Royce Lewis Hits Like His Old Self. The Yankees Should Be Paying Attention.

The New York Yankees have the best record in the American League. But the margin over Tampa Bay is only two games heading into this week. And the injury list keeps getting longer. So it makes sense that the front office is scanning the trade market for a bat that could help stabilize things.

Royce Lewis might be that guy. And right now, he’s probably available for less than you’d think.

The 27-year-old infielder has had a weird year. He got sent down to Triple-A St. Paul after a slow start. He’s played only 45 big league games and missed time with another injury. His on-base percentage has hovered around .289, which isn’t great unless the power shows up. And he has seven homers in 158 at-bats. Not bad but not dominant either.

But here’s the thing. Lewis is healthy right now. And since returning from that demotion, he’s been mashing. According to The Athletic’s Jim Bowden, Lewis is one of the top under-the-radar trade targets out there. Bowden wrote that the only real question is whether Lewis can stay on the field. When he’s right, he can play third base, first base, shortstop, even a little second base and center field. That kind of versatility is exactly what a banged-up Yankees roster could use.

The fit in New York isn’t perfect, but it’s interesting

The Yankees have some unsettled spots in the lineup. And when Giancarlo Stanton eventually comes back, he’ll lock up the designated hitter role. That means any trade target needs to be able to play the field. Lewis can do that. Most of his 232 career games have been at third base. But he’s also got 13 games at first and a handful at shortstop.

The power potential is real. Lewis hit 16 homers in just 292 at-bats in 2024. That’s a nice per-plate-appearance rate. But he’s never played more than 106 games in a season. Durability is the risk. Always has been.

What would a fair offer look like

The Twins aren’t going to get a top prospect for a guy with Lewis’s injury history. So the Yankees could dip deeper into their farm system and still make this work. Two right-handed pitchers stand out as a realistic package: Eric Reyzelman and Tony Rossi.

Reyzelman is 24 and was close to MLB-ready two years ago. His fastball sat 94-97 and touched 99. But last year his velocity dropped and his command fell apart. His walk rate jumped to 22%. The stuff is still there. It just needs to be reined in. The Twins could take a flier on him and see if a change of scenery helps.

Rossi is a different kind of project. He’s 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds with a slider that got a 52% swing-and-miss rate in the lower minors. His fastball sits mid-90s and tops out at 98. He also throws a splitter in the upper 80s. The problem is control. He’s never thrown consistent strikes. But as a bullpen arm with that kind of stuff? There’s something to work with.

Neither guy is a headliner. But the Twins aren’t getting a headliner for Lewis. This is the kind of trade where both teams take a chance: the Yankees get a potentially impactful bat with positional flexibility, and the Twins get two lottery tickets on arms with legit stuff.