Richard

Lewis

Lewis was acquired from the Braves in the Juan Cruz trade before the season. He replaces Brendan Harris, who was traded to Montreal, in Iowa’s infield. Lewis has had a fine season at West Tenn, hitting .323-8-54 with seven stolen bases, 64 runs scored, 24 doubles, and 10 triples.

Lewis was obtained from Atlanta during spring training for pitcher Juan Cruz. His combined numbers from West Tenn and Iowa: .308-13-70 with 35 doubles, 11 triples, 81 runs scored, and 11 stolen bases. His batting eye needs some work (41 walks, 115 whiffs), but his defense is excellent, with just five errors on the season.

It’s been a terrible year for the Lewis, who was the Southern League MVP in 2004. He’s batting .216/.278/.301 in 259 AB for Iowa. Sine he’s 25 years old, it’s going to be very difficult for him to work his way back into the Cubs’ plans. He might not stay on the 40-man roster this winter.

Neither Lewis nor Bergeron could be happy about the Sammy Sosa trade. Before, a Todd Walker injury might have made Lewis a regular. Now he’ll be lucky just to be called up to play behind Jerry Hairston Jr. The Hairston pickup also ruined Bergeron’s chances of claiming Tom Goodwin’s old job.

Lewis, the 40th overall pick in the 2001 draft, is coming off a disappointing season in which he hit just .239 for Double-A Greenville. He is better than that, but since he lacks power and has a mediocre walk rate, he’s not likely to end up as a regular in the majors.

Lewis is a decent second base prospect, but he’s not as good as Brendan Harris, who now might stay at third base for Triple-A Iowa once he returns from knee surgery. If Lewis gets all the time at second base for Iowa this season, he would become a candidate to replace Mark Grudzielanek as a regular in 2005. Still, now that they’ve stepped up their spending, the Cubs probably won’t be content to go with a rookie at the position.

Players selected in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft don’t have to kept at any certain level, so they don’t get returned to their old teams. The Royals could put Lewis in Triple-A and see if he reclaims any of the promise that made him look like the Cubs’ second baseman of the future for a minute and a half two years ago. He hasn’t been the same since breaking his leg in Sept. 2004, and he hit just .252/.316/.333 in 345 at-bats for Double-A West Tenn last season.