LAS VEGAS — Not only does Royce Lewis appreciate the “Dan Campbell vibes” he’s picking up from Derek Shelton, but he also approves of the messaging from his new Minnesota Twins manager.
The third baseman was the first member of the current Twins that Shelton met in person as part of his to build relationships with a roster full of almost entirely new players. Though most players received a phone call, Shelton flew to Dallas on Saturday to meet with Lewis before traveling to Nevada for this week’s general managers’ meetings.
Shelton, who stressed at his introductory press conference on Nov. 4 that he wants to improve communication and messaging with players, met Lewis for barbecue. The tone of their meeting and Shelton’s personality instantly reminded Lewis of the fiery Detroit Lions’ coach.
Lewis, who was also in Las Vegas to participate in a golf tournament put on by the Major League Baseball Players Association, couldn’t contain his excitement late Wednesday as he described their meal.
“It meant the world,” Lewis said. “We started off building a really good relationship. He told me I was important to him and our organization. I told him at points last year I didn’t feel like that. It was really important to me to feel that kind of confidence. I told him that part of me is a little bit of a wide receiver mentality, to where I need to be talked to and just told what’s going on, what the plan is for myself, for the organization, and to be involved just a little bit.”
The Twins are hoping Shelton can help Lewis rediscover the star form he demonstrated earlier in his career. After he struggled late in the 2024 season during the team’s epic collapse, Lewis then produced a career-worst .671 OPS this past season after again being limited by injuries.
Several times during the last two seasons, Lewis was pulled into meetings with former manager Rocco Baldelli, typically on days after Lewis made vulnerable or eyebrow-raising comments to the media. But the pair rarely divulged what they discussed in their sit-downs, instead preferring to keep their talks private.
Lewis homered twice in July after Baldelli called him into the office for a lengthy pregame meeting one day after Lewis made comments about how he thought the team was prioritizing good results over good process and had developed a quick trigger for benching struggling players. Baldelli and Lewis didn’t share what was said during their July talk other than the player suggesting his manager had consistently offered him encouragement.
Shelton said Wednesday he plans to start fresh with each player, several of whom he hopes to meet in person this offseason, an effort that began shortly after the club announced his hiring on Oct. 30.
Though Shelton spent two seasons as the Twins’ bench coach before taking over as the Pittsburgh Pirates manager in 2020, he’s only previously worked with two-time All-Star Byron Buxton.
Shelton met Lewis at TwinsFest, but he’d never coached him. Two focuses of their weekend meeting were Lewis’ conditioning and the details of his offseason program.
“He’s really important to us and he’s got to stay healthy,” Shelton said. “That was something I wanted to reiterate. … I wanted to hear some of his thoughts on how he was feeling, how the last couple of years have gone, and work from there. It was a great conversation for everybody. I’m a new manager. It’s a clean slate.”
Catcher Ryan Jeffers also liked what he’s thus far heard from Shelton, calling him “super chill” and approachable. The two are set to meet during the week of Thanksgiving, as Shelton’s in-laws live near the catcher’s hometown in North Carolina.
“He just reminded me of my value and how important (catching) is,” Jeffers said. “Nothing that’s groundbreaking information. I’m excited to sit down with him and just learn more about him and who he is. I never was around him when he was with us, but I’ve heard great things.”
Jeffers’ friends who have interacted with Shelton gave a positive scouting report on Shelton, one that the catcher thinks is accurate.
“He’s very good at making people feel very open, feeling like he’s one of the guys,” Jeffers said. “He’s very relatable, very easy to talk to, and that’s exciting.”
Shelton’s forthcoming approach fired Lewis up. He liked hearing about the team’s plans for next season, how the Twins intend to continue utilizing the aggressive base-running style they adopted for the final six weeks of the 2025 season. He also appreciated Shelton’s stated desire to count on contributions from his entire roster.
Suffice it to say, the first impression Shelton left on Lewis was a good one.
“It just feels like there’s something new about the culture he’s trying to build,” Lewis said. “I just look forward to some of his ideas he had for us. Whether it’s implementing them in spring or in season, I loved the mentality he had — the ‘It’s going to take every man’ approach. It was unbelievable.”