to hit the baseball to all fields.

Jeffers could also help make St. Peter’s expectation of scoring more runs come true.  He leads the team in home runs this spring with four.  “Ryan Jeffers has a lot of power,” St. Peter said.  “We’ve seen that in Minnesota.  Last year he had a great offensive year, one of the better offensive years any catcher had in our game. He hits the ball hard. ….”

St. Peter’s optimism about 2024 extends to the pitching staff.   “Since (baseball boss) Derek Falvey has been here (Nov. 2016 hired) our pitching has improved each and every year. I expect our pitching this year again to be one of the strengths of our team.”

St. Peter described it as “challenging losing Sonny Gray.”  He was a superb veteran starter, a stabilizer for the Twins but he signed as a free agent with the Cardinals during the offseason.

“He gave us a chance every night, but I am really confident that our group (of starters)—led by Pablo Lopez, Bailey Ober, Joe Ryan, Chris Paddack, Louie Varland—I think that group is plenty good in terms of it’s going to give us a chance to win a lot of games,” St. Peter said.

“I am also really excited about our bullpen.  I think our bullpen is as deep as it’s been since Derek has been leading our baseball operation.  Even with the loss of Jhoan Duran (oblique strain) to start the season, you know what we’ve seen out of Griffin Jax, what we’ve seen out of Brock Stewart, Jorge Alcala. We like our bullpen a lot.  We think it will be again a strength of our club.”

St. Peter believes the players are “very determined to take another step toward a championship,” implying the club is targeting an American League Pennant.  Minnesota’s record last season was 87-75.  How many wins for the Twins in 2024?

“… I don’t forecast victories (number of wins),” St. Peter answered.
“I certainly expect our team to be better.”

At season’s end success will be directly tied to the health of the players.  Adversity will come but in the club’s favor is its depth.

“Willi Castro was a critical player a year ago that can play all over the diamond, as can Kyle Farmer,” St. Peter said. “You add the addition of Carlos Santana (infield, outfield, catcher).  He gives us additional depth there as well. …The depth we have with Jeffers and Vazquez.  In our mind two starting catchers kind of sharing time there.  So we like our depth a lot.  We think…it will be one of the strengths of our club.”

By now, almost on the eve of the season opener, you have caught on that the longtime Twins president (named in 2022) is optimistic about 2024.  Whether it’s individual players like Buxton, or the collective forecast, he can see success ahead.