\u201cIt can be really hard when you feel like your career is going in a different direction,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cIt\u2019s been tougher because obviously we know there\u2019s always someone on your tail. There\u2019s always someone ready to take your next job. Every day I\u2019m here fighting and working as hard as I can to show that I\u2019m giving it my all to keep my job because I love what I do. I\u2019ve been smiling. I feel fine leaving the game. But I think what scares me most is like, \u2018Oh, they might try to get me out of here.\u2019 When I leave the field, that thought does creep into my head.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most major league players harbor similar thoughts at some point in their careers. Almost nobody is immune to self-doubt creeping in during times of struggle.<\/p>\n
This season alone, Wallner and Brooks Lee experienced prolonged struggles and were given time off to work and reflect. Shelton likes how such absences not only provide an opportunity to work on specific aspects of their swing, but also afford players a chance to be unconcerned with their performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of the coaching staff\u2019s job is to make sure he stays in the right frame of mind,\u201d Shelton said. \u201cYou compound a game or two or three of at-bats that you\u2019re not happy with, and your mind starts to go in dangerous places. \u2026 When you take the pressure away and have them watch the game, guys have a tendency to relax a little bit because they know I don\u2019t have to be out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shelton watched Lewis work ahead of Wednesday\u2019s game and liked the quality he saw and where the work was focused. Lewis took early batting practice with hitting coaches to implement changes designed to help him rediscover his powerful form. He also hit with the team during regular BP and got in similar work before Thursday\u2019s day game.<\/p>\n
New Twins hitting coach Keith Beauregard said one way to keep Lewis focused is to review how opponents attacked him, repeatedly inquire about how his swing feels and to provide him with a detailed plan for the following day. From that end, Beauregard likes what he sees.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis work every day has been really consistent,\u201d Beauregard said. \u201cHe\u2019s focused with everything that he does. From a swing standpoint, as an athlete, we\u2019re always trying to focus on getting guys into athletic positions and to feel flowy as a hitter. That\u2019s always been the work with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lewis said he feels supported in the clubhouse by his teammates and the new coaching staff. As he\u2019s endured this latest round of struggles, Lewis isn\u2019t worried about how his peers view him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a great clubhouse,\u201d Lewis said.<\/p>\n
But as he gets more expensive \u2014 Lewis is earning $2.85 million this season \u2014 and sees more affordable options performing behind him, Lewis worries whether the front office feels the same as his coaches and teammates. Lewis is particularly attuned to the business of baseball and seems aware of his own career mortality as he continues to struggle and prospects like Culpepper heat up.<\/p>\n
![\"Kaelen](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2224811484-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Kaelen Culpepper, shown at the All-Star Futures Game last summer in Atlanta, is hitting .276\/.389\/.793 with four home runs and eight RBIs in his last seven games. (Jamie Squire \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels like people around here sometimes are waiting for me to struggle so that they can write me off officially or get me out of here,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cIt\u2019s the first time in my career where it\u2019s become a business instead of playing the game that I love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over his last seven games for Triple-A St. Paul, Culpepper was hitting .276\/.389\/.793 with four home runs and eight RBIs.<\/p>\n
Despite his recent hot stretch, the Twins don\u2019t want to rush Culpepper, whom they selected 21st in the 2024 draft. Not only do they want Culpepper to work on his defensive consistency at shortstop, but they\u2019d also like him to hone his offensive skill set.<\/p>\n
Were the Twins to option Lewis to Triple A to work on a swing he\u2019s been overhauling since the offseason, the more realistic immediate replacement appears to be veteran Ryan Kreidler.<\/p>\n
Unlike Culpepper, who has yet to play third base as a pro, Kreidler is unlikely to be viewed as a long-term option, which means that even if they optioned Lewis, whose struggles date back to August 2024, it doesn\u2019t appear his window would be closed.<\/p>\n
Shelton emphasized the Twins remain hopeful they can unlock Lewis. As he discussed the player\u2019s two days off, Shelton \u2014 who flew to Texas in November to meet with Lewis immediately after he was named manager \u2014 reiterated his support.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do believe he can perform, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re giving him a couple days to work on things,\u201d Shelton said. \u201cThat\u2019s really common throughout the game. We\u2019ve already done it where, \u2018We\u2019re going to get you working on the things we think will help you,\u2019 and then get him back in there and let him execute those things.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Royce Lewis is not only slumping. He can also hear Kaelen Culpepper\u2019s loud footsteps at…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":780362,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[1287,1266,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-780361","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-minnesota-twins","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=780361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/780362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=780361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=780361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=780361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}