MINNEAPOLIS — The reset button could be coming for Royce Lewis.

The Minnesota Twins third baseman’s pronounced struggles continued Sunday afternoon with three more strikeouts before he was removed for a pinch hitter late in a 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Target Field.

Striking out more than ever in his career, Lewis is hitting only .133/189/.191 with 25 whiffs in 68 at-bats since coming off the injured list April 21. Those struggles have continued even after the Twins gave Lewis two days off during their last trip, the slugger striking out 10 times in 30 plate appearances over his last eight games.

On the season, Lewis is striking out 31 percent of the time, up from a 22 percent career mark.

“He’s grinding a little bit, maybe a bit of overswinging,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “There’s a situation where guys, they don’t have their A swing, and they try to overswing to do too much.”

Lewis swung at everything he was thrown Sunday.

Well, almost everything.

Leading off the sixth inning Sunday, Lewis unsuccessfully tried to bunt for a hit twice, fouling off both pitches. His third and final at-bat of the day ended with a strikeout on the next pitch from Milwaukee’s Grant Anderson. Trevor Larnach pinch hit for Lewis in the eighth inning.

Lewis began the day by striking out to end the first inning, swinging at nine of the 10 pitches thrown by Robert Gasser after the Brewers starter issued a two-out walk and hit a batter to load the bases.

Two innings after that, Lewis followed another hit batsmen with a three-pitch strikeout, chasing an 0-2 fastball from Gasser above the zone for strike three.

Shelton said Lewis’ lack of production isn’t for a lack of effort. Rather, Lewis has been hard at work in the cages with the team’s hitting coaches trying to find a solution in the middle of a season when he’s carrying a .540 OPS.

But the work isn’t translating, and Lewis rarely looks competitive in any of his current at-bats. He also gave the Twins an additional reason for concern Saturday night when his struggles appeared to carry over to the field.

With one out and two on in the fourth inning of a one-run loss, Lewis whiffed on what should have been an inning-ending double play ball, his error allowing the tying run to score.

All of the struggles come on the heels of the comments Lewis made in Washington earlier this month when he suggested the team’s decision-makers are hoping he fails so they could write him off and demote him to the minor leagues or trade him.

After Matt Wallner’s recent demotion to Triple-A St. Paul, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Twins offer the same to Lewis. Going to Triple A would give Lewis an opportunity to figure out his swing without worrying about producing against major-league pitching.

The Twins could replace Lewis with veteran infielder Orlando Arcia, who is batting .318/.376/.556 with eight home runs for the Saints. The team would need to free up a spot on the 40-man roster to add either Arcia or Triple-A shortstop Kalen Culpepper. Though the Twins believe Culpepper is a long-term solution, the organization still wants to give its 2024 first-rounder additional time to develop.

“It’s challenging when you’re going through a tough stretch,” Shelton said. “The biggest thing we have to do is continue to encourage, continue to work, continue to stay positive. … It would be different if he wasn’t working, if he wasn’t grinding on it, but he is. That’s the thing. If it was apathy and there was no work, then I would have concern and be frustrated.”

Jeffers got a hold of that one! pic.twitter.com/WNEC3iyXnP

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) May 17, 2026

Here are several other observations after the Twins lost two of three to the Brewers over the weekend.

• We’re nearly one-third of the way into the season, and Ryan Jeffers couldn’t be having a better walk year as he prepares for free agency. Jeffers flashed his power again, hitting the go-ahead homer Sunday and finishing 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored as the Twins avoided a series sweep.

Jeffers is batting .294/.410/.538 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs.

Though he was happy with his production and approach during a 2025 season in which he finished with a .752 OPS, Jeffers hoped to hit for more power this year by pulling the ball more. He worked on his swing in the offseason and is only two homers shy of last season’s nine.

“We made some mechanical changes, some small mechanical changes that have helped me do that,” Jeffers said. “The highs feel great, but for me, it’s just trying to keep it as consistent as I possibly can and hopefully hold on to this feeling for the next four months.”

When he becomes a free agent after the season, Jeffers will be one of the better catchers to hit the open market in a long time. He could also be a hot commodity at the trade deadline.

• Andrew Morris added another big moment to his resume Sunday when he took over with two on in the sixth inning and retired Brewers stud Jackson Chourio to preserve a one-run lead. With few trusted options in the team’s bullpen, Morris, who retired all three batters he faced in the victory, is getting a good look as a high-leverage option less than two months into his rookie season.

Entering Sunday’s finale, Morris had a 1.06 Leverage Index for the season (anything above 1 is considered higher leverage). But including Sunday’s appearance, three of Morris’ last four outings have been in bigger situations, and the opportunities are unlikely to slow down.

Morris’ fastball averaged 96 mph, making him one of the harder throwers in the Twins bullpen. Though he didn’t generate any swings-and-misses Sunday, Morris earned five called strikes in 12 pitches.

“This is a kid that’s never had those situations because in the minors he was a starter,” Shelton said. “He’s earning those because of the fact his stuff plays that way, and he’s executing.”