How 10,000 Royce Lewis Jerseys Became the Most Fascinating Ballpark Giveaway of 2026 Season

Somewhere in Minneapolis, thousands of Royce Lewis replica jerseys are packed away just waiting to be given out. Saturday will not be that day.

Back in February, the Twins rolled out their promotional calendar for the 2026 season. Among the many giveaways scheduled—a list that features a Charlie Brown-themed jersey for Peanuts night and a Twins captain hat for Yacht Rock night—included a Royce Lewis replica jersey giveaway for the first 10,000 fans at Target Field on June 6.

That was the plan up until Lewis was sent down to the Triple-A St. Paul Saints on May 19. Minnesota did so in hopes that Lewis could find his swing again after an awful start to the season, as he batted .163/.261/.279 with three homers and 37 strikeouts in his first 31 games.

While the roster move aimed to give Lewis some relief, it sent the marketing team at 1 Twins Way scrambling. They took the Lewis giveaway off the promotional calendar and replaced it with 10,000 Byron Buxton T-shirts.

Then, on Saturday morning—the day those 10,000 Lewis jerseys were initially scheduled to be distributed to fans—the Twins called up the infielder from Triple-A and designated James Outman for assignment. Lewis had more than earned a call back up to the big leagues after batting .333/.403/.900 with 10 homers and 22 RBIs in 15 games at Triple-A.

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On Friday night, in the third inning of the Twins’ 5-3 win over the Royals, Buxton suffered a shoulder injury after crashing into the outfield wall. He was held out of the Twins’ lineup on Saturday, while Lewis was back, batting seventh and starting at second base.

To make the promotion even more of a whirlwind, the Triple-A Saints were planning to give away 1,000 Royce Lewis T-shirts ... on Saturday of all days. Lewis, of course, won’t be in the lineup in St. Paul. But the Saints still do plan to give the T-shirts away to fans in attendance at CHS Field. One of those fans will be 17-time Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest winner Joey Chestnut, who will take on a group of Saints supporters in a competition to eat 10 pounds of Juicy Lucy burgers.

“Minnesota baseball fans love Royce. We love Royce,” Saints director of media relations Sean Aronson said to Sports Illustrated in an email. “The goal of the players here in St. Paul is to get to the major leagues or get back to the major leagues, so we celebrate those guys when it happens. We're happily giving away the T-shirts today.”

One thing's for sure: St. Paul LOVES Royce Lewis.

Get to today's game early for a chance to snag a Royce Lewis t-shirt giveaway to the first 1,000! pic.twitter.com/jGfxzqZJsI
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) June 6, 2026

The Twins told Sports Illustrated that there is no official plan as of now for the 10,000 Lewis jerseys, but they will be handed out to fans at some point later this summer.

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So, to sum it up: the Twins replaced a Lewis jersey giveaway with a Buxton T-shirt, but Lewis got called back up and was in the lineup Saturday while Buxton watched from the dugout. Across town in St. Paul, the Saints are giving away a Lewis T-shirt, but he is in Minneapolis wearing a Twins uniform.

You really never know what you’re going to see at the ballpark ... or that ballpark’s marketing department.

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