The St. Louis Cardinals have made it pretty clear that third base sits near the top of their offseason to-do list, and Royce Lewis could wind up right in the middle of that conversation.
Chaim Bloom, the Cardinals’ president of baseball operations, and manager Oliver Marmol have both pointed to third base as a clear area of improvement as the club heads toward 2027. Internal candidates such as Nolan Gorman, Thomas Saggese, and Blaze Jordan are expected to get a long look, but the Cardinals may also need to scan the market for help at the hot corner.
One name that stands out is Minnesota Twins infielder Royce Lewis. The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft is heading into his second year of arbitration, and MLB Trade Rumors projects him to make $5.1MM. For a player with plenty of upside but a long injury history, that number could push him into uncomfortable territory in Minnesota.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com recently wrote that Lewis could be a non-tender candidate for the Twins.
That would fit with Minnesota’s recent effort to trim payroll. The Twins also have Brooks Lee available at third base and Josh Bell at first base. Bell finished 2026 with a .738 OPS, 96 RBIs, and 21 home runs, and his $10MM mutual option is expected to be exercised.
If that happens, Lewis suddenly looks like the odd man out. And if he gets to the market, the Cardinals should be ready.
From a fit standpoint, Lewis checks a lot of boxes. Last season he split time between first and third, with 82 games at first base and 40 at third. He also appeared in 16 games at second base, so he brings some flexibility along with the bat.
The appeal is obvious on offense. Lewis has shown real pop from the right side, including a career-high 16 home runs in 2024 in just 82 games. He hit 15 homers in only 58 games in 2023, and this past season he again put together a productive line with 15 home runs, 57 RBIs, and 24 doubles.
The concern, of course, is everything that has kept him from sustaining that production over a full season. Lewis has topped 500 plate appearances only once in his career, doing so in 2026 with 509.
Before that, his career high was 403. He has dealt with two ACL tears along with other leg and groin problems, and his ISO slipped from a 2023 peak of .240 to a career-low .154 in 2026.
Defensively, though, he’s been dependable at every spot he has handled. Throughout his career, Lewis has been at least serviceable across the infield.
That versatility gives St. Louis a few ways to use him.
If the Cardinals decide to play Nolan Gorman mostly at third base, Lewis could work as a platoon bat against left-handed pitching, where he owns a career 108 wRC+. If Thomas Saggese is used as a super-utility infielder and gets third-base reps against southpaws, Lewis could slide over to first and give Alec Burleson a breather now and then.
Nothing has to happen yet. But if the Twins do non-tender Royce Lewis this offseason, the Cardinals should be paying close attention.
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The timing matters because the Cardinals still have not settled their third base situation for 2027, and Gormans name is right in the middle of that conversation. His salary picture and roster status are now part of a broader winter debate for the front office, with his offseason work offering at least one clear sign that he understands the stakes. Whether that work is enough to keep him in the mix is the question hanging over the winter. [Read more 🡒]