Royce Lewis, working with Michael Cuddyer and Twins coaches, sees improvements at third base

FORT MYERS, FLA. – Over the past two seasons, Royce Lewis has shown an uncanny knack for hitting home runs immediately after returning from the injured list.

His defense, he says, requires more of a learning curve.

Lewis will stick at third base this season after the Twins contemplated moving him to second base during the winter. Lewis made six errors in 51 games at the position last year, which were primarily throwing errors. StatCast graded his defense as two outs above average while Stats Info Solution put him at minus-2 defensive runs saved.

“Having that stop and go, it’s harder on me defensively than it is offensively, because I don’t get to take those reps when you’re injured with a quad, groin, whatever it is,” Lewis said. “All my injuries have been lower body, so I can’t go out there and take ground balls. But they let me stand in: I can watch pitches. I can go take swings off a tee in a controlled environment. The hitting always catches up fast.”

Working with new infield coach Ramon Borrego and Class AAA manager Toby Gardenhire, Lewis attributes his throwing errors to his footwork. He didn’t create enough momentum toward first base, and he felt it forced him to throw with maximum effort across the diamond.

As Lewis studied videos from Gold Glove third basemen Nolan Arenado and Matt Chapman, he noticed how rarely they unleashed maximum-effort throws despite their cannon arms.

“Michael Cuddyer being here has been great,” Lewis said. “He’s been catching me, but at the same time, he’s also teaching. He played it, too. It’s not like he’s never done that. He knows some tricks in the bag that I’d love to put to use. With all these guys helping me, I feel a lot better, for sure.”

Lewis was primarily a shortstop during his minor league career, with 15 games at third base, so he’s confident there is room for him to improve with more experience. He fielded two ground balls cleanly during Sunday’s spring training game vs. Tampa Bay.

“We’re trying to focus on playing back and helping you get that range that you need to get to extra balls,” Lewis said. “We’ve got cones out there [in drills]. We’ve spray painted lines, and we’re working angles. For me, especially, it’s cool to see that. I’m a visual learner.”

A primary focus for Lewis during the offseason, after another injury-plagued year, was playing more athletic and increasing his agility, so that it benefits his defense and baserunning.

“I just wanted to have fun playing the game I love again,” he said. “It’s not as fun when I’m just trying to hit the ball hard and jog everywhere. I wanted to play like how I played when I was young and just have fun, dude.”

Byron Buxton drew a walk during the third inning Sunday, moved to second on a groundout and then opted to steal third base against Rays minor league lefthander Keyshawn Askew.

A member of the Twins front office immediately recognized the significance.

It was the first time Buxton successfully stole third base during a big-league spring training or regular-season game. In his only attempt to swipe third during a regular-season game, he was thrown out by A.J. Pierzynski on July 26, 2016, at Target Field.

“If you’re going to implement it during the season, you might bust it out in spring training once or twice to try to get a jump,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He can really do what he wants and work on what he wants on the bases right now.”

Buxton has swiped 93 bases in 105 attempts (88.6%) – second base, that is – during his major league career.

The Twins rallied for two runs in the ninth inning Sunday, with an RBI groundout from Luke Keaschall and a tying single by Mickey Gasper, but they left the bases loaded in a 5-5 tie against the Rays at Hammond Stadium during the club’s annual Minnesota Day.

Buxton and Trevor Larnach hit back-to-back homers off Rays reliever Kevin Kelly in the fifth inning.

Chris Paddack gave up four hits and four runs across three innings. Junior Caminero hit a pair of two-run homers off Paddack’s fastball.

Caminero’s first home run came one pitch after he whiffed on a fastball and his bat slipped out of his hands, flying toward the Twins dugout. Paddack decided to try the same pitch again, and Caminero crushed it to the walking bridge adjacent to the batter’s eye in center field for a two-run homer.

“He humbled me a little bit,” Paddack said. “There were multiple times where I had him set up for something else, and I shook twice to [catcher Ryan] Jeffers to go to the heater. Entering Year 7, I’m still learning this game, man.”